Senator Henry Martin Jackson

Henry Martin Jackson served as a Senator from Washington in the United States Congress from 1941 to 1983. A member of the Democratic Party, Henry Martin Jackson contributed to the legislative process during 12 terms in office.

Henry Martin Jackson’s service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history. As a member of the Senate, Henry Martin Jackson participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of constituents.

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 member of the Democratic Party, 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 Party senator Harry P. Cain. Jackson supported the civil rights movement 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 non-capitalist countries with restrictive emigration policies. Jackson served as chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources from 1963 to 1981. He was twice an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic Party nomination, in both the 1972 and 1976 presidential elections. 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 – with the start of the Cold War — communist rule in particular. Jackson’s political philosophies and positions 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 Jackson.