Representative Clifton Nesmith McArthur

Clifton Nesmith McArthur (June 10, 1879 – December 9, 1923) was a U.S. Representative from Oregon, a prominent Republican legislator, and the grandson of United States Senator James Willis Nesmith. He was born in The Dalles, Oregon, on June 10, 1879, the eldest son of Lewis Linn McArthur, who served on the Oregon Supreme Court, and Harriet K. Nesmith McArthur. His family background placed him within a well-known Oregon political and legal lineage; his only brother, Lewis A. McArthur, later authored the first edition of the reference work Oregon Geographic Names. McArthur spent his early years in Oregon and attended public schools in Rickreall before continuing his education at Bishop Scott Academy, a military and college-preparatory school in Portland.

McArthur pursued higher education at the University of Oregon, from which he graduated in 1901. His university education helped prepare him for a career that combined journalism, agriculture, law, and politics. Soon after graduation, he moved into newspaper work, gaining early professional experience that would inform his later public life.

From 1901 to 1903, McArthur worked as a reporter for the Morning Oregonian in Portland, one of the state’s leading newspapers. After leaving journalism, he engaged in agricultural pursuits near Rickreall from 1903 to 1906, reflecting his continued ties to rural Oregon. During this period he studied law, and in 1906 he was admitted to the bar. He then commenced the practice of law in Portland, building a legal career that ran alongside his increasing involvement in Republican Party politics. On June 25, 1913, he married Lucille Smith; the couple had no children.

McArthur’s formal political career began within the Republican Party organization. In 1908 he served as secretary of the Republican State central committee, a position that placed him at the center of party strategy and organization in Oregon. That same year he became secretary to Oregon Governor Frank W. Benson, serving in that capacity from 1908 until 1911. While working in the governor’s office, McArthur also sought and won elective office. He was elected as a Republican to the Oregon House of Representatives from Multnomah County, serving in the sessions of 1909 and 1913. During both of those terms he was chosen by his colleagues as Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives, in 1909 and again in 1913, underscoring his influence in state legislative affairs and his standing within the Republican Party.

Building on his state-level prominence, McArthur was elected as a Republican to the United States House of Representatives. He was chosen to represent Oregon in the Sixty-fourth Congress and was re-elected to the three succeeding Congresses, serving four consecutive terms from March 4, 1915, to March 3, 1923. As a member of the House of Representatives, Clifton Nesmith McArthur participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of his Oregon constituents during a significant period in American history that included World War I and the immediate postwar years. A member of the Republican Party, he contributed to the legislative process over his four terms in office, taking part in debates and votes on national policy during a time of major political, economic, and social change. He was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election in 1922 to the Sixty-eighth Congress, which brought his congressional service to a close.

After leaving Congress in March 1923, McArthur returned to Portland and resumed the practice of law and his former business activities. He remained engaged in professional life in Oregon until his health declined later that year. On December 9, 1923, Clifton Nesmith McArthur died in Portland, Oregon, following what contemporaneous accounts described as a “supposedly routine sinus operation.” His remains were cremated, and his ashes were placed in the vaults of the Portland Cremation Association, marking the end of the life of a figure whose career spanned journalism, agriculture, law, state legislative leadership, and service in the United States Congress.