Jacob K. Javits
Encyclopedia
Jacob Koppel "Jack" Javits (May 18, 1904 March 7, 1986) was a politician
who served as United States Senator
from New York
from 1957 to 1981. A liberal Republican
, he was originally allied with Governor
Nelson Rockefeller
, fellow U.S. Senators Irving Ives
and Kenneth Keating
, and New York City
Mayor
John Lindsay
.
, where he was president of his class. He worked part-time at various jobs while attending night school at Columbia University
, then in 1923 he enrolled in the New York University Law School, from which he earned his J.D. in 1926. He was admitted to the bar in June 1927 and joined his brother Benjamin Javits, who was nearly ten years older, as partner to form the Javits and Javits law firm. The Javits brothers specialized in bankruptcy
and minority stockholder suits and became quite successful. In 1933 Javits married Marjorie Joan Ringling; they had no children and divorced in 1936. In 1947 he married Marian Ann Boris, with whom he had three children. Deemed too old for regular military service when World War II
began, Javits was commissioned in early 1942 as an officer in the army's Chemical Warfare Department, where he served throughout the war, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel
.
for Tammany Hall
and experienced firsthand the corruption and graft associated with that notorious political machine. Tammany's operations repulsed Javits so much that, he forever rejected the city's Democratic party and in the early 1930s joined the Republican-Fusion party, which was supporting the mayoral campaigns of Fiorello H. La Guardia. After the war he became the chief researcher for Jonah Goldstein's unsuccessful 1945 bid for mayor on the Republican-Liberal-Fusion ticket. Javits's hard work in the Goldstein campaign showed his potential in the political arena and encouraged the small Manhattan Republican party to nominate him as their candidate for the Upper West Side's Twenty-first Congressional District (since redistricted) seat during the heavily Republican year of 1946. Although the Republicans had not held the seat since 1923, Javits campaigned energetically and won. He was a member of the freshman class along with John F. Kennedy
of Massachusetts
and Richard M. Nixon of California
. He served from 1947 to 1954, then resigned his seat to take office as New York State Attorney General
.
Throughout his career in Congress, in the House and later in the Senate, Javits was part of a small group of liberal Republicans who were often isolated ideologically from their mainstream Republican colleagues. One scoring method found Javits to be the most liberal Republican to serve in either chamber of Congress between 1937 and 2002. Although he frequently differed with the more conservative members of his party, Javits always maintained that a healthy political party should tolerate diverse opinions among its members. He rejected the idea that either party should reflect only one point of view. Javits liked to think of himself as a political descendant of Theodore Roosevelt
's Progressive Republicanism. He was strongly committed to social issues, believing that the federal government should have a role in improving the lives of Americans. Yet as a lawyer who had for years represented business clients, Javits also advocated a mixed economy in which business and government would cooperate to further the national welfare.
During his first two terms in the House, Javits often sided with the Harry Truman administration. For example, in 1947 he supported Truman's veto of the Taft-Hartley Bill, which he declared was antiunion. A strong opponent of discrimination, Javits also endorsed anti-poll tax legislation in 1947 and 1949, and in 1954 he unsuccessfully sought to have enacted a bill banning segregation in federally funded housing projects. Unhappy with the witch hunt atmosphere in Washington during the Cold War
, he publicly opposed continuing appropriations for the House Un-American Activities Committee
in 1948. Always a staunch supporter of Israel, Javits served on the House Foreign Affairs Committee during all four of his terms and supported congressional funding for the Marshall Plan
and all components of the Truman Doctrine
.
In 1954 Javits ran for New York State Attorney General
against a well-known and well-funded opponent, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Jr.
Javits's vote-getting abilities carried the day, and he was the only Republican to win a statewide office that year. As attorney general, Javits continued to promote his liberal agenda, supporting such measures as antibias employment legislation and a health insurance program for state employees.
, Javits ran for U.S. Senator from New York to succeed the retiring incumbent Democrat
Herbert H. Lehman
. His Democratic opponent was the popular Mayor of New York, Robert F. Wagner
. In the early stages of that campaign Javits vigorously and successfully denied charges that he had once sought support from members of the American Communist party during his 1946 race for Congress. He went on to defeat Wagner by nearly half a million votes. Although his term began on January 3, 1957, he delayed taking his seat in the U.S. Senate until January 9, the day the New York State Legislature convened, to deny Democratic Governor W. Averell Harriman
the opportunity to appoint a Democratic Attorney General. Thus, on January 9, the Republican majority of the State Legislature elected Louis Lefkowitz
to fill the office for the remainder of Javits's term.
Upon taking office, Javits resumed his role as the most outspoken Republican liberal in Congress. For the next twenty-four years the Senate was Javits's home. His wife had no interest in living in Washington, D.C., a town she considered a boring backwater, so for over two decades Javits commuted between New York and Washington nearly every week to visit his "other" family and conduct local political business. During his first term he supported the limited 1957 Civil Rights Act, which was bitterly opposed by many of his southern colleagues. In foreign affairs he backed the Eisenhower Doctrine
for the Middle East and also pressed for more foreign military and economic assistance.
Re-elected in 1962 and 1968
, he supported Lyndon Johnson's civil rights measures and generally endorsed the Great Society
programs. To promote his views on social legislation, he served on the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee for twenty years, most of that time as the second-ranking minority member. Javits initially backed Johnson during the early years of America's involvement in the Vietnam War
, supporting, for example, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
in 1964. By the end of 1967, however, he was becoming disenchanted with the war's progress and joined twenty-two other senators in calling for a peaceful solution to the conflict. By 1970 his rising opposition to the war led him to support the Cooper-Church Amendment
, which barred funds for U.S. troops in Cambodia
, and he also voted to repeal the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
. Increasingly concerned about the erosion of congressional authority in foreign affairs, Javits sponsored the 1973 War Powers Act
, which limited to sixty days a president's ability to send American armed forces into combat without congressional approval. Despite his unhappiness with President Richard Nixon
over the Vietnam War, Javits was slow to join the anti-Nixon forces during the Watergate scandal
of 1973-1974. Until almost the very end of the affair, Javits's position reflected his legal training: Nixon was innocent until proven guilty, and the best way to determine guilt or innocence was by legal due process. Javits's position was not popular among his constituency, and his re-election in 1974 over Ramsey Clark
was by fewer than 400,000 votes, a third of his 1968 margin of victory. During his last term Javits shifted his interests more and more to world affairs, especially the crises in the Middle East. Working with President Jimmy Carter
, he journeyed to Israel and Egypt to facilitate discussions that led to the 1978 Camp David Accords
.
(also known as Lou Gehrig
's Disease) led to a 1980 primary challenge
by the comparatively lesser-known Long Island
Republican county official Alfonse D'Amato. D'Amato received 323,468 primary votes (55.7 percent) to Javits' 257,433 (44.3 percent). Javits' loss to D'Amato stemmed from Javits' continuing illness and his failure to adjust politically to the rightward movement of the GOP
.
Following the primary defeat, Javits ran as the Liberal Party
candidate in the general election. His candidacy split
the Democratic base vote
with United States Representative Elizabeth Holtzman
of Brooklyn and gave D'Amato a plurality victory by a margin of 1%. Javits received 11% of the vote.
to his liberal precepts, his influence was more subtle than obvious. Few pieces of legislation bear his name, yet he was especially proud of his work in creating the National Endowment for the Arts, of his sponsorship of the ERISA Act, which regulated defined-benefit private pensions
, and of his leadership in the passage of the 1973 War Powers Act.
Javits was generally considered a liberal Republican, and was supportive of labor unions and movements for civil rights
. In an essay published in 1958 in the magazine Esquire
, he predicted the election of the first African-American president by the year 2000. In 1964, Javits refused to support his party's presidential nominee, his conservative
colleague, Barry M. Goldwater of Arizona
.
Senator Javits sponsored (1) the first African-American Senate page
in 1965 and (2) the first female page in 1971. His liberalism was such that he tended to receive support from traditionally Democratic voters, with many Republicans defecting to support the Conservative Party of New York
.
Javits played a major role in legislation protecting pension
ers, as well as in the passage of the War Powers Act; he led the effort to get the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act
passed. He reached the position of Ranking Minority Member
on the Committee on Foreign Relations
while accruing greater seniority
than any New York Senator before or since . He was also one of the main forces behind the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act that removed immigration quotas that favored Western European nations. Along with Dwight D. Eisenhower (another unusual Republican), he was among the first and most important statesmen in passing legislation promoting the cause of education for gifted individuals, and many know his name from the federal Jacob Javits Grants established for this purpose.
1946
1948
1950
1952
New York State Attorney General
1954
U.S. Senate, New York
1956
1962
1968
1974
1980 Republican Primary
1980 General Election
in West Palm Beach, Florida
, at the age of eighty-one. In addition to spouse Marian Ann Borris Javits, he was survived by three children, Joshua, Carla, and Joy. He is interred at Linden Hill Jewish Cemetery in Queens
, NY.
Among those who attended the funeral were Governor Mario Cuomo
, Mayor Ed Koch
, former President Richard Nixon
, Attorney General Edwin Meese
, former Secretary of State
Henry Kissinger
, Senator Al D'Amato
, Cardinal John Joseph O'Connor, former Mayor Lindsay, former Governor Hugh Carey
of New York, and former State Attorney General Louis Lefkowitz
.
Also there were then U.S. Representative Bella Abzug
of Manhattan; then Senators Nancy Kassebaum Baker
of Kansas
, Bill Bradley
of New Jersey
, Lowell Weicker of Connecticut
, and Gary Hart
of Colorado
; David Rockefeller
, the banker; Arthur Ochs Sulzberger
, publisher of The New York Times
; Victor Gotbaum
, the labor leader; Kurt Vonnegut
, the writer
, and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
, the actor
.
in 1983.
New York's Javits Center is named in his honor, as is a playground at the southwestern edge of Fort Tryon Park
. The Jacob K. Javits Federal Building
at 26 Federal Plaza in lower Manhattan's Civic Center district, as well as a lecture hall on the campus of the State University of New York at Stony Brook
on Long Island
, are also named after him.
The United States Department of Education
awards a number of Javits Fellowships to support graduate students in the humanities and social sciences.
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
who served as United States Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
from 1957 to 1981. A liberal Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, he was originally allied with Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
Nelson Rockefeller
Nelson Rockefeller
Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller was the 41st Vice President of the United States , serving under President Gerald Ford, and the 49th Governor of New York , as well as serving the Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower administrations in a variety of positions...
, fellow U.S. Senators Irving Ives
Irving Ives
Irving McNeil Ives was an American politician from New York.-Life:He served overseas in the U.S. Army during World War I, rising to the rank of first lieutenant before he left the army in 1919...
and Kenneth Keating
Kenneth Keating
Kenneth Barnard Keating , was a United States Representative and a U.S. Senator from New York, and in later life, an appellate judge and a diplomat representing the United States as ambassador to India and later to Israel.-Life:...
, and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
John Lindsay
John Lindsay
John Vliet Lindsay was an American politician, lawyer and broadcaster who was a U.S. Congressman, Mayor of New York City, candidate for U.S...
.
Early life
The son of Morris Javits, a janitor, and Ida Littman, Javits grew up in a teeming Lower East Side tenement, and when not in school he helped his mother hawk dry goods from a pushcart in the street. Javits graduated in 1920 from George Washington High SchoolGeorge Washington High School (New York City)
George Washington High School is a public high school located in the Fort George neighborhood of the Washington Heights section of Manhattan in New York City, New York....
, where he was president of his class. He worked part-time at various jobs while attending night school at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, then in 1923 he enrolled in the New York University Law School, from which he earned his J.D. in 1926. He was admitted to the bar in June 1927 and joined his brother Benjamin Javits, who was nearly ten years older, as partner to form the Javits and Javits law firm. The Javits brothers specialized in bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
and minority stockholder suits and became quite successful. In 1933 Javits married Marjorie Joan Ringling; they had no children and divorced in 1936. In 1947 he married Marian Ann Boris, with whom he had three children. Deemed too old for regular military service when World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
began, Javits was commissioned in early 1942 as an officer in the army's Chemical Warfare Department, where he served throughout the war, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
.
Political career
In his youth Javits had watched his father work as a ward heelerWard heeler
A ward heeler variously describes a politician or political worker in the United States who is in politics for private gain rather than public service, who does illegal acts on behalf of a political party, or who is a low level political operative soliciting votes and doing chores for a political...
for Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society...
and experienced firsthand the corruption and graft associated with that notorious political machine. Tammany's operations repulsed Javits so much that, he forever rejected the city's Democratic party and in the early 1930s joined the Republican-Fusion party, which was supporting the mayoral campaigns of Fiorello H. La Guardia. After the war he became the chief researcher for Jonah Goldstein's unsuccessful 1945 bid for mayor on the Republican-Liberal-Fusion ticket. Javits's hard work in the Goldstein campaign showed his potential in the political arena and encouraged the small Manhattan Republican party to nominate him as their candidate for the Upper West Side's Twenty-first Congressional District (since redistricted) seat during the heavily Republican year of 1946. Although the Republicans had not held the seat since 1923, Javits campaigned energetically and won. He was a member of the freshman class along with John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
and Richard M. Nixon of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. He served from 1947 to 1954, then resigned his seat to take office as New York State Attorney General
New York State Attorney General
The New York State Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of New York. The office has been in existence in some form since 1626, under the Dutch colonial government of New York.The current Attorney General is Eric Schneiderman...
.
Throughout his career in Congress, in the House and later in the Senate, Javits was part of a small group of liberal Republicans who were often isolated ideologically from their mainstream Republican colleagues. One scoring method found Javits to be the most liberal Republican to serve in either chamber of Congress between 1937 and 2002. Although he frequently differed with the more conservative members of his party, Javits always maintained that a healthy political party should tolerate diverse opinions among its members. He rejected the idea that either party should reflect only one point of view. Javits liked to think of himself as a political descendant of Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
's Progressive Republicanism. He was strongly committed to social issues, believing that the federal government should have a role in improving the lives of Americans. Yet as a lawyer who had for years represented business clients, Javits also advocated a mixed economy in which business and government would cooperate to further the national welfare.
During his first two terms in the House, Javits often sided with the Harry Truman administration. For example, in 1947 he supported Truman's veto of the Taft-Hartley Bill, which he declared was antiunion. A strong opponent of discrimination, Javits also endorsed anti-poll tax legislation in 1947 and 1949, and in 1954 he unsuccessfully sought to have enacted a bill banning segregation in federally funded housing projects. Unhappy with the witch hunt atmosphere in Washington during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, he publicly opposed continuing appropriations for the House Un-American Activities Committee
House Un-American Activities Committee
The House Committee on Un-American Activities or House Un-American Activities Committee was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. In 1969, the House changed the committee's name to "House Committee on Internal Security"...
in 1948. Always a staunch supporter of Israel, Javits served on the House Foreign Affairs Committee during all four of his terms and supported congressional funding for the Marshall Plan
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was the large-scale American program to aid Europe where the United States gave monetary support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II in order to combat the spread of Soviet communism. The plan was in operation for four years beginning in April 1948...
and all components of the Truman Doctrine
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was a policy set forth by U.S. President Harry S Truman in a speech on March 12, 1947 stating that the U.S. would support Greece and Turkey with economic and military aid to prevent their falling into the Soviet sphere...
.
In 1954 Javits ran for New York State Attorney General
New York State Attorney General
The New York State Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of New York. The office has been in existence in some form since 1626, under the Dutch colonial government of New York.The current Attorney General is Eric Schneiderman...
against a well-known and well-funded opponent, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Jr.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Jr.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Jr. was an American politician. He was the fifth child of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Sr. and his wife Eleanor.-Personal life:...
Javits's vote-getting abilities carried the day, and he was the only Republican to win a statewide office that year. As attorney general, Javits continued to promote his liberal agenda, supporting such measures as antibias employment legislation and a health insurance program for state employees.
U.S. Senator
In 1956New York state election, 1956
The 1956 New York state election was held on November 6, 1956, to elect a U.S. Senator, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate.-Nominations:...
, Javits ran for U.S. Senator from New York to succeed the retiring incumbent Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Herbert H. Lehman
Herbert H. Lehman
Herbert Henry Lehman was a Democratic Party politician from New York. He was the 45th Governor of New York from 1933 to 1942, and represented New York in the United States Senate from 1950 to 1957.-Lehman Brothers:...
. His Democratic opponent was the popular Mayor of New York, Robert F. Wagner
Robert F. Wagner
Robert Ferdinand Wagner I was an American politician. He was a Democratic U.S. Senator from New York from 1927 to 1949.-Origin and early life:...
. In the early stages of that campaign Javits vigorously and successfully denied charges that he had once sought support from members of the American Communist party during his 1946 race for Congress. He went on to defeat Wagner by nearly half a million votes. Although his term began on January 3, 1957, he delayed taking his seat in the U.S. Senate until January 9, the day the New York State Legislature convened, to deny Democratic Governor W. Averell Harriman
W. Averell Harriman
William Averell Harriman was an American Democratic Party politician, businessman, and diplomat. He was the son of railroad baron E. H. Harriman. He served as Secretary of Commerce under President Harry S. Truman and later as the 48th Governor of New York...
the opportunity to appoint a Democratic Attorney General. Thus, on January 9, the Republican majority of the State Legislature elected Louis Lefkowitz
Louis Lefkowitz
Louis J. Lefkowitz was an American lawyer and politician.-Life:...
to fill the office for the remainder of Javits's term.
Upon taking office, Javits resumed his role as the most outspoken Republican liberal in Congress. For the next twenty-four years the Senate was Javits's home. His wife had no interest in living in Washington, D.C., a town she considered a boring backwater, so for over two decades Javits commuted between New York and Washington nearly every week to visit his "other" family and conduct local political business. During his first term he supported the limited 1957 Civil Rights Act, which was bitterly opposed by many of his southern colleagues. In foreign affairs he backed the Eisenhower Doctrine
Eisenhower Doctrine
The term Eisenhower Doctrine refers to a speech by President Dwight David Eisenhower on 5 January 1957, within a "Special Message to the Congress on the Situation in the Middle East". Under the Eisenhower Doctrine, a country could request American economic assistance and/or aid from U.S. military...
for the Middle East and also pressed for more foreign military and economic assistance.
Re-elected in 1962 and 1968
New York state election, 1968
The 1968 New York state election was held on November 5, 1968, to elect a judge of the New York Court of Appeals and a U.S. Senator, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate.-Background:Judge Adrian P...
, he supported Lyndon Johnson's civil rights measures and generally endorsed the Great Society
Great Society
The Great Society was a set of domestic programs in the United States promoted by President Lyndon B. Johnson and fellow Democrats in Congress in the 1960s. Two main goals of the Great Society social reforms were the elimination of poverty and racial injustice...
programs. To promote his views on social legislation, he served on the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee for twenty years, most of that time as the second-ranking minority member. Javits initially backed Johnson during the early years of America's involvement in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, supporting, for example, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
The Tonkin Gulf Resolution was a joint resolution which the United States Congress passed on August 10, 1964 in response to a sea battle between the North Vietnamese Navy's Torpedo Squadron 10135 and the destroyer on August 2 and an alleged second naval engagement between North Vietnamese boats...
in 1964. By the end of 1967, however, he was becoming disenchanted with the war's progress and joined twenty-two other senators in calling for a peaceful solution to the conflict. By 1970 his rising opposition to the war led him to support the Cooper-Church Amendment
Cooper-Church amendment
The Cooper-Church Amendment was introduced in the United States Senate during the Vietnam War. The proposal of the amendment was the first time that Congress had restricted the deployment of troops during a war against the wishes of the president....
, which barred funds for U.S. troops in Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, and he also voted to repeal the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
The Tonkin Gulf Resolution was a joint resolution which the United States Congress passed on August 10, 1964 in response to a sea battle between the North Vietnamese Navy's Torpedo Squadron 10135 and the destroyer on August 2 and an alleged second naval engagement between North Vietnamese boats...
. Increasingly concerned about the erosion of congressional authority in foreign affairs, Javits sponsored the 1973 War Powers Act
War Powers Resolution
The War Powers Resolution of 1973 is a federal law intended to check the power of the President in committing the United States to an armed conflict without the consent of Congress. The resolution was adopted in the form of a United States Congress joint resolution; this provides that the...
, which limited to sixty days a president's ability to send American armed forces into combat without congressional approval. Despite his unhappiness with President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
over the Vietnam War, Javits was slow to join the anti-Nixon forces during the Watergate scandal
Watergate scandal
The Watergate scandal was a political scandal during the 1970s in the United States resulting from the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and the Nixon administration's attempted cover-up of its involvement...
of 1973-1974. Until almost the very end of the affair, Javits's position reflected his legal training: Nixon was innocent until proven guilty, and the best way to determine guilt or innocence was by legal due process. Javits's position was not popular among his constituency, and his re-election in 1974 over Ramsey Clark
Ramsey Clark
William Ramsey Clark is an American lawyer, activist and former public official. He worked for the U.S. Department of Justice, which included service as United States Attorney General from 1967 to 1969, under President Lyndon B. Johnson...
was by fewer than 400,000 votes, a third of his 1968 margin of victory. During his last term Javits shifted his interests more and more to world affairs, especially the crises in the Middle East. Working with President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
, he journeyed to Israel and Egypt to facilitate discussions that led to the 1978 Camp David Accords
Camp David Accords
The Camp David Accords were signed by Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on September 17, 1978, following thirteen days of secret negotiations at Camp David. The two framework agreements were signed at the White House, and were witnessed by United States...
.
1980 Senate race
Javits served until 1981; his 1979 diagnosis with amyotrophic lateral sclerosisAmyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a form of motor neuron disease caused by the degeneration of upper and lower neurons, located in the ventral horn of the spinal cord and the cortical neurons that provide their efferent input...
(also known as Lou Gehrig
Lou Gehrig
Henry Louis "Lou" Gehrig , nicknamed "The Iron Horse" for his durability, was an American Major League Baseball first baseman. He played his entire 17-year baseball career for the New York Yankees . Gehrig set several major league records. He holds the record for most career grand slams...
's Disease) led to a 1980 primary challenge
Primary challenge
A primary challenge occurs in U.S. politics when an incumbent elected official is challenged in an upcoming primary election by a member of his own political party...
by the comparatively lesser-known Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
Republican county official Alfonse D'Amato. D'Amato received 323,468 primary votes (55.7 percent) to Javits' 257,433 (44.3 percent). Javits' loss to D'Amato stemmed from Javits' continuing illness and his failure to adjust politically to the rightward movement of the GOP
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
.
Following the primary defeat, Javits ran as the Liberal Party
Liberal Party of New York
The Liberal Party of New York is a minor American political party that has been active only in the state of New York. Its platform supports a standard set of social liberal policies: it supports right to abortion, increased spending on education, and universal health care.As of 2007, the Liberal...
candidate in the general election. His candidacy split
Split vote
A split vote is normally used synonymously with "deadlocked", "hung", or "evenly split" vote. It indicates a vote in which no decision can be made, as neither side has the majority....
the Democratic base vote
Base (politics)
In politics, the term base refers to a group of voters who almost always support a single party's candidates for elected office. Base voters are very unlikely to vote for the candidate of an opposing party, regardless of the specific views each candidate holds...
with United States Representative Elizabeth Holtzman
Elizabeth Holtzman
Elizabeth Holtzman is an American lawyer and former Democratic politician, pioneer woman officeholder, four term U.S. Representative , two term District Attorney of Kings County , and New York City Comptroller .Her role on the House Judiciary Committee during the Watergate scandal drew national...
of Brooklyn and gave D'Amato a plurality victory by a margin of 1%. Javits received 11% of the vote.
Legacy
Throughout his years in Congress, Javits seldom enjoyed favor with his party's inner circle. His liberalism was a vestige of a Republican party of an earlier era, and though he hung tenaciouslyto his liberal precepts, his influence was more subtle than obvious. Few pieces of legislation bear his name, yet he was especially proud of his work in creating the National Endowment for the Arts, of his sponsorship of the ERISA Act, which regulated defined-benefit private pensions
Defined benefit pension plan
In economics, a defined benefit pension plan is a major type of pension plan in which an employer promises a specified monthly benefit on retirement that is predetermined by a formula based on the employee's earnings history, tenure of service and age, rather than depending on investment returns...
, and of his leadership in the passage of the 1973 War Powers Act.
Javits was generally considered a liberal Republican, and was supportive of labor unions and movements for civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
. In an essay published in 1958 in the magazine Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
, he predicted the election of the first African-American president by the year 2000. In 1964, Javits refused to support his party's presidential nominee, his conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
colleague, Barry M. Goldwater of Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
.
Senator Javits sponsored (1) the first African-American Senate page
United States Senate Page
A United States Senate Page is a non-partisan federal employee serving the United States Senate in Washington, DC. Despite the non-partisan affiliation, Pages are typically divided to serve the party that appointed them.-Selection:In order to become a US Senate Page, one must first be nominated...
in 1965 and (2) the first female page in 1971. His liberalism was such that he tended to receive support from traditionally Democratic voters, with many Republicans defecting to support the Conservative Party of New York
Conservative Party of New York
The Conservative Party of New York State is an American political party active in the state of New York. It is not part of any nationwide party, nor is it affiliated with the American Conservative Party, which it predates by over 40 years....
.
Javits played a major role in legislation protecting pension
Pension
In general, a pension is an arrangement to provide people with an income when they are no longer earning a regular income from employment. Pensions should not be confused with severance pay; the former is paid in regular installments, while the latter is paid in one lump sum.The terms retirement...
ers, as well as in the passage of the War Powers Act; he led the effort to get the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act
Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act
The Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act et seq. is a U.S. federal law requiring that all federal agencies purchase specified supplies and services from nonprofit agencies employing persons who are blind or have other significant disabilities. The Act was passed by the 92nd United States Congress in 1971; it...
passed. He reached the position of Ranking Minority Member
Ranking member
In United States politics, a ranking member is the second-most senior member of a congressional or state legislative committee from the majority party. Another usage refers to the most senior member of a congressional or state legislative committee from the minority party. This second usage, often...
on the Committee on Foreign Relations
United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It is charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. The Foreign Relations Committee is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid programs as...
while accruing greater seniority
Seniority
Seniority is the concept of a person or group of people being in charge or in command of another person or group. This control is often granted to the senior person due to experience or length of service in a given position, but it is not uncommon for a senior person to have less experience or...
than any New York Senator before or since . He was also one of the main forces behind the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act that removed immigration quotas that favored Western European nations. Along with Dwight D. Eisenhower (another unusual Republican), he was among the first and most important statesmen in passing legislation promoting the cause of education for gifted individuals, and many know his name from the federal Jacob Javits Grants established for this purpose.
Electoral history
U.S. House of Representatives, New York 21st District1946
- Jacob Javits (R), 46,897 votes (46.0%)
- Daniel Flynn (D), 40,652 votes (39.9%)
- William Mandel (American Labor), 14,359 votes (14.1%)
1948
- Jacob Javits (R), 67,067 votes (50.5%)
- Paul O'DwyerPaul O'DwyerPaul O'Dwyer was an American politician and lawyer, brother of Mayor William O'Dwyer and father to New York City lawyer Brian O'Dwyer .-Life:...
(D), 64,654 votes (49.5%)
1950
- Jacob Javits (R), 62,604 votes (61.8%)
- Bennett Schessel (D), 33,349 votes (32.9%)
1952
- Jacob Javits (R), 89,866 votes (63.4%)
- John C. Hart (D), 47,637 votes (33.6%)
New York State Attorney General
1954
- Jacob Javits (R), 2,603,858 votes (51.7%)
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Jr.Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Jr.Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Jr. was an American politician. He was the fifth child of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Sr. and his wife Eleanor.-Personal life:...
(D), 2,430,959 votes (48.3%)
U.S. Senate, New York
1956
New York state election, 1956
The 1956 New York state election was held on November 6, 1956, to elect a U.S. Senator, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate.-Nominations:...
- Jacob Javits (R), 3,723,933 votes (53.3%)
- Robert F. WagnerRobert F. WagnerRobert Ferdinand Wagner I was an American politician. He was a Democratic U.S. Senator from New York from 1927 to 1949.-Origin and early life:...
(D), 3,265,159 votes (46.7%)
1962
- Jacob Javits (R), 3,272,417 votes (57.4%)
- James B. DonovanJames B. DonovanJames Britt Donovan was an American lawyer and Commander in the United States Navy Reserve. A graduate of Harvard Law School, he helped draft the legislation setting up the Central Intelligence Agency. He earned public attention as a defense lawyer for a Russian spy leader...
(D), 2,178,212 votes (40.1%)
1968
New York state election, 1968
The 1968 New York state election was held on November 5, 1968, to elect a judge of the New York Court of Appeals and a U.S. Senator, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate.-Background:Judge Adrian P...
- Jacob Javits (R), 3,269,772 votes (49.6%)
- Paul O'DwyerPaul O'DwyerPaul O'Dwyer was an American politician and lawyer, brother of Mayor William O'Dwyer and father to New York City lawyer Brian O'Dwyer .-Life:...
(D), 2,150,659 votes (32.7%) - James L. BuckleyJames L. BuckleyJames Lane Buckley is a retired judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and previously served as a United States Senator from the state of New York as a member of the Conservative Party of New York from January 3, 1971 to January 3, 1977...
(Conservative), 1,139,402 votes (17.3%)
1974
- Jacob Javits (R), 2,340,188 votes (45.3%)
- Ramsey ClarkRamsey ClarkWilliam Ramsey Clark is an American lawyer, activist and former public official. He worked for the U.S. Department of Justice, which included service as United States Attorney General from 1967 to 1969, under President Lyndon B. Johnson...
(D), 1,973,781 votes (38.2%) - Barbara Keating (Conservative), 822,584 votes (15.9%)
1980 Republican Primary
- Jacob Javits, 257,433 votes (44.3%)
- Alfonse D'Amato, 323,468 votes (55.7%)
1980 General Election
- Jacob Javits (Liberal), 664,544 votes (11.0%)
- Elizabeth HoltzmanElizabeth HoltzmanElizabeth Holtzman is an American lawyer and former Democratic politician, pioneer woman officeholder, four term U.S. Representative , two term District Attorney of Kings County , and New York City Comptroller .Her role on the House Judiciary Committee during the Watergate scandal drew national...
(D), 2,618,661 votes (43.5%) - Alfonse D'Amato (R), 2,699,652 votes (44.9%)
Death
Javits died of Lou Gehrig's diseaseAmyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a form of motor neuron disease caused by the degeneration of upper and lower neurons, located in the ventral horn of the spinal cord and the cortical neurons that provide their efferent input...
in West Palm Beach, Florida
West Palm Beach, Florida
West Palm Beach, is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and is the most populous city in and county seat of Palm Beach County, the third most populous county in Florida with a 2010 population of 1,320,134. The city is also the oldest incorporated municipality in South Florida...
, at the age of eighty-one. In addition to spouse Marian Ann Borris Javits, he was survived by three children, Joshua, Carla, and Joy. He is interred at Linden Hill Jewish Cemetery in Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
, NY.
Among those who attended the funeral were Governor Mario Cuomo
Mario Cuomo
Mario Matthew Cuomo served as the 52nd Governor of New York from 1983 to 1994, and is the father of Andrew Cuomo, the current governor of New York.-Early life:...
, Mayor Ed Koch
Ed Koch
Edward Irving "Ed" Koch is an American lawyer, politician, and political commentator. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and three terms as mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989...
, former President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
, Attorney General Edwin Meese
Edwin Meese
Edwin "Ed" Meese, III is an attorney, law professor, and author who served in official capacities within the Ronald Reagan Gubernatorial Administration , the Reagan Presidential Transition Team , and the Reagan White House , eventually rising to hold the position of the 75th Attorney General of...
, former Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Henry Kissinger
Henry Kissinger
Heinz Alfred "Henry" Kissinger is a German-born American academic, political scientist, diplomat, and businessman. He is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He served as National Security Advisor and later concurrently as Secretary of State in the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon and...
, Senator Al D'Amato
Al D'Amato
Alfonse Marcello "Al" D'Amato is an American lawyer and former New York politician. A Republican, he served as United States Senator from New York from 1981 to 1999.-Early life and family:...
, Cardinal John Joseph O'Connor, former Mayor Lindsay, former Governor Hugh Carey
Hugh Carey
Hugh Leo Carey was an American attorney, the 51st Governor of New York from 1975 to 1982, and a seven-term United States Representative .- Early life :...
of New York, and former State Attorney General Louis Lefkowitz
Louis Lefkowitz
Louis J. Lefkowitz was an American lawyer and politician.-Life:...
.
Also there were then U.S. Representative Bella Abzug
Bella Abzug
Bella Savitsky Abzug was an American lawyer, Congresswoman, social activist and a leader of the Women's Movement. In 1971, Abzug joined other leading feminists such as Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan to found the National Women's Political Caucus...
of Manhattan; then Senators Nancy Kassebaum Baker
Nancy Kassebaum Baker
Nancy Landon Kassebaum Baker represented the State of Kansas in the United States Senate from 1978 to 1997. She is the daughter of Alf Landon, who was Governor of Kansas from 1933 to 1937 and the 1936 Republican nominee for president...
of Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, Bill Bradley
Bill Bradley
William Warren "Bill" Bradley is an American hall of fame basketball player, Rhodes scholar, and former three-term Democratic U.S. Senator from New Jersey. He ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic Party's nomination for President in the 2000 election.Bradley was born and raised in a suburb of St....
of New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, Lowell Weicker of Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, and Gary Hart
Gary Hart
Gary Hart is an American politician, lawyer, author, professor and commentator. He served as a Democratic Senator representing Colorado , and ran in the U.S...
of Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
; David Rockefeller
David Rockefeller
David Rockefeller, Sr. is the current patriarch of the Rockefeller family. He is the youngest and only surviving child of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, and the only surviving grandchild of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, founder of Standard Oil. His five siblings were...
, the banker; Arthur Ochs Sulzberger
Arthur Ochs Sulzberger
Arthur Ochs "Punch" Sulzberger, Sr. to a prominent media and publishing family, is himself an American publisher and businessman. He succeeded his father, Arthur Hays Sulzberger, and maternal grandfather as publisher and chairman of the New York Times in 1963, passing the positions to his son...
, publisher of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
; Victor Gotbaum
Victor Gotbaum
Victor H. Gotbaum was an American labor leader. From 1965 to 1987, he was president of AFSCME District Council 37 , the largest municipal union in New York City.-Biography:...
, the labor leader; Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was a 20th century American writer. His works such as Cat's Cradle , Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions blend satire, gallows humor and science fiction. He was known for his humanist beliefs and was honorary president of the American Humanist Association.-Early...
, the writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
Douglas Elton Fairbanks, Jr. KBE was an American actor and a highly decorated naval officer of World War II.-Early life:...
, the actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Honors
Javits received the Presidential Medal of FreedomPresidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the President of the United States and is—along with thecomparable Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of U.S. Congress—the highest civilian award in the United States...
in 1983.
New York's Javits Center is named in his honor, as is a playground at the southwestern edge of Fort Tryon Park
Fort Tryon Park
Fort Tryon Park is a public park located in the Washington Heights section of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, USA. It is situated on a 67 acre ridge in Upper Manhattan, with a commanding view of the Hudson River, the George Washington Bridge, the New Jersey Palisades and the Harlem River...
. The Jacob K. Javits Federal Building
Jacob K. Javits Federal Building
Jacob K. Javits Federal Office Building at 26 Federal Plaza in the Civic Center, Manhattan, New York City is a forty-plus story structure which houses many federal government agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation New York City field office...
at 26 Federal Plaza in lower Manhattan's Civic Center district, as well as a lecture hall on the campus of the State University of New York at Stony Brook
State University of New York at Stony Brook
The State University of New York at Stony Brook, also known as Stony Brook University, is a public research university located in Stony Brook, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island, about east of Manhattan....
on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, are also named after him.
The United States Department of Education
United States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education, also referred to as ED or the ED for Education Department, is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government...
awards a number of Javits Fellowships to support graduate students in the humanities and social sciences.