Van C. Swearingen

Van Cicero Swearingen (February 2, 1873 – March 3, 1943) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 21st Florida Attorney General, serving from 1917 until 1921.[1]

Van C. Swearingen
21st Florida Attorney General
In office September 1, 1917 – January 4, 1921
Governor	Sidney Johnston Catts
Preceded by	Thomas F. West
Succeeded by	Rivers Buford
30th Mayor of Jacksonville
In office 1913–1915
Preceded by	William S. Jordan
Succeeded by	J. E. T. Bowden
Judge of the Municipal Court of Jacksonville, Florida
In office 1911–1913
Appointed by	Albert W. Gilchrist
Personal details
Born	(1873-02-02)February 2, 1873 Nassau County, Florida
Died	March 3, 1943(1943-03-03) (aged 70) Miami, Florida
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Alice Padgett ( m. 1899)
Children	6
Education	Mercer University (LL.B)
Occupation	Attorney

Early life and education

Swearingen was born on February 2, 1873 in Nassau County, Florida. After being educated in local schools, Swearingen attended Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, graduating with his Bachelor of Laws degree in 1899. After graduating, he moved to Jacksonville, Florida and began a private practice.[2]

Political career

Mayor of Jacksonville

In 1911, Governor Albert W. Gilchrist appointed Swearingen, a Democrat, to Jacksonville's municipal court.[2] He served on the court until 1913, when he successfully ran for mayor of Jacksonville, defeating Socialist Thomas W. Cox with over 92% of the vote.[3] As mayor, Swearingen began cracking down on vice, closing the bordellos and keeping minors out of pool halls. This struck a nerve with many in Jacksonville who saw value in the city's red light district. Swearingen even used spies in the form of undercover police officers to help find hidden bordellos.[4]

Swearingen sought reelection in 1915, though he faced three challengers in the Democratic primary: businessman Rudolph Grunthal, physician Charles Johnson, and former mayor J. E. T. Bowden. Though Swearingen came in first during the first round of the primary, he was defeated in the runoff by Bowden, receiving just 41.5% of the vote.[3] Bowden would go on to win in the general election, defeating Socialist I. C. Baldwin.[4]

Florida Attorney General

In 1917, newly elected Governor Sidney Johnston Catts, a member of the Prohibition Party, appointed the incumbent Florida Attorney General, Thomas F. West, to the Florida Supreme Court. Seeing Swearingen's efforts in cracking down on Jacksonville's red light district, Catts appointed him to finish the remaining 3 years of West's term.[2] Swearingen's tenure as Florida Attorney General remains controversial, Swearingen oversaw the implementation of prohibition in Florida. Despite making use of his spy network from Jacksonville, Swearingen was unable to combat rum runners coming from Cuba and the Bahamas.[5]

Additionally, the Ocoee massacre occurred near the end of Swearingen's tenure. In response to African-Americans attempting to vote in November of 1920 in the town of Ocoee, Florida, the entire black community of North Ocoee was razed to the ground, with as many as 56 blacks lynched or burned in their own homes. Swearingen, a noted racist, did nothing in the aftermath of the massacre to bring the perpetrators to justice.[6]

In 1920, Swearingen did not run for reelection, instead deciding to run for Florida governor. Swearingen faced the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives Cary A. Hardee and State Senator Lincoln Hulley in the Democratic primary. Swearingen was defeated by Hardee by over 22,000 votes. Hardee would go on to win in the general election.[7]

After this loss, Swearingen retired, moving to Miami, Florida in 1925.[8]

Personal life and death

Swearingen married Alice Padgett on January 1, 1899. They had 6 children together. Additionally, Swearingen was a member of multiple fraternal orders, including the Freemasons, the Shriners from Jacksonville's Morocco Temple, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Knights of Pythias.[9]

Swearingen died at his home in Miami on March 3, 1943.[8]

Electoral history

1920 Florida gubernatorial election, Democratic primary[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Cary A. Hardee	52,591	59.48%	N/A
	Democratic	Van C. Swearingen	30,240	34.20%	N/A
	Democratic	Lincoln Hulley	5,591	6.32%	N/A
Majority			22,351	25.28%	N/A
Turnout			88,422

1915 Jacksonville mayoral election, Democratic runoff[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	J. E. T. Bowden	2,655	58.44%	N/A
	Democratic	Van C. Swearingen (inc.)	1,888	41.56%	N/A
Majority			767	16.88%	N/A
Turnout			4,543

1915 Jacksonville mayoral election, Democratic primary[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Van C. Swearingen (inc.)	1,541	36.01%	N/A
	Democratic	J. E. T. Bowden	1,360	31.78%	N/A
	Democratic	Charles W. Johnson	1,123	26.24%	N/A
	Democratic	Rudolph Grunthal	255	5.96%	N/A
Majority			181	4.23%	N/A
Turnout			4,279

1913 Jacksonville mayoral election, General election[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Van C. Swearingen	1,364	92.41%	+9.69%
	Socialist	Thomas W. Cox	112	7.59%	-9.69%
Majority			1,252	84.82%	+19.38%
Turnout			1,476

1913 Jacksonville mayoral election, Democratic runoff[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Van C. Swearingen	2,492	53.78%	N/A
	Democratic	William S. Jordan (inc.)	2,142	46.22%	N/A
Majority			350	7.56%	N/A
Turnout			4,634

1913 Jacksonville mayoral election, Democratic primary[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Van C. Swearingen	2,056	46.04%	N/A
	Democratic	William S. Jordan (inc.)	1,354	30.32%	N/A
	Democratic	John Joseph Ahern	601	13.46%	N/A
	Democratic	S. T. Shaylor	267	5.98%	N/A
	Democratic	G. T. Christie	187	4.19%	N/A
Majority			702	15.72%	N/A
Turnout			4,465

References

1. "Florida Attorney General - Florida Attorneys General (1845 - )". myfloridalegal.com. Retrieved 2019-04-15.
2. History of Florida.
3. Davis, T. Frederick (1990). History of Jacksonville, Florida and Vicinity 1513 to 1924 (PDF) (3 ed.). San Marco Bookstore. p. 321. ISBN 0935259066.
4. Woods, Mark. "One hundred years ago, we had a mayoral race for the ages". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved 2019-04-15.
5. "St. Augustine Distillery Prohibition Times In Florida". staugustinedistillery.com. Retrieved 2019-04-15.
6. "Nov. 2, 1920: The Ocoee Massacre". Zinn Education Project. Retrieved 2019-04-15.
7. "Our Campaigns - FL Governor - D Primary Race - Jun 08, 1920". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2019-04-15.
8. "The Sampler - January 2014" (PDF). Springfield Heritage Center. 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
9. Rayburn, Nancy (October 23, 2015). "Duval County FlArchives Biographies.....Swearingen, Van C. February 2, 1873". USGenWeb. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
10. "1920 FL Governor - D Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved April 16, 2019.