Royal S. Copeland

Royal Samuel Copeland (November 7, 1868 – June 17, 1938), a United States Senator from New York from 1923 until 1938, was an academic, homeopathic physician, and politician. He held elected offices in both Michigan (as a Republican) and New York (as a Democrat).[1]

Royal S. Copeland
Copeland in 1920
United States senator from New York
In office March 4, 1923 – June 17, 1938
Preceded by	William M. Calder
Succeeded by	James M. Mead
Mayor of Ann Arbor, Michigan
In office 1901–1903
Preceded by	Gottlob Luick
Succeeded by	Arthur Brown
Personal details
Born	Royal Samuel Copeland (1868-11-07)November 7, 1868 Dexter, Michigan
Died	June 17, 1938(1938-06-17) (aged 69) Washington, D.C.
Resting place	Mahwah Cemetery, Mahwah, New Jersey
Political party	Republican (before 1922) Democratic (1922–1938)
Education	Eastern Michigan University University of Michigan

Early life and medical career

Born in Dexter, Michigan, to parents Roscoe P. Copeland and Frances J. Holmes, Royal Copeland graduated from Dexter High School and attended Michigan State Normal College (now Eastern Michigan University).[2] In 1888, he taught school in Sylvan Township, Michigan.[3]

He graduated in 1889 from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor with a degree in medicine.[2] After graduate studies in Europe, Copeland practiced medicine in Bay City, Michigan, from 1890 to 1895.[2] Copeland was admitted to the Homeopathy Society of Michigan on May 21, 1890, and was made secretary of the society in October 1893.[2] He was a professor of Ophthalmology and Otology in the University of Michigan Medical School's Homeopathic Department from 1895 until 1908.[2]

Political career in Michigan

During his time as a medical professor in Ann Arbor, Copeland was active in municipal politics.[2] A Republican, he served as mayor of Ann Arbor from 1901 to 1903.[2] He was president of the Ann Arbor Board of Education from 1907 to 1908.[2] He also served for several years as president of the Ann Arbor Board of Park Commissioners.[2]

Political career in New York

On July 15, 1908, Copeland married Frances Spalding. The same year, Copeland moved to New York City to take a position as dean at the New York Homeopathic Medical College and Flower Hospital,[4] a position he left in 1918 to serve as President of the New York City Board of Health. He gained much positive public attention for keeping New York City residents calm during the influenza outbreak of 1918.[5]

In 1922, Copeland ran as a Democrat for the U.S. Senate, defeating first-term Republican Senator William M. Calder. Franklin D. Roosevelt served as his honorary campaign manager for this election.[5][6] Copeland was re-elected in 1928 over Republican challenger Alanson B. Houghton, the U.S. Ambassador to Britain and a former U.S. Representative. Copeland was again re-elected in 1934, this time defeating future U.S. Congressman E. Harold Cluett.[7]

During his three terms in the Senate, Copeland served as chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration from 1933 to 1936 and chairman of the Committee on Commerce from 1935 to 1938. In 1935-1936 Copeland served as Chairman of the highly controversial Copeland Committee, which gave a scathing review of air traffic safety and the operation of the Bureau of Air Commerce. Copeland served as primary author and sponsor of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938 which entrenched special protections for pseudoscientific homeopaths. He was the primary sponsor of the Copeland "Anti-kickback" Act, which targeted kickbacks to federal contractors, subcontractors and officials from construction employees.[8]

Copeland was close to the regular Democratic organization in New York, the boss-led Tammany Hall. He was a conservative Democrat and not especially supportive of the New Deal policies of his fellow New Yorker, Franklin Roosevelt. He was also a friend of Harry S. Truman when they both served in the U.S. Senate. Copeland was known for his successful efforts to bring air conditioning to the Senate.

In 1937 he lost the Democratic nomination for Mayor of New York City to Judge Jeremiah T. Mahoney, and the Republican nomination to incumbent Republican Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia.[9]

Death

Copeland died at his apartment in Washington, DC on June 17, 1938.[1] According to news reports, he died of a circulatory collapse brought on by overwork during the longer than usual Senate session that ended on the day of his death.[1] His funeral was at his home in Suffern, New York.[10] He was buried at Mahwah Cemetery in Mahwah, New Jersey.[10]

Election results

Year	Office		Subject	Party	Votes	Portion		Opponent	Party	Votes	Portion
1922	U.S. Senator (Class 1) from New York		Royal S. Copeland	Democratic	1,276,667	49.5%		William M. Calder	Republican	995,421	38.6%
1928	U.S. Senator (Class 1) from New York		Royal S. Copeland	Democratic	2,084,273	46.7%		Alanson B. Houghton	Republican	2,034,014	45.6%
1934	U.S. Senator (Class 1) from New York		Royal S. Copeland	Democratic	2,046,377	52.0%		E. Harold Cluett	Republican	1,363,440	34.7%
1937	Democratic nomination for Mayor of New York City		Royal S. Copeland	Democratic	c. 200,000	2/5		Jeremiah T. Mahoney	Democratic	c. 400,000	3/5
	Republican nomination for Mayor of New York City		Royal S. Copeland			1/3		Fiorello H. LaGuardia	Republican		2/3

Honors and society memberships

Copeland was a member of several honor societies and fraternal organizations, including the Pi Gamma Mu, international honor society in social sciences, which he served in various positions, Delta Kappa Epsilon, the New York Athletic Club, the National Democratic Club, the Elks, the Freemasons, the Knights Templar, the Shriners, the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, and the Sons of the American Revolution.

At various times Copeland served as President, Vice President, and Secretary of the Michigan Homeopathic Society; President of the American Ophthalmological, Otological, and Laryngological Society; President American Institute of Homeopathy; Vice President of the American Public Health Association; Member of the National Board of Control of Epworth League; President of the Michigan Epworth League; member of the Tuberculosis Commission of Michigan; trustee of Michigan State Tuberculosis Sanitarium; and he was elected three times to the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Publications

• Copeland (September 1904). "In defence of the attenuated drug". Medical Century. 12 (9): 257–264.
• Copeland, R. S. (1906). Refraction, including muscle imbalance and the adjustment of glasses. Philadelphia: Boericke & Tafel.
• Copeland, Royal S. (May 1909). The scientific reasonableness of homoeopathy. New York. hdl:2027/mdp.39015071593936.
• Royal S Copeland; Warren Robinson Austin; Daniel Oren Hastings; Hearst Unofficial Senatorial Commission (1936). The crisis in Palestine reports of Hearst Unofficial Senatorial Commission. New York: Hearst. OCLC 569942876.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Royal S. Copeland (1935). Doctor Copeland's home medical book. Philadelphia: John C. Winston. OCLC 4758731.

See also

• List of United States Congress members who died in office (1900–49)

References

1. "Senator Copeland Dies In Washington. Overwork Factor. Suffered Circulatory Collapse After Leaving Floor Just Before Adjournment". New York Times. June 18, 1938.
2. Downs, Winfield Scott, ed. (1940). Encyclopedia of American Biography. 11. New York, NY: The American Historical Company. p. 80 – via Google Books.
3. New York Medical College Board of Trustees (January 1909). "Complimentary Dinner Tendered to Royal S. Copeland". The Chironian. Vol. XXV no. 7. New York, NY: New York Medical College. pp. 243–244 – via Google Books.
4. "New York Homeopathic Medical College and Flower Hospital". The Independent. Jul 6, 1914. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
5. Robins, Natalie (2005). Copeland's Cure: Homeopathy and the War Between Conventional and Alternative Medicine. New York: Knopf. pp. 154–166. New York did come out better than any other city in the nation
6. Robert Dallek, Franklin D. Roosevelt and American Foreign Policy, 1932-1945 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1979), p. 14.
7. Congressional Biography of E. Harold Cluett.
8. Whittaker, William G. (November 30, 2007). "The Davis-Bacon Act: Institutional Evolution and Public Policy" (PDF). CRS report no. 94-408. United States Congressional Research Service. pp. 14–15, 41. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
9. "Perplexing Primary", TIME Magazine, Monday, September 27, 1937 (free access on May 28, 2008.)
10. "Funeral to Be Held in Flower Garden on Suffern Estate. Burial in Mahwah, N. J." New York Times. June 19, 1938.

External links

• United States Congress. "COPELAND, Royal Samuel (id: C000769)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Mayors of Ann Arbor page at PoliticalGraveyard.com
• "Royal S. Copeland". Society of the Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick in the City of New York; James J. Hoey. 17 March 1938. pp. 176–189.
• US Senate (1939). Royal Samuel Copeland, Late a Senator from New York. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. hdl:2027/mdp.39015030009727.

Party political offices
Preceded by William F. McCombs	Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator from New York (Class 1) 1922, 1928, 1934	Succeeded by James M. Mead
Political offices
Preceded by Gottlob Luick	Mayor of Ann Arbor, Michigan 1901–1903	Succeeded by Arthur Brown
U.S. Senate
Preceded by William M. Calder	U.S. senator (Class 1) from New York 1923–1938 Served alongside: James W. Wadsworth, Jr., Robert F. Wagner	Succeeded by James M. Mead