Henry Martin "Scoop" Jackson (31 May 1912 – 1 September 1983) was a member of the US Senate from Washington (D) from 3 January 1953 to 1 September 1983, succeeding Harry P. Cain and preceding Daniel J. Evans; he previously served as a member of the US House of Representatives from Washington's 2nd district from 3 January 1941 to 3 January 1953, succeeding Monrad Wallgren and preceding Jack Westland. Scoop Jackson was a staunch anti-communist, supporting higher military spending and a hard line against the Soviet Union during the Cold War, while also supporting social welfare, the Civil Rights movement, and labor unions.
Biography[]
Henry Martin Jackson was born in Everett, Washington on 31 May 1912 to Norwegian immigrants, and he practiced law in Everett after graduating from the University of Washington School of Law. He won election to the US Congress in 1940, and he joined the US Senate in 1953 after defeating incumbent Republican senator Harry P. Cain. Jackson supported the Civil Rights movement during the 1960s and authored the National Environmental Policy Act, which helped establish the principle of publicly analyzing environmental impacts. He also co-sponsored an act that denied normal trade relations to countries with restrictive emigration policies. From 1963 to 1981, Jackson served as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and he unsuccessfully sought the Democratic Party's presidential nomination in 1972 and 1976. Jackson's political beliefs were characterized by support of civil rights, human rights, and safeguarding the environment, but with an equally strong commitment to oppose totalitarianism, communism in particular. Jackson's views helped to influence the growth of neoconservatism in the country.