21 Facts About Monroe Sweetland

Monroe Mark Sweetland was an American politician in the state of Oregon.

Monroe Sweetland was born on January 20,1910, in Salem, Oregon.

Monroe Sweetland, was a doctor who served as athletic director at Willamette University.

When Monroe Sweetland was two, the family moved to Michigan where he remained until college.

Monroe Sweetland graduated from Wittenberg College in Springfield, Ohio, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1930.

Monroe Sweetland then entered law school at Syracuse University and later Cornell University.

Monroe Sweetland supported Norman Thomas, Socialist for president and SLID activist, in his 1932 campaign.

Monroe Sweetland held federal and labor-relations appointments between 1940 and 1943 and then joined the American Red Cross, serving in the Pacific theater of operations for two years.

In 1948 Monroe Sweetland was elected as a Harry Truman delegate, as well as Oregon Democratic National Committeeman, thereby successfully wresting control of the Democratic Party from a reactionary "Dixiecrat" element and becoming the highest ranking Democratic official in the state.

Monroe Sweetland won election to the Oregon State Senate in 1954 and re-election in 1958 to a second four-year term, spending a total of ten years in the legislature.

Monroe Sweetland wanted to run for US Congress in Oregon's 3rd Congressional district in 1954, but was dissuaded by some Democratic peers, including Howard Morgan and State Senator Richard Neuberger, who feared that, especially during the time of "McCarthyism", Monroe Sweetland's past Socialist ties would result in his defeat and that of other Democrats just as the party was beginning its rise.

Monroe Sweetland decided to not run, and, in the fall, Democrat Edith Green won election in the 3rd Congressional District, while Neuberger won a close race for US Senate, becoming the first Democrat elected to that position from Oregon in four decades.

Monroe Sweetland ran for secretary of state in 1956, losing narrowly to fellow State Senator Mark Hatfield.

Senator Wayne Morse, a Republican turned Independent, was courted by Morgan and pushed more aggressively by Monroe Sweetland to join the Democratic party, and Morse registered as a Democrat in 1955.

In 1960, Monroe Sweetland again ran for secretary of state and lost, this time to Howell Appling, who had been appointed by Hatfield as his successor upon Hatfield's election as governor in 1958.

Monroe Sweetland worked to lower the voting age to 18 from 21.

In 1963, Monroe Sweetland taught journalism at a college in Indonesia, a country that had fascinated him since meeting Indonesians during World War II.

Monroe Sweetland returned to Oregon in 1994 and spent his final years as an elder statesman, including an unsuccessful run for his old state senate seat at age 88 in 1998.

Monroe Sweetland was very active in organizations such as the Democratic Party of Oregon, The City Club of Portland, and the Wayne Morse Historical Park in Eugene.

Monroe Sweetland often took a Metro bus from near his home in Milwaukie to downtown Portland, navigating the downtown streets by himself.

Monroe Sweetland died on September 10,2006, at the age of 96 in Milwaukie.