User:The man from Gianyar/Frank Church

Frank Forrester Church III (July 25, 1924 – April 7, 1984), more commonly referred to as Frank Church, was an American politician and lawyer. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States Senator from Idaho serving from 1957 until his defeat in 1981. As of November 2021, he is the longest serving Democratic senator from the state, as well as the only Democrat to have served more than two terms in the Senate. He was a prominent figure in American foreign policy, and established a reputation as a member of the party's liberal wing.

Born and raised in Boise, Idaho, he enrolled at Stanford University in 1942, but left to enlist in the Army. In the army, he served as a military intelligence officer in the China Burma India Theater of World War II. Following the end of the war, he completed his law degree from Stanford Law School, and returned to Boise to practice law. Church became an active Democrat in Idaho, and ran unsuccessfully for a seat in state legislature in 1952. In 1956, he was elected to the United States Senate, after defeating incumbent Herman Welker in the general election, and former Senator Glen Taylor in a a closely contested primary election.

As a senator, he was a veritable protégé of then-senate majority leader Lyndon B. Johnson, being appointed to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. In 1960, Church received national exposure when he gave the keynote speech at the 1960 Democratic National Convention. Considered a strong progressive and environmental legislator, he played a major role in the creation of a system of protected wilderness areas. Church was highly critical of the Vietnam War, despite initially supporting it. Co-authoring the Cooper–Church Amendment of 1970 and the Case–Church Amendment of 1972, both being two legislative efforts to curtail the war. In 1975, he chaired the Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, better known as the Church Committee. Laying the groundwork for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978.

In 1976, Church belatedly sought the Democratic nomination for president, and announced his candidacy on March 18, 1976. Although he won primaries in Nebraska, Idaho, Oregon, and Montana, he withdrew in favor of former Georgia governor Jimmy Carter. Church was re-elected continuously to the senate, defeating his Republican opponents in 1962, 1968, and 1974, until his defeat during the Republican wave of 1980. Following the end of his term, he practiced international law in Washington, D.C., specializing in Asian issues. Church was hospitalized for a pancreatic tumor on January 12, 1984, and he died less than three months later at his home in Bethesda, Maryland, on April 7, 1984.

Youth, family, and early education


Frank Forrester Church III was born on July 25, 1924, in Boise, Idaho. He traced his ancestry from the East Coast of the United States, with his grandfather, Frank Forrester Church I, moving to Idaho during the height of the gold rush that followed the end of the Civil War. Church III was the younger of two sons of Frank Forrester Church II and Laura Bilderback Church. His older brother Richard Church became a career officer in the United States Marine Corps, and retired as a colonel. Another branch of the Church family included Rear Admiral Albert T. Church II, as well as Vice Admiral Albert T. Church III, the author of the Church Report.

His father co-owned a sporting goods store and took the sons on fishing, hunting, and hiking outings in the Idaho mountains. The family was reportedly very Catholic and conservative, with Church attending St. Joseph's School as a youngster, where he went by the nickname "Frosty." In his youth, Church admired senator William Borah, who represented Idaho in the United States Senate from 1907 until 1940. When Borah died in 1940, Church walked by the open coffin in the rotunda of the state capitol. He stated that "Because he was a senator, I wanted to become one, too." Church graduated from Boise High School in 1942, where he served as student body president. As a junior in 1941, he won the American Legion National Oratorical Contest, which resulted in him receiving sufficient funds to provide for his four year enrollment at Stanford University, California, where he joined Theta Xi fraternity.

Military service and education
Church left university in 1942, at the age of 18, and enlisted in the Army following the Attack on Pearl Harbor. He was called up the following year and attended officer candidate training at Fort Benning in Georgia. He trained at Camp Ritchie, as one of the Ritchie Boys, and was commissioned a lieutenant on his 20th birthday. In the army, he served as a military intelligence officer in the China Burma India Theater. He was inducted to the Infantry Hall of Fame at Fort Benning. Following the end of the war, he was discharged in 1946, and returned to Stanford. There, he excelled in debating, received his bachelor's degree in history, and graduated with Phi Beta Kappa honors. Shortly thereafter, he entered Stanford Law School, and graduated in 1950. He returned to Idaho to practice law and raise his two young sons.

1956
Following his return to Idaho, he became active in Democratic Party politics, and he became the chairman of the Young Democrats of Idaho. In 1952, he ran for a seat in the then-Republican dominated Idaho state legislature, but lost the election. In 1956, Church ran for the Class-3 senate seat held by senator Herman Welker, who had alienated many Republicans for his opposition to president Dwight D. Eisenhower's programs and his alleged affiliation with McCarthyism. He entered the primary race, which was described as "the most colorful primary in the history of the state". He faced against a number of opponents, including Ricks College professor Claude Burtenshaw, bureaucrat Alvin McCormack, and former senator Glen H. Taylor.

When the primary came, Church won the nomination, with only 37,75% of the vote, narrowly edging out Taylor by 200 votes. Though Church won the democratic nomination, Taylor refused to concede, and claimed a number of voting irregularities in the canvassing of the primary. During the general election campaign, Church and his campaign hit the road. Church shook around 75,000 hands over the entire course of the campaign. Church also conducted an astute campaign, by contrasting his fitness with that of Welker's. His slogan, "Idaho Will Be Proud of Frank Church", was a major asset to his campaign. Church also campaigned on an internationalist plank, gave mild support to a high Hell's dam, and was conservative on money matters.

This was in shark contrast to that of Welker's campaign, which campaigned heavily on Anti-Communism, a decision which proved to be a weak political foundation. The Welker campaign also ran on his record, as well as the "Herman letter", which was a letter in which president Eisenhower endorsed Welker's candidacy. Glen Taylor also ran in the general election as a write-in candidate, labeling Church as a candidate of the "corporate interests". Church won the race, defeating both Welker and Taylor, with a plurality of 46,315 voters. Defeating both Welker and Taylor in the election. This was despite a number of factors which would've inhibited Church's campaign. Including the Republican's fundraising advantage and president Eisenhower's large victory in the presidential election.