Henry M. Jackson
American politician
Died when: 71 years 93 days (855 months)Star Sign: Gemini
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Henry Martin "Scoop" Jackson (May 31, 1912 – September 1, 1983) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. representative (1941–1953) and U.S. senator (1953–1983) from the state of Washington.
A Cold War liberal and anti-Communist Democrat, Jackson supported higher military spending and a hard line against the Soviet Union, while also supporting social welfare programs, civil rights, and labor unions.
Born in Everett, Washington, to Norwegian immigrants, Jackson practiced law in Everett, after graduating from the University of Washington School of Law.
He won election to Congress in 1940, and joined the Senate in 1953 after defeating incumbent Republican senator Harry P.Cain.Jackson supported the major civil rights of the 1960s, and authored the National Environmental Policy Act, which helped establish the principle of publicly analyzing environmental impacts.
He co-sponsored the Jackson–Vanik amendment, which denied normal trade relations to countries with restrictive emigration policies.Jackson served as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources from 1963 to 1981.
He was twice an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, in 1972 and 1976.While still serving in the Senate, Jackson died in 1983.
His political beliefs were characterized by support of civil rights, human rights, and safeguarding the environment, but with an equally strong commitment to oppose totalitarianism in general, and communism in particular.
The political philosophies and positions of Scoop Jackson have been cited as an influence on a number of key figures associated with neoconservatism, including Paul Wolfowitz and Richard Perle, both of whom previously served as aides to the Senator.
The Seattle-based was created in 1983 by his former colleagues and staff, as well as his widow and other family members, to further his work.
In 1987, the Department of Defense gave to the Jackson Foundation a one-time, $10 million appropriation for its endowment, in honor of the Senator.
To date, the Foundation has awarded over $26 million in grants to educational and non-profit institutions.Jackson also sponsored legislation to form the Foundation to Advance Military Medicine, which was later renamed in his honor at the time of his death, to the Henry M.
Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine.
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