Editing C. C. Young

{{short description|American politician}}
{{For|C. C. Young, the Chinese paleontologist|Yang Zhongjian}}

{{Infobox officeholder
| image               = CC Young.jpg
| birthname           = Clement Calhoun Young
| order1              = 26th
| office1             = Governor of California
| term_start1         = January 4, 1927
| term_end1           = January 6, 1931
| lieutenant1         = [[Buron Fitts]]<br/>[[H. L. Carnahan]]
| predecessor1        = [[Friend Richardson]]
| successor1          = [[James Rolph]]
| order2              = 28th
| office2             = Lieutenant Governor of California
| term_start2         = January 6, 1919
| term_end2           = January 4, 1927
| governor2           = [[William Stephens (American politician)|William Stephens]]<br/>Friend Richardson
| predecessor2        = William Stephens
| successor2          = Buron Fitts
| order3              = 39th
| office3             = Speaker of the California State Assembly
| term_start3         = January 6, 1913
| term_end3           = April 27, 1917
| predecessor3        = [[Arthur Hathaway Hewitt]]
| successor3          = [[Henry W. Wright]]
| office4             = Member of the [[California State Assembly]]
| constituency4       = [[California's 52nd State Assembly district|52nd district]] (1909–1913) <br> [[California's 41st State Assembly district|41st district]] (1913–1919)
| term4               = January 4, 1909 – January 6, 1919
| preceded4           = [[John Morton Eshleman]]
| succeeded4          = [[Anna L. Saylor]]
| birth_name          = Clement Calhoun Young
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1869|4|28}}
| birth_place         = [[Lisbon, New Hampshire]], US
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1947|12|24|1869|4|28}}
| death_place         = [[Berkeley, California]], US
| party               = {{ubl|[[Progressive Party (United States, 1912)|Progressive]] (1914–1916)|[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] (before 1914, 1916–1947)}}
| spouse              = Lyla Jeannette Vincent
| children            = 2
| profession          = {{hlist|[[Teacher]]|[[politician]]}}
}}

'''Clement Calhoun Young''' (April 28, 1869 – December 24, 1947) was an American educator and politician who was affiliated with the original [[Progressive Party (United States, 1912)|Progressive Party]] and later the [[United States Republican Party|Republican Party]]. He was elected to five consecutive terms in the [[California State Assembly]], serving from 1909 to 1919, then as the 28th [[lieutenant governor of California]], holding that office from 1919 to 1927. In the [[California gubernatorial election, 1926|1926 general election]], he was elected in a [[landslide victory]] as the 26th [[governor of California]] and served from 1927 to 1931. Young is considered to have been one of the last governors from the [[Progressive Era|Progressive movement]].

==Biography==
[[File:Clement C. Young, 1911.jpg|thumb|left|Young as a [[California State Assembly|State Assemblymember]] in 1911.|150px]]
Born in [[Lisbon, New Hampshire]], Young moved to [[California]] at an early age, and graduated from the [[University of California, Berkeley]] in 1892. After his graduation, Young embarked on a career as a [[Secondary education in the United States|high school]] teacher, teaching in [[Santa Rosa, California|Santa Rosa]] from 1892 to 1893 and then at [[Lowell High School (San Francisco)|Lowell High School]] in [[San Francisco]] from 1893 to 1906, heading the school's [[English studies|English department]]. While at Lowell, Young actively participated in the [[National Education Association]], attending and speaking at its conferences, including giving a speech entitled "The Use of a Library" at the association's conference in [[Los Angeles]] in 1899, arguing for greater cooperation between public schools and public libraries.<ref>{{cite book |title=Journal of Proceedings and Addresses of the Thirty-eighth Annual Meeting held at Los Angeles, California July 11–14, 1899 |location=Los Angeles |publisher=[[National Education Association]] |year=1899 }}</ref> Students at Lowell popularly nicknamed Young "C-Square," due to his initializing of his first and middle names, Clement Calhoun.<ref name="Governor C. C. Young">{{cite web |url=http://governors.library.ca.gov/26-Young.html|title=Governor C. C. Young|publisher=[[California State Library]]|year=2007 |access-date=2007-09-26}}</ref> In 1904, Young, along with [[Charles Mills Gayley]], published ''The Principles and Progress of English Poetry''.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Gayley, Charles M.  |author2=C. C. Young|title=English Poetry Its Principles and Progress with Representative Masterpieces and Notes |location=New York |publisher=Kessinger Publishing, LLC |year=2005 |orig-year=1904 |oclc=3522087}}</ref> published and distributed by the [[Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan Company]].

While teaching, he established his home in [[Berkeley, California|Berkeley]], where he lived until his death, except for the years he served as governor.

Young was a close friend of realtor and conservationist [[Duncan McDuffie]], and worked for Mason-McDuffie, a [[real estate]] general partnership based in Berkeley. Young would work or consult for Mason-McDuffie until 1944. He also helped McDuffie, who had served as president of the [[Save the Redwoods League]] and [[Sierra Club]], establish the State Parks system upon his election as governor.

After his departure from Lowell in 1906, Young became involved in state politics. In 1908, he was elected to the [[California State Assembly]] for the district that included Berkeley. <!-- Searching for history indicating the number of the district: you can help --> In the Assembly, Young became a political ally of governor [[Hiram Johnson]] and quickly rose through the chamber's ranks, becoming [[Speaker of the California State Assembly|Assembly Speaker]] in 1913. In the following year's legislative elections, Young was elected as a member of the [[Progressive Party (United States, 1912)|Progressive Party]]. His flirtation with the party lasted for a single term before its dissolution in 1916 and he quickly returned to Republican ranks, though he remained sympathetic to the [[Progressivism in the United States|Progressive movement]] for much of the rest of his political career.

In the [[1918 California lieutenant gubernatorial election|1918 general elections]], Young won the race for [[Lieutenant Governor of California]], a position to which he was re-elected in [[1922 California lieutenant gubernatorial election|1922]]. In the [[1920 United States presidential election|1920 U.S. presidential election]], Young was a member of the [[United States Electoral College|Electoral College]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.joincalifornia.com/candidate/6574|title=C. C. Young, Republican|publisher=JoinCalifornia.org|year=2007 |access-date=2007-09-26}}</ref>

By 1926, frustration within inner Republican ranks with the fiscally conservative governorship of [[Friend Richardson]] had reached its zenith. In the gubernatorial [[Partisan primary|primary election]], Progressive Republicans overcame conservative and corporate opposition to win the nomination for Young, knocking Richardson out of the general election.<ref name="DeBow, Ken and John C. Syer 2003">{{cite book |author1=DeBow, Ken |author2=John C. Syer |title=Power and Politics in California |location=New York |publisher=Longman |year=2003 |isbn=0-321-08975-8 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/powerpoliticsinc00debo }}</ref> In the [[California gubernatorial election, 1926|1926 general election]] campaign, Young earned vocal support from former governor [[Hiram Johnson]] and prominent banker [[Amadeo Giannini]]. Young won in a landslide, garnering 71.3 percent of the vote and crushing his rivals, who included [[United States Democratic Party|Democrat]] [[Justus S. Wardell]] and [[Socialist Party of America|Socialist]] author [[Upton Sinclair]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.joincalifornia.com/election/1926-11-02|title=November 2, 1926 General Election results|publisher=JoinCalifornia.org |date=1926-11-02 |access-date=2007-09-26}}</ref>

==Governor==
Beginning his governorship on January 4, 1927, Young's agenda included reorganizing the state's various commissions and departments into his [[Cabinet (government)|cabinet]] to better coordinate state governmental affairs. "Some system like this would, I believe, be far more businesslike and effective than such haphazard and infrequent consultations as must otherwise normally take place between a Governor and our numerous unrelated boards and commissions," Young said.<ref name="California State Library">{{cite web|url=http://www.californiagovernors.ca.gov/h/documents/inaugural_26.html|title=Inaugural Address, C. C. Young. January 4, 1927|publisher=[[California State Library]]|date=1927-01-04|access-date=2007-09-26|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070919072018/http://www.californiagovernors.ca.gov/h/documents/inaugural_26.html|archive-date=September 19, 2007}}</ref>

Among his other priorities were: the financing of the [[State highways in California|state highway system]] through a [[fuel tax]] rather than by [[municipal bond|state bonds]]; more clearly defined roles for the [[California State Board of Education|State Board of Education]] and the [[California State Superintendent of Public Instruction]] to eliminate conflicting duties; upholding the [[direct primary]]; and the creation of penal facilities specifically for convicted females, believing that "[[San Quentin]] is no place for our women prisoners."<ref name="California State Library"/>

In his first year of office, Young signed a bill passed by the [[California State Legislature]] authorizing the creation of a California State Parks Commission. Headed by [[Frederick Law Olmsted&nbsp;Jr.]], the survey commission investigated lands across the state suitable for state protection and developed plans for their future financing.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.savetheredwoods.org/league/timeline.shtml|title=League Timeline|publisher=[[Save the Redwoods League]]|year=2007|access-date=2007-09-26|archive-date=2007-09-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927071948/http://www.savetheredwoods.org/league/timeline.shtml|url-status=dead}}</ref> A year later in a [[Popular initiative|voter initiative]] supported by Young, state voters approved the creation of the [[California State Parks|California State Park system]].

In late June 1927, Young personally intervened for [[Charlotte Anita Whitney]], a member of the [[Communist Party of the United States]], who had been convicted under the [[California Criminal Syndicalism Act|1919 Criminal Syndicalism Act]] passed under Governor [[William Stephens (American politician)|William Stephens]]. In 1919, Whitney had been arrested in [[Oakland, CA|Oakland]] after defying civic authorities in making a speech in behalf of John McHugh, a member of the [[Industrial Workers of the World]]. The anti-syndicalism law used to prosecute her had recently been upheld by the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] which held that threats of violence against the state and individuals did not constitute [[free speech]] and was not protected by the [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First Amendment]]. Following the high court's decision, Young granted Whitney an unconditional pardon, believing that putting her into a cell was "unthinkable." Young added that the law under which she was convicted was undoubtedly constitutional, but that "abnormal conditions attending the trial" greatly influenced the jury and that "under ordinary circumstances" the case never would have been prosecuted.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,785831,00.html?promoid=googlep|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021011322/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,785831,00.html?promoid=googlep|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 21, 2012|title=Unthinkable | magazine=Time |date=1927-07-04 |access-date=2007-09-26}}</ref>

On November 23, 1927, inmates at [[Folsom Prison]] rioted, taking control of a majority of the interior facilities, and took several prison guards as hostages. Young responded by mobilizing the [[California Army National Guard]], ordering commanders to encircle the prison with their units, supported by heavy [[machine guns]] and two [[tank]]s shipped by train from [[Salinas, CA|Salinas]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.militarymuseum.org/FolsomPrisonRiot1927.html|title=Folsom Prison Riot, 1927 |publisher=California State Military Museum |year=2007 |access-date=2007-09-26}}</ref>  The heavy show of military force in full view of the rioters forced the revolting prisoners to capitulate peacefully.

In 1928, starring alongside British actor [[Ronald Colman]], Young appeared in the film short ''Governor C.C. Young Hails Greater Talkie Season'', appealing to early [[talking picture]] audiences to attend family-friendly movies and to ignore films that depicted negative images of society.

In 1929, Young signed the law creating the [[California Highway Patrol]].

In October 1929, Young, along with President [[Herbert Hoover]], established the Hoover-Young San Francisco Bay Bridge Commission to investigate the feasibility of a bridge linking the [[East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)|East Bay]] to [[San Francisco]], supported by his Director of Public Works, [[Bert Meek]], an engineer and surveyor. The commission submitted its report in August 1930, concluding that not only was the bridge necessary to the development of the area, but that it was "entirely feasible from economic and construction viewpoints."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/news_events/bridge/sfobay.html|title=Bridging the Bay: Bridging the Campus|publisher=[[University of California, Berkeley]]|year=1999 |access-date=2007-09-26}}</ref> The [[San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge]] eventually was completed and opened to traffic in late 1936.

Following a strike by Mexican agricultural laborers in the [[Imperial Valley (California)|Imperial Valley]] in 1928, Young commissioned an investigation on the status of working conditions for Mexicans. The investigation's findings, presented to Young in 1930, concluded that Mexican immigrants made up a majority of farm labor, had supplanted other immigrant groups and were now doing the work white [[European Americans]] would not do.<ref>{{cite book |author=Donato, Ruben |title=The Other Struggle for Equal Schools: Mexican Americans During the Civil Rights Movement |location=New York |publisher=[[State University of New York Press]] |year=1997 |isbn=0-7914-3520-2 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/otherstrugglefor0000dona }}</ref> The report also outlined that many labor contracting practices, including the withholding of 25 percent of immigrant farm labor salaries, were likely to be illegal.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/mexican_voices/voices_display.cfm?id=86|title=Mexican American Voices |publisher=Digital History|year=2007 |access-date=2007-09-26 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070715030920/http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/mexican_voices/voices_display.cfm?id=86 <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2007-07-15}}</ref>

Despite Young's Progressive credentials, Progressive attitudes towards the governor soured in 1929 after Young's appointee as state Superintendent of Banks, Will C. Wood, approved the merger between [[Amadeo Giannini]]'s [[Bank of Italy (USA)|Bank of Italy]] with [[Orra E. Monnette]]'s [[Bank of America]].<ref name="DeBow, Ken and John C. Syer 2003"/> While Young denied that Giannini's support of his gubernatorial candidacy in 1926 was the reason for his support of the merger, his decision did not sit well with Progressives, who viewed economic conglomerations with suspicion. In 1930, constitutional restrictions on corporations were repealed.

The loss of support for Young among Progressives, along with the beginning of the [[Great Depression]], severely hurt his chances of being re-nominated for a second term as governor. Despite campaign slogans that included "Re-Elect C.C. Young - He Left $31 Million in the Treasury," Young was defeated by [[James Rolph]], the charismatic [[Mayor of San Francisco]], in the [[United States Republican Party|Republican]] party's [[Partisan primary|primary election]] in 1930.<ref name="Governor C. C. Young" />

Following Rolph's death shortly before the [[California gubernatorial election, 1934|1934 gubernatorial election]], Young again sought the Republican nomination, but lost the [[Partisan primary|primary election]] to Rolph's successor, [[Frank Merriam]].

==Post-governorship==
Young attended the [[1932 Summer Olympics]] in [[Los Angeles]], where he met and congratulated several of the athletes. Following his 1934 defeat, Young retired from politics. He served as the president of the [[Commonwealth Club of California]] between 1939 and 1940, and returned to writing, publishing ''The Legislature of California'', a study of California legislative politics, in 1943.<ref>{{cite book |author=Cobbledick, Winifred, Arthur Harris and Clement Calhoun Young|title=The Legislature of California; its Membership, Procedure, and Work.|location=San Francisco|publisher=[[Commonwealth Club of California]] |year=1943 }}</ref> Until 1944, he devoted much of his working time to Mason-McDuffie, serving as its vice president.

He died on [[Christmas Eve]] (December 24), 1947 in Berkeley at the age of 78. His remains are interred at Sunset View Cemetery in [[El Cerrito, California|El Cerrito]].

==Family==
Young was married to Lyla Jeannette Vincent and had two daughters.

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*[http://governors.library.ca.gov/26-Young.html Governors of California Profile of C. C. Young]
*{{IMDb name|id=0949407}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Friend Richardson]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee for [[Governor of California]]|years=[[1926 California gubernatorial election|1926]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[James Rolph]]}}
{{s-off}}
{{succession box|title=[[Lieutenant Governor of California]]|before=[[William Stephens (American politician)|William Stephens]]|after=[[Buron Fitts]]|years=1919&ndash;1927}}
{{succession box|title=[[Governor of California]]|before=William Stephens|after=[[James Rolph]]|years=1927&ndash;1931}}
{{s-end}}

{{Governors of California}}
{{CALtGovernors}}
{{CAAssemblySpeaker}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Clement Calhoun}}
[[Category:1869 births]]
[[Category:1947 deaths]]
[[Category:Republican Party governors of California]]
[[Category:Republican Party members of the California State Assembly]]
[[Category:Speakers of the California State Assembly]]
[[Category:American Congregationalists]]
[[Category:California Progressives (1912)]]
[[Category:People from Lisbon, New Hampshire]]
[[Category:Schoolteachers from California]]
[[Category:Politicians from Berkeley, California]]
[[Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni]]
[[Category:Phi Delta Theta members]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the California State Legislature]]