Lewis Williams Douglas

The Lewis Williams Douglas House was built in 1923 and is located at 815 E. Orangewood Ave. in Phoenix, Az. The house is listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1985 ref. 85000188.

Though some newspapers anticipated that he would seek election to the state senate in 1924, Douglas declined to run for any public office, pursuing a number of business ventures instead. When Carl Hayden, Arizona's lone Congressman, announced that he would challenge the state's incumbent junior senator, Ralph H. Cameron, in 1926, Douglas decided to enter the race to succeed Hayden. Once again benefiting from his family's wealth, name recognition and war record, and enjoying the support of the state's Democratic press, he easily bested five rivals for the Democratic nomination before defeating his Republican challenger in the general election by nearly 20,000 votes.[2]^:40–48

Douglas served as Arizona's Congressman from the 70th through the 73rd Congress. He sat on the Committee on Irrigation and Reclamation and the Committee on Public Lands, and got along well with most of his colleagues. Though a Democrat, he often voted with Republicans and gained a reputation as a man of principle. During the Great Depression he adhered to the economic orthodoxy of his time, arguing that low tariffs and a balanced federal budget were essential requirements for an economic recovery. Douglas was also an opponent of the bonus bill sought by unemployed veterans, and he was attacked harshly as a result of his position on it.<[2]^:49–70

Though he would have preferred a more conservative candidate, Douglas nonetheless loyally supported Franklin D. Roosevelt as the Democratic Party's nominee in the 1932 presidential election. In December, Douglas was invited to meet with Roosevelt in Albany, New York, where soon became an influential member of the president-elect's group of advisers. Though there was considerable speculation that Douglas would be offered the secretaryship of State, Treasury, or War, Roosevelt asked him instead to serve as Director of the Bureau of the Budget after Roosevelt's initial choice, J. Swagar Sherley, declined the post due to poor health. After Roosevelt reassured Douglas of his commitment to a balanced budget, the congressman accepted.[2]^:73–84

Douglas's time as budget director proved frustrating. While he supported the Emergency Banking Act, the Economy Act, and relief organizations such as the Civilian Conservation Corps as necessary in the economic crisis, he objected to legislation such as the Agricultural Adjustment Act, the Tennessee Valley Authority Act, and the Securities Act of 1933 as excessive governmental intervention in the economy. Fearing inflation, he opposed unsuccessfully Roosevelt's decision to take the United States off of the gold standard, and afterward allegedly stated that it marked "the end of western civilization". But the greatest point of disagreement came over the increasing amount of deficit spending taking place. When Douglas learned in June 1934 that Roosevelt planned to request an appropriation of $600 million on top of $2.5 billion appropriation that had already been spent, the news proved to be too much for the budget director, who informed the president of his decision to resign on August 30, 1934.[2]^:84–116

In August 1937, Douglas was approached by Sir Edward Beatty about becoming principal of McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Bored with his job at American Cyanamid, Douglas accepted and was installed on January 7, 1938. Douglas would subsequently refer to his time as McGill as the happiest in his life. As principal, he struggled to address the deficit in the university budget and to counteract what he perceived as the socialist leanings within the social science faculty of the university. By reducing expenditures and soliciting private donations he succeeded in restoring McGill to financial health, and launched a public lecture series designed to promote conservative viewpoints. Yet while Douglas did modify tenure policies so as to make it easier to remove radical faculty members, he resisted efforts to restrict the free-speech of faculty, especially as debates over Canada's role in international affairs heated up in 1939.[2]^:131–44

Never intending to remain long at McGill, Douglas left the post at the end of 1939 and returned to the United States. There he accepted the presidency of Mutual of New York Life Insurance Company, a financially remunerative position that allowed Douglas to continue his involvement in public issues. An internationalist, Douglas was an early member of the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies, and lobbied Roosevelt to provide more aid to Great Britain. Nonetheless, Douglas campaigned for Wendell Willkie in the 1940 presidential election, largely because of Roosevelt's violation of the "two-term" tradition.[2]^:145–59

With America's entry into the Second World War, Douglas sought to return to public service. After a short period as deputy to Averell Harriman, the American Lend-Lease representative in Britain, Douglas was named deputy administrator of the War Shipping Administration (WSA). Douglas's appointment came in response to the growing criticism of the WSA's chief administrator, Admiral Emory S. Land, who nonetheless kept his post due to his friendship with the president. As deputy administrator, Douglas emerged as the effective head of the agency, addressing the difficult task of managing the country's shipping needs while fighting a global war. He served as deputy administrator until medical issues and growing tensions with Land led to his resignation in March 1944, after which he traveled to Europe to serve as a special adviser to General Lucius D. Clay on the reconstruction of German finance after the war.[2]^:163–237

Beginning in 1935, Douglas would serve as a member of the Rockefeller Foundation where he maintained a position on the executive committee from 1936–1939. From 1942–1947, Douglas served as a trustee before being appointed as the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom in 1947.[3]

In February 1947, Douglas was appointed as the ambassador to the United Kingdom, after the untimely death of the previous appointee, O. Max Gardner. As ambassador, Douglas enjoyed an enhanced status, as the new Secretary of State, George Marshall, delegated considerable authority to his subordinates. Because of this, he played an important role in the passage and implementation of the Marshall Plan as it related to the United Kingdom, and was closely involved in coordinating the American and British response to the Berlin Blockade in 1948. In April 1949 he suffered an accident while fly fishing that permanently damaged his left eye and restricted his involvement in official matters while he underwent a slow and incomplete recovery. Because of the damage done to his eye, Douglas wore an eyepatch over it for the rest of his life.[2]^:241–328