Henry Martin Jackson was born in Everett, Washington,
on May 31, 1912, and died there on September 1, 1983, at the
age of 71. At his death, he was the senior U.S. Senator from
the State of Washington and had served in Congress for nearly
43 years.
A graduate of the University of Washington where he received his law degree in
1935, "Scoop" Jackson, as he became known, was admitted to the Washington
Bar and began practice with an Everett law firm. The lure of public life was
strong, however, and in the fall of 1938, he was elected to the prosecutor's
office at the age of 26. He remained in public life until his death.
As prosecuting attorney, Jackson won a reputation as a foe of gambling and bootlegging,
setting the stage for his election to Congress in 1940 from Washington's Second
District. In the House, he became a specialist in military affairs and nuclear
energy. He served in the Army as an enlisted man during WWII until recalled to
his congressional duties by President Roosevelt. In 1945, Congressman Jackson
officially visited Buchenwald, a few days after the death camp was liberated.
While serving in the House he played an influential role on issues of particular
interest to the West like public lands, reclamation, and hydroelectric power
development.
Jackson was reelected five times to the House of Representatives and, in 1952,
successfully challenged the incumbent Harry P. Cain for his Senate seat. For
more than 30 years, Senator Jackson was deeply involved in the major issues of
American political life, from the drama of the Army-McCarthy hearings in 1954
to the liberation of Soviet Jewry in the 1970's. He became an acknowledged authority
on national security, energy, and environmental issues.
From 1963 to 1980, Senator Jackson served as chairman of the Senate Committee
on Energy and Natural Resources and its predecessor, the Committee on Interior
and Insular Affairs. In this capacity, he played a leading role in the conservation
legislation of the 1960's and the energy legislation of the 1970's. As an "environmentalist" long
before the term was fashionable, Senator Jackson authored the landmark National
Environmental Policy Act and sponsored legislation to preserve vast park lands
and wilderness areas throughout the United States, including the North Cascades
Park, Olympic National Park, and the Alpine Lakes Wilderness in Washington State.
He also authored the Alaska and Hawaii Statehood Acts.
Senator Jackson served as a member of both the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy
and the Armed Services Committee for many years and was the ranking Democratic
member of the Armed Services Committee at his death. He was an expert on nuclear
weapons and strategic issues and a member of the Select Committee on Intelligence.
As a member of the Governmental Affairs Committee, Senator Jackson conducted
pioneering congressional inquiries on the National Security Council and policy-making
at the Presidential level and chaired the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
for a long period.
In 1960, Senator Jackson chaired the Democratic National Committee during the
Kennedy Presidential campaign. Although picked by his colleagues in informal
polls as the Senator best qualified to be President, Senator Jackson was defeated
in efforts to win the Democratic Presidential nomination in 1972 and 1976.
