Hashpipe's Great Biotimeline

[Hash]

Inspired by Kalwejt and Mech's extremely detailed and concise characters and all, I've decided to finally put on paper a character which I've thought of for a while. While it won't be as great as theirs, mine is just a random attempt at fun and creative writing.

My character is an aggressive flaming liberal from Vermont who has anger and drinking issues and has a particular hate for conservatives which is, of course, mutual. If you wish that I include on of your characters or some fictional persona of your choice, I'd be happy to do it. His name is Christopher Andrew Garrett, aka Chris Garrett.

[Hash]

At the beginning

Not much is known about the Garrett family. The Garrett line originated in Suffolk in southeastern England, where they were almost entirely farmers. Poverty and a bad crop led a part of the Garrett family to immigrate to New England in 1745. They settled in present-day Rockingham County, New Hampshire. There were, in 1745, six Garretts which settled in New Hampshire. The eldest was William (b. 1720), who was the family's dominant figure and a wily farmer. He was accompanied by his two smaller brothers, his wife Charlotte and their two young children.

Arthur Garrett was the first Garrett born in America, and the third child of William and Charlotte Garrett. He was born in New Hampshire in 1747, two years after his parents and family had settled in the New World. By then, the Garretts had managed to build up a small family farm which provided enough food for them to survive.

In 1749, New Hampshire provincial Governor Benning Wentworth made the first of his famous New Hampshire Grants to various local notables in the colony. Lured by the chance to get a bigger farm and set up a frontier lifestyle appealed much to a wily adventurer like William Garrett, who followed William Williams and others from Portsmouth to set up camp in southeastern Vermont. By the late 1760s, the Garrett family had settled in present-day Bennington with families from Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Andrew Garrett shared his father's fiery temper and adventurous spirit. This led to two things. The first was perpetual feuding between the youngest Garrett and his father. Secondly, and intimately linked to the first, was Andrew Garrett's decision to leave Bennington with a group of fellow young frontiersmen and move north. By 1770, Garrett, his elder brother Stephen and a band of friends had found their way to Lake Champlain, settling in Middlebury.

Andrew Garrett joined Ethan Allen's Green Mountain Boys and engaged in various standoffs with New York colonial authorities, who sought, unsuccessfully, to assert New York's grants in Vermont which conflicted with New Hampshire's land grants. When the Revolutionary War began, Garrett fought in the Battle of Ticonderoga where Allen's Green Mountain Boys played a major role in capturing the strategically crucial Fort Ticonderoga near Lake George in upstate New York. Andrew and Stephen Garrett were largely inactive for the rest of the conflict, during which Vermont declared itself independent and became a semi-neutral state acting as a haven for British and colonial deserters. Andrew and Stephen preferred to explore the coastal plain around Lake Champlain, moving upwards towards Burlington which by the late 1770s was home to barely five families. As thus, Andrew and Stephen Garrett were amongst the earliest settlers of Burlington when it was organized as a town in 1785.

Andrew Garrett married Rose-Anne Lawrence, another early Burlington settler, in 1781. Their first and only child, Ethan Lawrence, was born in 1782. Andrew died of pneumonia at age 59 in 1806, by which time Ethan Lawrence had married and already had one child (Laura, b. 1804). Ethan Lawrence, an intelligent and shrewd man, became a well-off merchant when Burlington, benefiting from its lakefront location, became a major centre for trade in the early nineteenth century. His only son, Andrew Jr., was born in 1808 when he was 26.

Ethan Lawrence, a Federalist, opposed the War of 1812 which he described as a "misguided and stupid attempt... by the foolish Virginia plantocracy... to further their gains while destroying New England's economy... perhaps intentionally". Ethan Lawrence's opposition to the war gained him fame in Federalist circles in 1812 and 1814, but whatever political ambitions he had were destroyed following the end of the conflict. As a merchant, he profited from the opening of the Champlain Canal in 1823 which linked Lake Champlain to the Hudson (and later the Erie Canal in 1825).

Andrew Garrett Jr. was educated at the University of Vermont and integrated his father's business in 1830 and took it over following his father's retirement in 1839 (Ethan Lawrence died at 63, in 1845). He took a deep interest in railroads, which he saw as the future for transportation. He welcomed the inauguration of the Central Vermont Railway (CVR) in 1848. The CVR's construction greatly helped Garrett's business, and allowed him to become the predominant merchant in Burlington by 1850 controlling a local trade empire with relations to the business milieus of Montreal, New York and Boston. He acquired significant shares in the CVR, which further solidified his standing in Vermont economic and political milieus. An early supporter of the Republican Party, he supported Lincoln in 1860 and all other Republican local and federal candidates to his death in 1876 at age 68.

Andrew Garrett Jr. had three children, including two sons: George, born in 1840 and Matthew, born in 1843. George was killed at Gettysburg in 1863, where he was in the 5th Vermont Infantry. Andrew Garrett Jr's relations with Governor Erastus Fairbanks had allowed Matthew, who was 18 in 1861, to avoid military service.

Matthew Garrett acquired his father's shares in the CVR following his father's death in 1876, as well as his father's profitable business which had expanded to own various mills in northwestern Vermont. The Garrett family, buoyed by railway interests, trade links with Canada and the northeastern states and manufacturing interests were the dominant family of Burlington in 1876. Unfortunately, Andrew Jr. would go down as the Garrett's family man of vision and intelligence because Matthew, an incompetent bookkeeper as well as a womanizer and alcoholic, managed to destroy 80% of his family's fortune by the 1880s. By the time his first and only son, William, was born in 1883, he had managed to destroy his family's reputation and standing in the Burlington economic elite. He never enjoyed his father's close links with the Republican political establishment. He was particularly disliked by Governor Samuel E. Pingree (1884-1886), a Civil War veteran, who viewed Matthew as a lazy, drunk coward.

Matthew Garrett, despite being an alcoholic, managed to live until the age of 69, dying in 1912. During that time, he resisted his son William's attempt to take over the dwindling family business and continued to flush the family's remaining fortune down the drain through various lavish expenses such as expensive hunting trips to Wyoming. To pay for his lavish expenses, he sold his shares in the CVR as well as the family's mills in Winooski and Essex Junction. In the turn of the century Burlington, the Garrett family was a sorry shadow of its past self and had totally lost the position of prominence enjoyed by Andrew Garrett in the antebellum era and early Gilded Age. William took over the ruins of the business in 1912, but after attempts to rejuvenate it failed, he sold the remnants of the Garrett family business in 1917. William Garrett married Mary Stevens (b. 1890) in 1915.

Christopher Andrew Garrett was born in Burlington, Vermont on July 23, 1918.

[Hash]

Christopher Andrew Garrett was born in Burlington, Vermont on July 23, 1918. Like his father, but most unlike his grandfather, he was an intelligent child who had a profound interest in politics and history. Unlike most of his recent ancestors, he was not groomed to take over the family's old business for the sole reason that it didn't exist anymore. His father had sold the remnants of it in 1917, one year before Chris was born.

Chris attended public school in Burlington, which represented how far his family had fallen given that his father and grandfather had attended prestigious private schools in Boston. Still, Christopher's academic success would get him into the University of Vermont in Burlington in 1936, where he majored in political science with a minor in American history. Entering university in the wake of Franklin D. Roosevelt's landslide reelection in 1936, Christopher closely identified with the New Deal and the Roosevelt coalition despite the fact that Vermont had been one of the two states to vote Republican over Roosevelt in 1936.

Ironically, Christopher developed a deep interest in antebellum and Civil War era American history and also became virulently anti-Southerner. While he was slightly conflicted by the fact that racist Dixiecrats were an integral part of the New Deal Coalition, he continued to identified with the Democratic Party because of the New Deal and later because of the war in Europe, which he strongly supported. Christopher was active in the weak and small Vermont Democratic Party, and campaigned for Roosevelt in 1940 and 1944.

Christopher finally graduated from university in 1944 and became a professor of political science at his alma mater in 1946. His teaching career wouldn't last long, however, as he got drawn back into politics by the 1948 presidential election during which he actively campaigned for Truman and other Vermont Democratic candidates. However, with a bare 37%, Vermont was Truman's worst state outside the South and Vermont Democrats did badly, as always. Yet, Truman was reelected and Garrett was particularly ecstatic about the fact that he had done so without winning four of the Solid South states. He later commented "we can win, we have won... without those Southern reactionary dickheads".

Christopher Garrett had met Lucie Hill Jefferson while vacationing in Stowe in the winter of 1947. Lucie, the daughter of a Burlington lawyer, had attended Champlain College. The two moved in together in a small apartment in Burlington, and they finally married in 1949.

Garrett's career in academia had suffered from his active involvement in the 1948 election, which didn't go down well with the University of Vermont's largely Republican leadership and his left-wing viewpoints were not welcome in an era marked by the Red Scare and McCarthyism. Yet, Garrett refused to desist from teaching his students Marxist theory. He later wrote "one day, hopefully... the bunch of idiots and Southern reactionary douches... will understand that Marxist theory is not equal to communist ideology [...] one day somebody will be bothered to realized that a Marxist perspective on history isn't the same as a Marxist ideology...". In April 1950, at the end of the winter semester, the University leadership told him that his teaching contract would not be renewed for the fall semester.

In the summer of 1950, Garrett was approached by the Vermont Democratic Party about a run for the Vermont House of Representatives in  Burlington. Vermont's lower house was a dictionary definition of malapportionment, with each town electing one member, regardless of population. Burlington's 35,000 inhabitants weighed as much in the House as a town with 40 people in the Northeast Kingdom. The Republican-held seat in Burlington was thought to be vulnerable because the incumbent Representative had been embroiled in a corruption scandal over the past two years. When the corrupt Representative in question won renomination narrowly, Garrett agreed to jump into the race.

The campaign was tough, and the Republicans painted Garrett as an "angry Marxist professor" who would be out of touch with Burlington if elected. Garrett responded angrily, denouncing the corruption of the incumbent and vowing a "New Deal for Vermont". Garrett also seized on the issue of Burlington's blatant under-representation in the House, attacking the Republican Party for clinging to a "tradition of the 1700s" by blocking re-apportionment.

Chittenden County: Burlington district, Vermont House of Representatives election, 1950
Christopher A. Garrett (D) 50.09%
Rep. Emory T. Smith (R) 49.91%

Garrett's narrow victory had been the only bright spot for Vermont Democrats that year, whose legislative caucus dwindled to a mere 36 out of 246. Garrett and his wife moved to Montpelier in December 1950 for the start of the session in January 1951.

note: the name of the Republican Representative is fictional, as is that of the number of Democrats in the House (though there were 246 seats).

[Hash]

So far so good, but I dont think Douches, and Dickheads were words back then. This guy is worse then McCain when it comes to anger....

I'm not sure, so I put down "he later said/wrote"

[Hash]

State Representative: 1951-1956

Christopher A. Garrett entered the Vermont House of Representatives in January 1951 as the member of the minority Democratic caucus. And for a minority caucus, it really was a minority: Democrats held a mere 15% of seats in the House. As a result, Democrats were absent from a majority of committees and had no leverage. Some longtime Democratic Representatives had gotten friendly with the Republican house leaders, but the Republican leadership (and even the Democratic old guard) looked down upon the new 32-year old Representative from Burlington as a young, radical and “probable Red”. It was thus no surprise that Garrett was kept out of the major committees, being assigned to a useless committee on fishing in Lake Champlain which was widely known to be a dump for young representatives which had yet to prove themselves.

The climate was not favourable to Garrett, who hoped to make a mark on the House. In March 1951, a private bill he sponsored was defeated in a lopsided vote. In session, the House leadership gave him a seat in the back, or “the pitch” of the chamber. Being shunned pissed Garrett off, and led him to take up drinking like his grandfather had always done in times of depression. His wife, meanwhile, hated life in Montpelier, which she described as "five houses in the middle of goddamn nowhere" and longed to return to Burlington. She was peeved at the fact that she and Christopher were shunned from social events organized by other Representatives, and she insisted that Christopher "stand up to those old fools... and show them what a Garrett is made of". However, Chris refused, preferring instead his new drinking habits which annoyed her conservative puritan nature. Bored in Montpelier and in a constant feud with her absent-minded husband, she moved back to Burlington alone in February 1952. Christopher was thus left alone in Montpelier, with his only real friend being his bottles of whiskey and rum.

Christopher, a slick maneuverer, however, decided that he would not let himself slide down the path of obscurity and took matters into his own hands. Faced with Republicans who distrusted the young professor and career Democrats who were wary of his ambitions, the field was ridden with obstacles. However, he managed to slowly build up a base of supporters around himself. First, he befriended other members of the small Democratic caucus in the House. Second, and most importantly, he came on good terms with the Republican leadership in the House.

Garrett's work to build himself a base in early 1952 threatened to come undone in the 1952 elections. Former Representative Emory T. Smith, acquitted of all wrongdoing in late 1951, staged a comeback to his old seat. Smith held a deep grudge against Garrett, whom he suspected of being a communist who had 'stolen' "his" seat. Garrett never had established a deep footing in his district, and his constituent services were mediocre to say the least. Furthermore, few voters saw it as advantageous to them to be represented by a member of a tiny minority caucus, especially when Smith had been known to be a top pork-barrel spender. Stump speech after stump speech, Garrett's message about the need for "a source of opposition... to what is in effect a one-party state" failed to work. Furthermore, Dwight Eisenhower's coattails in Vermont (likely to be his best state) clearly threatened him.

At last, Garrett found his voice when he took on the cause of "one man, one vote", a principle which was not respected in Vermont, where rural areas were overrepresented in the House vis-a-vis urban areas. He started campaigning on a message asking for a "fair deal for Vermont's cities" and attacking Smith on his reluctance to take on the "entrenched rural interests of the Republican Party". He successfully managed to paint Smith as a party hack, who feared breaking with the Republican Party's rural base and who wasn't giving Burlington its fair deal. Ironically, Smith's career-long pork barrel spending was forgotten as Garrett seized the upper hand in the campaign in October 1952.

Chittenden County: Burlington district, Vermont House of Representatives election, 1952
Rep. Christopher A. Garrett (D) 51.16%
Fmr. Rep. Emory T. Smith (R) 48.84%

Garrett's reelection allowed him to continue his work. The election season had been bad to Democrats again, who lost 5 seats in the House. Notably, the longtime Democratic minority leader who hated the upstart Garrett had lost his seat in Grande Isle. This opened a power vacuum within the 31-seat Democratic caucus, a power vacuum which played right into Garrett's hands. In December 1952, Garrett was elected Democratic minority leader.

The campaign had reunited him with his wife, who was now happy to be alongside a sober rising star in the State House. Their first child, Ethan Lawrence Jr., was born in October 1953 when Garrett was 35.

As Democratic minority leader, he befriended Republican Representative Consuelo Bailey, who became the first women Speaker of the House in January 1953 after three ballots. Garrett's good relations with Bailey helped him win an assignment to the higher profile Transportation Committee. The wily Garrett used the Transportation Committee to build up a network of support across Vermont, notably through becoming a strong advocate for small towns who demanded that the state routes be updated. Garrett started visiting numerous counties through northern Vermont, which helped him build up a small grassroots network. At the same time, he upgraded his constituent services in Burlington.

The 1953-1954 session was good to Garrett, whose standing within the caucus was assured and whose star was rising in the House as a whole. Only three years since he first won, he had already managed to establish himself as the Vermont Democratic Party's dominant figure, though admittedly that wasn't a hard feat in a party whose local membership could fit into a phone booth. He was pressured by some figures within the party to step it up and run for State Senate, so he could attempt to follow the Republican path to the top: Representative, Senator, Lt. Governor, Governor, US Representative and US Senator. However, Garrett was shaky with the idea of facing a tough campaign for State Senate and was finally dissuaded by his wife who enjoyed Garrett's high profile in Montpelier, which allowed her inclusion in the small social circles of the state capital. Garrett filed to run for a third term in the 1954, and finally faced a rather easy campaign against Republican candidate James Robert Lynn, a Burlington lawyer (whose firm was the direct rival to his wife's father's law firm). Garrett, playing on his power, experience and constituent outreach, was easily reelected in November 1954.

Chittenden County: Burlington district, Vermont House of Representatives election, 1954
Rep. Christopher A. Garrett (D) 55.63%
James R. Lynn (R) 44.37%

Garrett won another promotion in January 1955 when he got an assignment to the powerful state Ways and Means Committee. He was the only Democrat on the powerful committee, where his star was somewhat abated by the career politicians of the Republican Party who controlled the state's wallet. As a member of the Ways and Means Committee, Garrett established himself as a happy spender advocating high spending on new social programs and on road upgrades. His progressive economic views contrasted with that of the Republican Party's prudent spenders who were loath to "spend, spend, spend like there's no tomorrow".

His wife saw that her husband's assignment to the Ways and Means Committee was hurting his star power and thought that it was a Republican tactic to shove him aside. Furthermore, Lucie was pressuring him to get out the General Assembly, which she saw as a dusty body for old politicos and not fit for a young man of ambition such as Chris.

In late 1955, Christopher decided that he wasn't fit for the State House. He was taking a greater interest in national politics, and certainly had his eyes on things outside of Montpelier and in fact, outside of Vermont. A State House career would not do him any good, a State Senate run was risky and a loss could seal his career. His eyes turned to statewide offices. No Democrat, however, had won statewide since 1954. Furthermore, Eisenhower was favoured for reelection in 1956 and his coattails would doom any Democrat's chances in the most Republican state in the Union. However, Garrett calculated that if he ran for a statewide office, ran a good campaign testing his small base of support with small town mayors and county officials, he would lose but could still get a good result. He filed to run for Lt. Governor, and faced Alexander B.R. Drysdale in the Democratic primary. Using his star power within the small party, he won the primary with 4,115 votes against 3,551 for Drysdale. He faced Republican Attorney General Robert T. Stafford in the November general election.

[Hash]

So far so good, but I dont think Douches, and Dickheads were words back then. This guy is worse then McCain when it comes to anger....

I'm not sure, so I put down "he later said/wrote"

Congress in 1950? So he is going to be with Ford, Nixon, Kennedy, and a whole host of future 70's era Senators..This is going to be exciting!

I was mistaken, but, the generation who entered politics in the 50's were the ones who had alot of effect on my favorite era-The 70's!

Don't worry, Garrett will play a major role in the '70s

[Hash]

September 5, 1956
Garrett campaign rally
Burlington, Vermont

GARRETT: I’m running to offer the people of Vermont a true choice… I’m running not just to be the token opponent to the Republican State, but rather to provide, for the first time in a long time, a real and competent alternative to the people of Vermont.

[…] Let me ask you, my friends, what have the Republican Party done for us? Not much, in reality. They’ve been happy to count on Vermont as the last bulwark of Republicanism, but it hasn’t done anything for the people of Vermont.

[…] I’m running to be Lt. Governor, to serve the people of Vermont as best I can if elected Lt. Governor… I’m not after this office to use it as a stepping stone, as it has always been for Republican politicians for whom Lt. Governor is only a stepping stone in the timeless cycle. They’re in this for their pockets. I’m in this for the people of Vermont!

[…] I urge you, my friends, to give us a chance. Since 1854, yes, 1854, my friends, all statewide officeholders in Vermont have been Republicans. That’s one hundred and two years. I think you’ll all agree that one hundred and two years of one party rule is way too much… Give us a chance so that we can finally give Vermont a chance.

September 8, 1956
Stafford campaign rally
Rutland, Vermont

STAFFORD: What has the Republican Party done for Vermont, you ask? They’ve made Vermont the great state it is. A strong, free and prosperous state which stands at the forefront of America. That’s what we’ve done for Vermont, and that’s what we’ll continue doing.

[…] I’ve served Vermont as Attorney General for the past two years. I’ve taken on some tough cases… What has Mr. Garrett done for Vermont? He entrenched himself in the State House, and don’t let his rhetoric fool you my friends, because he’s only running for this office to raise his profile. Does he really care about the office of Lt. Governor and the people of Vermont? No. Rather, he cares about his profile and, mark my words, he’ll do anything to get to the top. This run is for him nothing but an opportunity… to further raise his star.

[…] One hundred and two years. I’d like to thank Mr. Garrett for telling you how long we’ve served this state and ensured its progress.

 […] What revolts me, rather, is the hypocrisy of Mr. Garrett and the Democratic Party. They act appalled in front of our service to Vermont, and they fake outrage in front of what they call a “one party state”. I’ll tell Mr. Garrett what a one party state is. It’s Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina and the whole Deep South. We may dominate Vermont politics, but we do it through popular will... not vote rigging, lynchings and intimidation… We hold our power here through the popular will of the people of Vermont… Mr. Garrett’s colleagues in the South hold their power through the gun and the whip.

[Hash]

Campaign for Office: 1956

Garrett knew that he was facing an uphill contest for office, and that he had no chance at winning. Stafford was a popular, competent and experienced liberal Republican who was a far stronger candidate than Garrett. Garrett’s campaign was rather weak, asking voters to break the Republican Party’s monopoly on power and drawing attention to the traditional cycle of Vermont Republican politicians seeking higher office. However, his goal was exactly the contrary of what he said in public, and Stafford’s attacks were correct. Garrett was using this campaign as a way to raise his name notoriety, continue to build up his power base in Vermont politics and use the race as a stepping stone towards a run for higher office. He didn’t know which office yet, but he had ambitions which were unusual for a Vermont Democrat.

Garrett’s line of attack was hurt when Stafford turned the one-party state argument against him, drawing voters’ attention to the issue of civil rights in the Dixiecrat-dominated Solid South. Though Garrett had always hated the reactionary Dixiecrat machine, his association with the Democratic Party hurt him in Vermont. Stafford’s use of the Dixiecrats to counter Garrett’s argument against the Republican Party’s hegemony in Vermont deeply angered Garrett, who in private lashed out angrily at the Dixiecrats as “a bunch of racist poltroons whose opportunistic association… with the party of Roosevelt and Truman… hurts every single Democrat who isn’t a goddamn Southerner”. On the campaign trail, Garrett publicly expressed his deep hatred of racism, lynching and the reactionary Dixiecrat machine but he was uncomfortable on the topic which had been totally turned against him by Garrett.

By mid-October, Garrett’s campaign was in shambles. He had run out of money, his speeches were drawing dwindling crowds and he couldn’t find his voice. His wife urged him to turn nasty and be aggressive on Stafford and the Republicans. He personally was on the verge of depression, considered dropping out and started drinking again.

By late October, when he got his act together again, Garrett took his wife’s advice to be aggressive and he mounted a whirlwind tour of Vermont. Hoping in a pickup truck, he raced through Vermont’s patchwork of quaint mountain towns, a lot of which had never been targeted by any statewide campaign. His speeches focused on local issues, emphasizing his support for better roads and better education, and calling out the Republican state government on the rural underdevelopment of many isolated areas in the Green Mountains. Garrett had managed to find his voice again, albeit very late in the campaign. His whirlwind tour of Vermont’s small villages was rather successful and campaign donations picked up again and he quit drinking. He was even overshadowing the campaigns of other statewide Democrats, notably gubernatorial candidate E. Frank Branon who had managed to win 47.7% against Republican candidate Joseph B. Johnson in 1954. Garrett’s goal, however, was to do exactly that – overshadow other party candidates and win the party’s best result of all statewide Democratic candidates.

Garrett’s late whirlwind tour of Vermont helped his campaign and caught Stafford’s campaign off guard. Stafford and other traditional Republican candidates had usually led low-key campaigns which rarely reached out to rural villages which were, it was true, rock-solidly Republican. It was a bit too late for Stafford to do the same, and he didn’t need to do so because he, as a Republican, was still assured to win. In addition, the Republican Party was solidly implanted throughout Vermont while the Democrats were totally absent from most of Vermont outside of Burlington and places such as Swanton or Grande Isle. Garrett’s whirlwind tour was a method for him to build up his notoriety in rural areas, and attempt to cultivate a local grassroots support base throughout the state. Yet, he still lacked Stafford’s local infrastructure and had absolutely no GOTV efforts outside of Burlington.

On November 5, the day before Election Day, the Burlington Free Press wrote about Garrett’s campaign that “it was, in its ultimate days, one of the strongest Democratic campaigns in the state… it is certainly not unforeseeable to see it come close, and while winning the first statewide election for the Democratic Party in Vermont since the 1850s remains out of reach, a good showing for State Representative Garrett will certainly help him if he has further national ambitions in 1958 and 1960…”

ok, folks, that's all for this morning but I'm on a roll and eager to get to the fun parts

[Hash]

Vermont Lt. Governor election, 1956
Attorney General Robert T. Stafford (R) 57.02%
State Rep. Christopher A. Garrett (D) 42.98%



Garrett lost by 14 points, but his result was viewed as a success for a variety of reasons. In a bad year for Vermont Democrats, he won the best result of all Democratic candidates for statewide office (only Branon won over 40% running for governor, all other won under 40%) and obviously he far outperformed Adlai Stevenson's paltry 27.81% in the presidential race (the worst result for a presidential Democrat since 1924). Furthermore, he had proved his appeal to low-lying rural areas on Lake Champlain, winning Burlington narrowly but also doing surprisingly well for a Democrat in the rock-ribbed Republican rural areas of northern Vermont.


November 6, 1956
Garrett Concession Speech
Burlington, Vermont

My fellow Vermonters... [...] We have come closer than anybody would have dared predict a month ago, and you all turned around what was, I admit freely, a wreck less than three weeks ago, into a campaign like no other in the history of the Vermont Democratic Party... Tonight, we have been defeated... Fortunately for us Vermont Democrats, it is a repetitive thing... [...] I wish to offer my congratulations to Mr. Robert Stafford, our next Lieutenant Governor...

[...] For this unforgettable fight, I wish to offer my most profound and sincere thanks to my family and friends but also to all those who made this campaign one which got us noticed like never before... and one which took us... to nearly every small town in Vermont... too often forgotten or taken for granted by those career politicians in Montpelier...

[...] Throughout this campaign, I had the opportunity to meet people of all horizons across this state... people who have never been addressed personally by politicians... they've shared with us our stories... their hopes... and their goals for the future... I've learned like never before, and I've benefited from an experience which will be precious... And

[...] We've proven again that this state isn't as Republican as pundits think, and one day this state will elect a Democrat. And it won't be our children who will elect that man or woman, but rather it will be us who will elect that man or woman. And, my friends, mark my words, it will be soon and I'll make sure that it will be soon!

[...] This is but a setback, this is but the beginning, fellow Vermonters, in our common battle to offer a real alternative to Vermont... to break the monopoly of the Republican Party and to end the dominance of old, rotting career politicians... who only use statewide office as stepping stones... to higher federal office.

[...] Do not lose hope... for I vow to continue the fight... and I hope you do too... We'll be back!

[Hash]

*move forward in time*

January 9, 1958
Stephen P. Thomas' (Chairman of the VT Democratic Party) cottage
Stowe, Vermont

Garrett: Good morning Stephen. Happy new year.
Thomas: Thanks, Chris. Have a seat over there, I need to talk to you about something. But first, how's life Chris?
Garrett: Well, you know, I got back into teaching political science at UVT back in January last year, and they renewed me again in September and I'm going back to teaching again this semester.
Thomas: What about politics, Chris?
Garrett: I don't know Stephen, I'm waiting for the best moment to jump back in. I want to, but really this time I need to win and you sure as hell know that no Democrat can win statewide in Vermont. I might move to New York or something if I want to have a real career.
Thomas: Don't, Chris. I've got something to propose to you. You know, it's a certainty in Montpelier circles that Representative Prouty will move up to Senate in November, leaving that House seat open.
Garrett: So? Republicans will find somebody to run for it and all will be fine. Whose turn is it in the cycle?
Thomas: Technically, Governor Johnson would run for it but he's retiring fully, meaning that the cycle is now broken.
Garrett: Look, Steve, you know that nobody can win this thing without being a Republican. It's been that way since my goddamn grandfather was a kid.
Thomas: You never know, Steve. It's a midterm election, and there's the recession which is definitely gonna hurt Republicans around the country.
Garrett: Look, in '32, when we took 97 seats altogether, the Republicans got 64% of the vote here.
Thomas: That was in '32, things were different here.
Garrett: I can't see how things were any different. Look, two years ago, stupid egghead got a f***king creaming over here. Nobody can win. That's it. Just get some lamb to go out and run for it.
Thomas: Chris, you're the best we've got. Your 1956 campaign got us three countries and 43% and was by far the best we did in '56. Your campaign got noticed by the Free Press and your tour was a blowout success.
Garrett: I still lost by 14 points.
Thomas: ... in a bad year for us. This year is going to be different. The Republicans have no anointed candidate now for the House.
Garrett: How?
Thomas: Former Governor Harold Arthur is going to probably run, but there's little backing for him and he's facing a divided primary battle like never before.
Garrett: Republicans have had divided primaries before. Look, Steve, the bottom line is that this isn't like last time. I'm not running to get known, I need to run to win unless I fancy spending my entire life teaching a bunch of kids. And running for the House, Governor, dog catcher or what have you won't guarantee me a win, far from it. I don't think I'm the man who can win statewide for the first time since goddamn 1852 or something.
Thomas: I believe you are, Chris. Your campaign was phenomenal in 1956.
Garrett: For the love of God, Steve, you know as well as anybody else that I was pissing drunk all of October and it wasn't until Lucie stole my whiskey bottle that I got the act together.
Thomas: But you got that act together, you know it. You went from a pitiful wreck to running one of the best end of campaign operations we'd ever gotten. Look, sure it's uphill and sure you need a perfect storm...
Garrett: I'd need a goddamn hurricane, not just a storm.
Thomas: Yes, a perfect hurricane... if the Republicans get a divided primary, that'll leave bad blood. You're a good campaigner, and you'd have all the resources of the party behind you if you ran.
Garrett: Big f***cking deal. The party has as much cash as a Chinese peasant.
Thomas: I think you're underestimating us, Chris.
Garrett: Maybe, but if I run, I need loads of cash and I need operation on the ground like never before.
Thomas: if you run? You're not refusing it anymore, you see.
Garrett: Yes, yes. If I run. I need cash, loads of it. Lucie's fortune won't pay for my campaigns forever.
Thomas: Talking of Lucie, would she back you if you ran?
Garrett: She wants me to run for anything, and certainly she'd love to go to DC... not that I'd ever win.
Thomas: Stop downplaying your chances.
Garrett: Look, Steve. I'll tell you what. I'll consider running once the Republican primary gets under way and once we can see what the hell comes out of that.
Thomas: I appreciate that, Steve. If you run, we'll throw it all behind you.

[Hash]

Article from the Burlington Free Press
February 10, 1958

DIVISE GOP PRIMARY LOOMING
The retirement of Rep. Winston L. Prouty (R-Newport), in office since 1950, to run for Senate in November opens up Vermont’s sole at-large seat. In the past, the incumbent Governor was traditionally the favourite to take Vermont’s seat in the House, but this year, Governor Johnson is retiring from office without signaling any interest in running for Congress.

Governor Johnson’s decision not to seek the seat means that there is no frontrunner in the Republican primary, considered tantamount to election given that only Republicans have represented Vermont in the House since 1881.
 
The top Republican contender to date is presumed to be former Governor Harold J. Arthur, a conservative who served as Governor in 1950 and was defeated in the 1950 Republican primary for the same House seat by the liberal Prouty. However, Arthur’s low notoriety leaves him with a small base and he has been out of office since January 1951. He thus cannot be considered to be a frontrunner.

Other lesser-known potential candidates for Prouty’s House seat include Windham County attorney Luke Crispe, Burlington Mayor C. Douglas Cairns and constitutional scholar Harris E. Thurber of Middlebury. This divisive primary may generate a battle divided along regional lines, but also along traditional ideological fault lines with Arthur favoured by the conservatives and Crispe favoured by liberals such as Senator George Aiken.

There is a chance that Democrats could exploit this potentially divisive primary as they look towards making important gains nation-wide in November, but in Vermont it would be more than an uphill fight for a Democrat given that no Democrat has won statewide since the 1850s. Former State Representative Christopher A. Garrett (D-Burlington), who lost to Robert Stafford (R-Rutland) in the 1956 lieutenant gubernatorial contest, is the party’s main contender but has yet to indicate interest.

[Hash]

March 17, 1958
Phone conversation between C. Garrett and S. Thomas

Garrett: You called for me?
Thomas: Yes, Chris. Where are you at on your reflections?
Garrett: For November?
Thomas: Yes, of course.
Garrett: I don't know. I'm still shaky about this given that I have a tiny chance of pulling it out and this is make-or-break for my career in politics as a Democrat.
Thomas: I have reason to think that you have more than a token chance, Chris.
Garrett: You say that since January. What gives?
Thomas: The Republicans. All their candidates are weak, flawed like never before. This isn't a mere liberal versus conservatives primary, but rather a primary between piss-poor candidates like they've never had.
Garrett: Really? They've got a former Governor on one hand and an attorney with Aiken's backing on the other.
Thomas: But Arthur isn't well liked by the liberals and he's been out of it for like seven years now and has totally lost his base within the party... and at the other hand Crispe has a penchant for the bottle and Aiken certainly isn't pulling rabbits out of a hat to to help him...
Garrett: Look, Steve, they've had their bad candidates and bad fights in the past; they inevitably win the general
Thomas: You need to go back a longtime to have a battle between a guy who's been out of it since 1951 and a liberal lacking liberal support and with a bad penchant for intoxication.
Garrett: I didn't know it was that bad...
Thomas: It is, and our sources are telling us that if Arthur wins the primary, you'll be getting a lot of liberals who won't be doing much to help him to say the least...
Garrett: Is Arthur the favourite to win? The conservatives are a minority.
Thomas: Actually, he is. He has the most notoriety statewide against an attorney, a mayor and some scholar... and the liberals are split between Crispe and Cairns... and there aren't any runoffs here...
Garrett: This is interesting, Steve... What would you say our chances are?
Thomas: They're still nothing without you... Look, the only guy besides you who wants to run here is one William Meyer, and he's a freaking communist. If you run, as I've always said, you've got all our backing...
Garrett: Hmm....
Thomas:  My recommendation is, if you're gonna go for gold, go for it right now so you can be out there in the villages while the Republicans are out there killing themselves, and start building that machine right away and work out all your old support bases...
Garrett: Okay, fine, Steve. I'm in.
Thomas: YES!

[Hash]

March 23, 1958
Garrett campaign event
Swanton, Vermont

Fellow Vermonters

I come forth to you today... to announce to you that I am Christopher Garrett, and I'm a candidate for United States Representative from the great state of Vermont!

When our country is faced with some of the toughest times since the end of the War... when unemployment is reaching unprecedented heights... when our farms are going out of business... and when our families are struggling every day... It's time for change. It's time for something new.

And nowhere is that as true as in Vermont... It's time to finally break the monopoly of the archaic Republican Party... so powerful that it confounds the government of the state with the party... and so powerful that it is impotent in the face of suffering felt by people all across the state... A party so powerful that it plays its petty politics out there in the open, in blatant disrespect to the great people of Vermont... To this, my friends, we must say, loud and clear, Stop. Your party isn't the state... your constituents are not the Vermont Republican Committee... but rather the people of Vermont!

Government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from this earth... It is the creed of our democracy, it is the cornerstone of our values... Let us defend us the government of, by and for the people before it is further confounded to mean government, of, by and for the... Vermont Republican elites...

[...] Our farmers are faced by a Secretary of Agriculture who has declared war on them and their way of life... The government wants to kill our farmers, the very farmers who were at the core of our republic, in the name of some broader objectives... To that, it is our duty to stand up and fight for our family farms, for our farms and for all those... men and women... who, everyday, rain or shine... work hard... to make our country the great country it is... We cannot, as Vermonters, as Americans, let these men and women... perish from this earth... [...] As your representative... I vow to defend our farmers... I vow to fight for federal subsidies to our farmers... to protect their livelihood...

[...] Our families are struggling... We're struggling to make ends meet... We hardly see the end of that tunnel... Everyday, across America and Vermont, you'll meet families... who must struggle to put food on the table... for their children... Is this, my friends, the American dream? ... It isn't. What have our Republican representatives done for Vermonters? What has the Republican executive done for Americans? I couldn't tell you... because they haven't done anything... As your representative, I vow to ensure that no family will go hungry... that no family should have to face the tears, hardships and discouragement of unemployment... I'll stand up for Vermont, I'll stand up for America. I'll stand up for the families which make our country great... and not for the special interests, big businesses or for the wallets of Wall Street... Instead of overthrowing governments in other countries... this government should feed Americans...

[...] This land, my friends, is our land... it's my land... it's everybody's land... My ancestors came to Vermont by 1750... They worked the land, they made their living on the frontier of Vermont... my great-great grandfather worked up the ladder... and achieved the American dream... I'm proud of this land, I'm proud of my ancestors... I'm proud of my state... And we've come to take it back!

Thank you, God bless you and God bless Vermont!

[Hash]

Just a quick back story question: Did Garrett serve in WWII?

No, as I wrote, Garrett was in university by 1936.

[Hash]

Announcement to Primary: March - September 1958

Christopher Garrett had the advantage of facing no opposition in the Democratic primary. His only potential rival, William H. Meyer, a socialist, announced that he would not run. Therefore, Garrett could work on building up his base and building a GOTV operation as early as March, while Republicans fought amongst themselves until the primary in September.

The Democratic Party in Vermont was still very weak, had a small war chest which couldn't provide for a strong campaign and it totally lacked organization in much of rural Vermont. Furthermore, the DCCC had other races to focus on and never wished to get involved in a rather irrelevant contest in Vermont which, in addition, it doubted it could win. Garrett himself had no personal war chest of his own to rely on, though his wife, Lucie, had some family money of her own and her own father, a prominent lawyer, could provide Garrett's campaign with funds. To fund his campaign, Garrett used almost all the resources of the State Democratic Committee, controlled by his friend and party boss Stephen Thomas. But he also organized a series of $2 lunches throughout Vermont starting in late May and running through August both to raise funds and as a chance to meet voters (and lay groundwork for a GOTV machine).

In May 1958, Garrett's profile received a major boost when he attended a banquet organized by Senator John F. Kennedy (D-MA) in Boston. Garrett had a positive opinion of Kennedy by their first meeting at that banquet, and Garrett was introduced to the crowd by Kennedy. Kennedy's introduction of Garrett got Garrett significant media coverage in Vermont and New England, though the DCCC did not channel funds to Garrett's campaign.

Starting in April, Garrett kicked off a new version of his 1956 whirlwind tour of the state, reaching out to heavily Republican rural areas throughout the state.

Garrett still had a base of local contacts, mostly in northern Vermont, from his days as a state representative when he served on the Transportation Committee. His local contacts included local politicians, retired local politicians, major local farmers or lobbyists and other active member of the local civil society. In Burlington, a traditional Democratic base, Garrett himself was well known and his association to Lucie Jefferson's father gave him a further boost. Garrett used his local connections in rural areas and his personal notoriety in Burlington to organize a strong network of local volunteers and supporters who could compete with the Republican Party's powerful GOTV machine. However, Garrett said:

[...] Our operation on the ground was good, but it was never the strong Republican base which had strong grassroots and a huge network of supporters in all villages which was diffused by the small town feel which the Republicans had but which us Democrats could never have dreamed of having. [...] No matter how many lunches we did, people liked us but they were still uneasy and our campaign knew that those folks weren't all definite supporters in November. [...] What we needed, we knew it since day 1 of the campaign, was a bloody Republican primary where the conservative [former Governor Harold J.] Arthur would win and where we could hope on taking a lot of liberal Republicans...
-Born to Campaign: My Love for Politics by Christopher A. Garrett, 1973.

Meanwhile, the Republicans faced a divided field which lacked a dominating figure. Former Governor Harold J. Arthur, a conservative, had the highest name recognition of all the candidates but his absence from electoral politics since 1951 as well as his conservatism hurt him. The strongest liberal candidate, attorney Luke Crispe failed to receive the support of Senator George Aiken and had been hurt by a campaign appearance where he appeared to be intoxicated. Burlington mayor C. Douglas Cairns was strong in Burlington but lacked any organization outside Chittenden County, which made him a weak contender. A split in the liberal base meant that Arthur was the favourite to win despite conservatives being a minority within the Vermont GOP. However, liberal Republicans were uneasy with the idea of a Arthur candidacy.

On September 9, 1958; Garrett won the Democratic nomination for the House unopposed but turnout remained low in the Democratic primaries (only 7000 voters turned out despite Garrett pushing for higher turnout). Nearly 48,000 Republicans turned out to vote in the closely fought House primaries. At first, it seemed as if Crispe would pull out a surprise win, but as the night went by final returns showed that Arthur won 30.2% against 29.8% for Crispe who was by far the strongest liberal candidate against Cairns (18.6%) and Thurber (13%). Crispe dominated in southeastern Vermont in his native Windham, while Arthur won in his native Burlington where Cairns placed second.

Gallup poll: September 15, 1958
09/09-14/58, 350 registered voters, +/-5.2% margin of error
Fmr. Governor Harold J. Arthur (R) 44%
Fmr. State Rep. Christopher A. Garrett (D) 39%
Undecided/refused 17%

[Hash]

September 25, 1958
Congressional Debate (excerpts)
Burlington, Vermont

Arthur: What we've got, my friends, is a university professor with no political experience who wants to represent us in the House of Representatives. What Vermont needs know is not a university professor who has spent his career in classrooms, but rather someone with the necessary experience and skills to represent Vermont in the House during a tough economic recession.
Garrett: While I'm amused by Mr. Arthur's will to classify university professors as inexperienced out-of-touch people amusing, it is a gross misrepresentation of my career. Unlike you, Mr. Arthur, I've spent the last years active in politics. I haven't spent the last seven years in retirement, only to come back at the opportunity to hold office again.
Arthur: Mr. Garrett, what political experience or inherent advantage does teaching in a university give you?
Garrett: A lot more than being retired for seven years, that's for sure. I've had the opportunity to interact with young men and women, to hear their aspirations, desires and hopes for the future, and it's been an invaluable experience for me. Because these young men and women are the next generation of Vermonters, and their aspirations must be heeded if we want to keep them involved in our democratic process.

[...]

Arthur: My friends, the truth is that Mr. Garrett is an unapologetic supporter of Marxism and the Soviet Union.
Garrett: My friends, the truth is that that isn't the truth. Anybody who knows me knows that I don't support the Soviet Union and that their means don't even justify their ends. Instead of waving the red card frantically, it'd be nice if Mr. Arthur could debate the issues instead of hurling false labels to his opponent.
Arthur: If you aren't a supporter of Moscow, Mr. Garrett, why do you teach your students Marxism?
Garrett: For the reason that Marxism is a major theory of political science and international relations, and that it has a major impact on the actions of states in modern global society. Is teaching our students the theories which impact global politics wrong? But, Mr. Arthur, as much as I'd love to debate Marxism with you, I really don't think that our farmers who struggle to provide to their families care much about the theoretical bases of Marxism.

[...]

Garrett: [...] My campaign, my friends, is about ending a monopoly on power by the Republican Party. It's time to change, now more than ever.
Arthur: It is, ultimately, up to the people to decide whether or not they want that change. And unlike in the states governed by Mr. Garrett's friends such as Governor Faubus, the people of Vermont live in a vibrant democracy. Really, does the candidate of the party of the racist Dixiecrats and Orval Faubus have a right to criticize one-party states?
Garrett: Governor Faubus is not my friend, because I think he's a racist reactionary and his rhetoric is un-American and if I had my way, he'd have no place in this party.
Arthur: Why do you associate with his party?
Garrett: Because he is not the representative of the Democratic Party, no more than you are the representative of the Republican Party.

[Hash]

Fall Colours: September - November 1958

Arthur's narrow primary win provided a major, albeit not immediate, boost to Garrett's campaign. Although all major Republican leaders voiced their support for Arthur, crucially no leading liberal went out of their way to campaign for him. Lt. Governor Robert Stafford, running for Governor, declined to campaign. Senator George Aiken likewise declined. Finally, the retiring Representative, Winston L. Prouty likewise did not campaign for Arthur. He received support from some conservative Republicans in and out of Vermont, but his campaign was clearly struggling to get the full and unambiguous support of the Vermont GOP's liberal majority.

Meanwhile, Garrett concluded his summer tour of Vermont and had managed to rack up an impressive sum of cash from all the $2 lunches he had held throughout the state during the summer. This impressive stash of cash allowed him to build a GOTV machine of his own in rural areas and Burlington. Cash, however, was not merely enough. Garrett's campaign decided to unambiguously directly target liberal Republicans in his stump speeches.

[...] What our state needs is not somebody who'll sit around in DC and do nothing for us, paying lip service to his constituents and honour the flawed dogmas of conservatism which equates to leaving those who struggles on the sideline. What we need is somebody who'll stand up for Vermont in DC, somebody who'll have a voice and above all somebody who'll do what's right for the people of Vermont and not what's right for his party.
-Garrett campaign rally, Bennington, VT; Oct. 5 1958

Garrett's campaign focused heavily on local issues and the local fallout of the 1958 recession in rural Vermont and promised to "give Vermont it's fair share" through legislation authorizing federal relief from struggling farmers and federal funding for farms. Where Garrett's rhetoric, however, really struck a chord was in his constant attacks on Arthur's absence from electoral politics since 1951.

[...] So, we have a man here, Governor Harold Arthur, who's been out of it since 1951... and all of a sudden he comes out of obscurity to tell us that not only he's there but that he wants to win an election again. I call that by it's name - opportunism. We need an honest congressman who's gonna go to D.C. to fight for his constituents and not to get more cash for his personal retirement bank account. We also need a congressman who's up to date on the issues facing Vermonters and not a congressman who has been out of it for seven years. [...] Really, Governor Arthur's candidacy is just the most egregious example of the Vermont Republican Party's confusion of state and party and, by consequence, its arrogant belief that it can just get anybody, old or new, to get public office... Let's show those guys that it's not how it works!
-Garrett campaign rally, Newport, VT; Oct. 16 1958

Garrett's campaign, however, did face problems. Arthur still had a well oiled network of friends in rural Vermont who could work the formidable GOP GOTV machine, and he could draw on a much deeper reservoir of money than Garrett could. Arthur skillfully made issues out of issues where Garrett was uncomfortable on. Despite Garrett's skilled answer in the debate, voters were still uneasy with a man who donned an image of an out-of-touch liberal intellectual. Being a university professor in Burlington didn't help, and neither did the well-publicized fact that he thought Marxist theory. Furthermore, Garrett made a faux-pas in October when he made a fool of himself while attempting to give off a populist 'down to earth' image while working a farm. Later in October, at the second debate, Garrett appeared weak on details and unable to give fully coherent answers on economic issues.

When you campaign on economic issues, you better know what the heck you're talking about! [...] Because Chris Garrett doesn't have a clue about what he's talking about, but instead he's rehashing the talking points of House Democrats all over the country and attempting to apply them to Vermont... Let me tell you what Chris Garrett is, folks, he's a city intellectual who tries and fails to be a populist and he's a university prof who should ask his own colleagues about economic issues rather than be campaigning on them!
-Arthur campaign rally, Hyde Park, VT; Oct. 30 1958

The effect of Arthur's final stump speech in Hyde Park was hard to discern. On one hand, many thought that he had effectively crippled Garrett by pointing out Garrett's lack of experience and knowledge on economic issues. On the other hand though, others thought that Arthur's seemingly arrogant attack on Garrett as having 'no clue' and being a 'city intellectual' could backfire on him. Garrett attempted to recover from his debate failure by going back on the offensive against Arthur, again attacking Arthur on his seven-year absence from elective office. However, by November 3 it still seemed that the race was Arthur's to lose and that Garrett was the underdog going into election day.

[Hash]

Questions/comments/dilemmas/quandaries?

[Hash]

Vermont's at-large congressional district election, 1958
Fmr. State Rep. Christopher A. Garrett (D) 51.05%
Fmr. Governor Harold J. Arthur (R) 48.95%



As an historic wave of Democratic success swept through Vermont, Christopher Garrett was elected to the US House representing Vermont, defeating Arthur by 2 points. Garrett won 65% in Chittenden County and 62% in Franklin County, an historic success for a Democrat. He also carried Grande Isle, Essex and Rutland. In rural Republican Vermont, he held the Republicans down considerably and managed to break 30% in such Republican strongholds like Lamoille. Garrett became the first Democrat to represent Vermont since the 1850s.

Despite a wave of Democratic success in the state, Garrett remained the only Democrat to have won though a Democrat won 49.7% in the gubernatorial race against Lt. Governor Robert Stafford, who became Governor.


November 4, 1958
Garrett victory speech
Burlington, Vermont

Fellow Vermonters... I cannot express in words my gratitude to you tonight and I cannot express how honoured I am to have been elected as your Congressman [...] I'll admit freely that only a few months ago, I was convinced that we had no chance... but you proved me and everybody else wrong, and for that, I say to you tonight, thank you from the bottom of my heart!

[...] Tonight is an historic night for the people of Vermont... You have broken over one hundred years of one-party domination in this state, and you have demanded change... As your congressman, I shall do my utmost to live up to the task you have elected me to, and I promise to never let you down.

[...] Certain people thought that they could be dragged out of their retirement... and come back unhindered to public office... after years of absence from public service... and to this affront to the values of government of, by and for the people you have said no, loud and clear... After tonight, politics in Vermont will never be the same!

[...] I shall go to Washington, and I'll show them what the Green Mountain Boys are capable of, even today! I shall fight for the people of Vermont... and not for the people of my party's back rooms... I shall fight for those who don't have a voice... I shall fight for those whose presence in our society has been forgotten, as to lay the foundations of a new American dream for all Vermonters... and all Americans... regardless of income, race, sex, region or religion.

[...] I offer my victory to the people of Vermont... and I thank them again for giving us a chance to change politics forever... I offer my thanks to all those men and women who worked on this campaign; to all those who knocked on doors, rain or shine; to all those who attended a million hot dog lunches throughout the summer with me... You made our long-shot dream a reality... and you are the architects of the change we shall build [...] I also thank my wife, Lucie; my young son, Ethan Lawrence; and my entire family... whose support was invaluable to me throughout my career...

[...] Thank you, God bless you and may God bless America and the great state of Vermont! Thank you!

[Hash]

Article from the Burlington Free Press
November 5, 1958

STATE ELECTS FIRST DEMOCRAT IN OVER 100 YEARS
BURLINGTON, VT. -- As Democrats made gains in yesterday's congressional midterm election, no gain was more shocking than the one they made right here in Vermont. Former State Representative Christopher Garrett (D-Burlington) defeated former Governor Harold Arthur (R-Burlington) by two percentage points to claim Vermont's sole seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Vermont had not elected a Democrat statewide for 102 years, before the Civil War.

Pundits had predicted Vermont's congressional contest might be close, but most did not predict that the Democrat would pull it off. In his victory speech, Mr. Garrett offered thanks to his supporters for breaking "over one hundred years of one-party domination in this state" and "demanding change"

Mr. Garrett's campaign had campaigned heavily on the Republican Party's domination of politics and on other local issues such as agriculture, but he had been hurt in the final days by questions over his knowledge of economic issues following statements made at a debate last week. In his victory speech, Mr. Garrett vowed to " fight for the people of Vermont, and not for the people of my party's back rooms" and further said that he would fight for "those who don't have a voice".

Republicans, who held all other statewide and federal offices up for election yesterday, made few comments on their candidate's defeat in public. Mr. Arthur himself quickly conceded the race to Mr. Garrett last night and offered his congratulations to the new congressman. Senator-elect Winston L. Prouty (R-Newport), who retired from this House seat to run for Senate, did likewise. But in private, certain Republicans have confided that they might have chosen the wrong candidate, one insider even going to say that they had made "the worst choice in years" in choosing the former Governor, who has been outside elective politics since 1951 and is unpopular with liberal Republicans.

Mr. Garrett, 40, was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives in 1950 and reelected twice before running, unsuccessfully, for Lieutenant Governor in 1956. Yet his candidacy served to enhance his local standing and win him the support of the small Vermont Democratic Party. Mr. Garrett, a university professor, is married and lives in Burlington with his wife and only child.


[...] Never the biggest optimist, I waited a long time on election night before going out to announce that I had won. Lucie had wanted me to go out early and make my victory speech, and she was frustrated by my cautiousness in doing so. Looking back even today, my victory came as a shock. [...] Arthur called me to concede, and at that point I decided I really should go out, given that he had conceded on his side. [...] Arthur was very friendly over the phone, way more than what I had seen of him in the debate, which has given me the personal impression that he was relieved that he had lost and that he didn't really want to go to D.C.

[...] Arthur had hammered me hard on economic issues a day or two before, and it had really gotten the whole team down; and on election day rumors of low turnout in my Burlington base didn't put our moods up.

[...] It's hard to say what caused my surprise victory, but I'd say that it'd have to be a mix of a good campaign and groundwork on our side and a bad candidate on the GOP's side which served to divide the base.
-Born to Campaign: My Love for Politics by Christopher A. Garrett, 1973.

[Hash]

Fantastic work so far. (How about some town maps, though? I would love to see if Garrett is winning Calais and Newfane. )

You'd be killing me. You can do them if you want, though !

I might do a town map when I get to a major election with Garrett.

[Hash]

Credit to homelycooking for this phenomenal map:

[Hash]

Introduction: Garrett in the 86th US Congress

Christopher Garrett moved in a house in suburban Washington in Maryland with his wife and child in late December 1958. Lucie Hill Garrett was pregnant when they moved to Maryland and the couple's second child, a girl named Samantha, was subsequently born in February 1959. Ethan Lawrence Jr, their first child now aged 5 (and 6 in October 1959) entered a private school in Maryland.

Garrett was not really noticed much in the team of freshmen and the wider Democratic caucus, aside from the inevitable human interest in the man that had ended 102 years of Republican dominance the Union's safest Republican state. He was assigned by the House leadership to the Committee on Agriculture, presided by Howard Cooley (D-NC). It was on the Agriculture Committee that Garrett met George McGovern (D-SD), reelected to his second term in the House in November and being shuffled into the Agriculture Committee after being in the Education and Labor Committee during the 85th Congress. Garrett and McGovern, both liberals who shared similar goals vis-a-vis rural development and electrification quickly became close friends and collaborators on committee. McGovern was often at Garrett's house in Maryland, and other congressmen started noticing "the two youngins".

Garrett opened an unprecedented network of 'constituency offices' in Vermont: one in Burlington, Rutland and Brattleboro. As part of his commitment towards strong constituent service, he traveled back to Vermont at least twice a month during the session and moved back to Vermont during the September-January break separating the 86th Congress' two sessions.

Garrett's main top aide in his DC office was a 37-year old law graduate named Michael Peterson. They quickly became very close confidantes and close collaborators. Garrett later wrote about Peterson in his book that "I'd never have done what I did... and wouldn't have gotten that far in DC if it wasn't for Michael... That guy was a real genius, a real encyclopedia on facts ranging from the stats on rural development in New England to the state of Vermont's dairy industry... he was also a legal mind, which helped me, whose legal experience was limited outside what you have in political science departments..."

[Hash]

February 16, 1959
House debate on Hawaii statehood

REP. CHRISTOPHER A. GARRETT (D-VT):
We must give the people of Hawaii... the means to decide for themselves the future they wish... and if they want statehood, we must offer to them like to all other Americans the benefits of statehood. I am personally favourable to Hawaii's admission to the Union, but I strongly believe that Hawaiians should have the means to decide for themselves if that is what they want... And if they want statehood, then we must offer it to them...

It appears to me as if the opponents of even putting statehood on the table... are backed only by an unreasonable fear of communism and, frankly, racism. I haven't seen the opponents of statehood offer any other reasoning... than that of Hawaii being a supposed haven for communists... and a close-minded fear of offering statehood to a state which isn't majority white. I have had the opportunity to talk with my good friend Territorial Delegate Burns of Hawaii... a man who has been at the forefront of the movement and who has proven himself to be a tireless fighter for those Hawaiians who were in the past dominated by an oligarchy of industrialists. Mr. Burns talked at lengths to me about the movement of 1954 which he participated in... and the role of the Communist Party in the movement. I have understood from both talking to Mr. Burns and from research into the background of the 1954 movement... that communist support and association to the movement of 1954 did not and does not contribute a threat to our national security... furthermore, I have reason to believe that the Communist Party of Hawaii was allowed to be that strong... only because of social and economic conditions in Hawaii prior to 1954... and that once Hawaiians, all Hawaiians, are treated as equal American citizens... the Communists shall lose their raison-d'etre. As thus, saying that Hawaii would provide a safe haven to communists... is ridiculous.

I have also heard my fair share of racist opposition to statehood... a bigoted fear of the consequences of granting statehood to a state with a majority minority population. I do not use the term 'racism' easily, and I weigh my words, but in this case I haven't been able to see anything else than old close-minded racism influencing the opposition of some... I can't do much for the racism of some, but on my part I believe that we should, as the leader of the democratic world, offer the benefits of the United States to all... regardless of race or ethnicity. To me, part of the American Dream... means to allow all people, again regardless of ethnicity, to be integrated into the American family... Let us integrate Hawaiians, if they so desire, directly into the American dream... and also, let us end this antiquated, archaic territorial system... which is not fit to a democratic nation in this day and age. By consequence, let us extend statehood and democracy, representative government and the American dream to Hawaiians... and free them from the undemocratic, antiquated territorial system.

*certain Southern Democrats boo*

[Hash]

Towards legislative accomplishment: February-June 1959

Garrett knew that he owed his victory in November to certain non-permanent factors such as an unusually weak Republican opponent and a massive Democratic wave which swept the country. Already, most Republicans and many journalists were writing off Garrett's victory as aberration and a fluke. Such talk of his win being a fluke intensified by the spring of 1959 when Governor Robert Stafford (R-VT) made no secret of his intentions to himself run for Congress in 1960. Already, Stafford was a very popular governor, and unlike Arthur, had the full backing the GOP's liberal elites. Stafford did not announce his candidacy, but it was the worst kept secret in Montpelier that Stafford had federal ambitions as early as 1960. At a GOP state convention in May, Stafford said that Garrett's 1958 victory was a fluke and that "we shall be able to dispose of Mr. Garrett's services in Washington next year". Furthermore, with the Republican presidential candidate in 1960 still a lock to carry Vermont, Garrett worried that coattails might further hinder his reelection campaign.

It didn't take much talk to convince Garrett that if he was to have a chance at reelection in 1960, he needed a major legislative accomplishment which would both get him well known in DC circles (hopefully with the effect of the DCCC channeling funds to his 1960 campaign) and to raise his star in Vermont as a prominent congressman and defender of the Green Mountain State's interests.

In his 1958 campaign, Garrett had talked at lengths about farms and the declining revenue for farmers in the wake of the 1958 recession. He had then announced his support for federal funding for farms and his general support for federally-funded rural development and completion of rural electrification. In late February, he charged his aide Michael Peterson with the task of drafting rural development legislation. He further contacted McGovern and Cooley, with McGovern voicing his enthusiasm about such legislation and Cooley voicing his interest.

In June 1959, Peterson had finished drafting the rural development legislation working alongside McGovern's and Cooley's office. Garrett, as sponsor, and McGovern, as co-sponsor, introduce the rural development legislation on the desk of the Clerk on June 16. The rural development legislation, in its original version included a 50% increase in federal funding for family farms; federal funding for projects of "rural development" including road construction, maintenance or upgrade, rural school and clinic construction, water system upgrades; and tax credits for farmers on the purchase of necessary farm equipment such as tractors. The omnibus bill also reformed the Farmers Home Administration (FmHA) by expanding its scope and amending its statute as to transform it into a central agency working with state governments to provide loans and to supervise rural development projects which use federal funds.

In Garrett's agriculture committee, Southern Democrats held considerable power and in the House as a whole, Southern Democratic support was crucial to the passage of the bill. Populist Southern Democrats liked the bill's objective, as it could allow them to gain control over more federal funds and get their hands on pork-barrel spending which they were famous for. In committee, the support of Chairman Howard Cooley (D-NC) was crucial to moving the bill along. Some moderate and liberal Republicans from rural areas such as the Corn Belt in Ohio and Indiana also liked the bill's objective. However, conservative Democrats and other Republicans alike disliked how the omnibus bill would centralize loans and rural development funding in the hands of a revamped FmHA with little input from state governments. Alarmed by the potential intrusion of the federal government into their field of action, many Southern Democratic governors notably John Patterson (D-AL) urged legislators to decentralize the funding and loans that Garrett's omnibus bill created and transfer those powers to the state governments. Soon, other governors from non-Southern states demanded similar decentralization. Old Right conservatives were generally unhappy with the bill, especially the heavy federal control and violently denounced Garrett as "the Soviet Commissar for Farms" and decried the omnibus bill as "similar in every regard to the Soviet Union's kolkhoz policy".

Despite the opposition from many different groups, Garrett and McGovern remained on their positions throughout the summer. Garrett feared that decentralizing control over the bill's plans would hijack his legislation and turn it into "the usual pork barrel spending free-for-all" and was wary about given state governments control over funding and loans, notably at the risk of "letting certain states give a lot, and others not at all" and thus create "two classes of farmers".