Editing Key Pittman

{{Short description|American politician (1872–1940)}}
{{redirect|Senator Pittman}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2016}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Key Pittman
| image               = PITTMAN, KEY. SENATOR LCCN2016858404 (cropped).jpg
| office              = [[President pro tempore of the United States Senate]]
| term_start          = March 4, 1933
| term_end            = November 10, 1940
| predecessor         = [[George H. Moses]]
| successor           = [[William H. King]]
| office1             = Chair of the [[United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations|Senate Foreign Relations Committee]]
| term_start1         = March 4, 1933
| term_end1           = November 10, 1940
| predecessor1        = [[William Borah]]
| successor1          = [[Walter F. George]]
| office2             = [[United States Senate Democratic Conference Secretary|Secretary of the Senate Democratic Caucus]]<br>Acting
| leader2             = [[John W. Kern]]
| term_start2         = December 14, 1916
| term_end2           = March 3, 1917
| predecessor2        = [[Willard Saulsbury Jr.]]
| successor2          = [[William H. King]]
| jr/sr3              = United States Senator
| state3              = [[Nevada]]
| term_start3         = January 29, 1913
| term_end3           = November 10, 1940
| predecessor3        = [[William A. Massey (politician)|William A. Massey]]
| successor3          = [[Berkeley L. Bunker]]
| birth_name          = Key Denson Pittman
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1872|9|12}}
| birth_place         = [[Vicksburg, Mississippi]], U.S.
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1940|11|10|1872|9|12}}
| death_place         = [[Reno, Nevada]], U.S.
| nationality         = American
| party               = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| spouse              = Mimosa Gates
| education           = [[Rhodes College|Southwestern Presbyterian University]]
}}

'''Key Denson Pittman''' (September 19, 1872 – November 10, 1940) was a [[United States senator]] from [[Nevada]] and a member of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]], serving eventually as [[President pro tempore of the United States Senate|president pro tempore]] as well as chairman of the [[United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations|Foreign Relations Committee]].

==Biography==

===Early years===
Pittman was born in [[Vicksburg, Mississippi]] on September 12, 1872, a son of William Buckner Pittman and Katherine Key Pittman. His siblings included a younger brother, [[Vail M. Pittman]], who served as [[Governor of Nevada]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_nevada/col2-content/main-content-list/title_pittman_vail.html|title= Nevada Governor Vail Montgomery Pittman |publisher= National Governors Association
|access-date= October 6, 2012}}</ref>

Key Pittman was educated by private tutors and at the [[Southwestern Presbyterian University]] in [[Clarksville, Tennessee]]. He studied law, then later was admitted to the bar. In 1897, Pittman joined in the [[Klondike Gold Rush]] and worked as a miner until 1901.

Pittman moved to [[Tonopah, Nevada]], in 1902 and continued the practice of law. He represented Nevada at the [[Louisiana Purchase Exposition|St. Louis Exposition]], the [[Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition]], and the [[National Irrigation Congress]].{{citation needed|date=September 2012}}

===Political career===
[[File:Key Pittman cph.3a02989.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Pittman in 1918.]]

In the early 20th century, Nevada was one of several states that hoped to institute the popular election of United States senators; the [[Constitution of the United States|U.S. Constitution]] had provided for them to be elected by state legislatures. The states aiming to change this held popular elections as Senate terms expired, with the goal of forcing their legislatures to elect the people's choices. This was almost certainly unconstitutional, but the matter never reached the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]] before the [[Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|17th Amendment]] became part of the Constitution.<ref>[https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Direct_Election_Senators.htm "Direct Election of Senators"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206010152/https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Direct_Election_Senators.htm |date=December 6, 2017 }}, United States Senate webpage, Origins and Development—Institutional.</ref>

Nevada held a popular vote for the Senate in 1910, in which Pittman was the Democratic nominee; he lost to [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] incumbent [[George S. Nixon]]. After Nixon died on June 5, 1912, Pittman faced Republican interim appointee William A. Massey in a special election that November. Pittman won the election and, as happened in all of these questionable Senate elections held prior to the adoption of the 17th Amendment, the Nevada Legislature made the popular result official. The 17th Amendment was ratified in 1913 and Pittman won full terms in 1916, 1922, 1928, and 1934; he was re-elected again in 1940 but died shortly after the election.

Between 1933 and 1940, during the [[Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt]], Pittman was the chairman of the powerful [[United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations|Committee on Foreign Relations]], in which capacity (after much prompting by the President) he authored the Pittman Act that formed the basis of the Neutrality Act of November,1939, enabling allies to purchase war materiel from the United States on a [[Cash and carry (World War II)|cash-and-carry]] basis.<ref>’’FDR Into the Storm.’’ Kenneth S. Davis. pp. 449-451. Random House. (1993)</ref> He was a member of the Committee on Territories and the [[United States Senate Committee on Industrial Expositions|Committee on Industrial Expositions]]. In addition, during those years Pittman was also [[President pro tempore of the United States Senate]].

Among his legislation is the [[Pittman–Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937]], which set up a formula for federal sharing of ammunition tax revenue for establishing state wildlife areas.  The program is still in effect.{{citation needed|date=September 2012}} The Key Pittman Wildlife Management Area near [[Hiko, Nevada]], which encompasses the Frenchy and Nesbitt lakes, is named in his honor.

===Death and legacy===
It was falsely rumored for years that Pittman died before his [[United States Senate elections, 1940|final election in 1940]], and that Democratic party leaders kept the body at Tonopah's [[Mizpah Hotel]] in a bathtub full of ice until after he was reelected so Governor [[Edward P. Carville]], a fellow Democrat, could appoint a replacement. The truth was, former Nevada State Archivist Guy Rocha wrote, "just as disreputable." Pittman suffered a severe [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]] just before the election on November 5, and two doctors told his aides before the election that death was imminent. To avoid affecting the election, the party told the press that the senator was hospitalized for exhaustion and that his condition was not serious.<ref name="KNPR">{{cite news |last=Nevada Yesterdays |title=The Truth Of The Legend Of Key Pittman |url=https://knpr.org/knpr/2015-11/truth-legend-key-pittman |work=KNPR |location=Las Vegas, NV |access-date=September 28, 2020}}</ref> Pittman died on November 10 at the [[Washoe General Hospital]] in [[Reno, Nevada]].<ref name="rocha200305">{{cite web|url=http://nsla.nevadaculture.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=665&Itemid=418 |title=Myth #88 - Key Pittman on Ice |publisher=State Library and Archives, Department of Administration, State of Nevada |work=Sierra Sage |date=May 2003 |access-date=October 3, 2013 |last1=Rocha |first1=Guy |last2=Myers |first2=Dennis |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004215959/http://nsla.nevadaculture.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=665&Itemid=418 |archive-date=October 4, 2013 }}</ref>

Several pieces of legislation bore his name, including the [[Pittman Act]] of 1918 and the [[Pittman–Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act]] of 1937.

The Pittman section of the [[Alaska Railroad]], more commonly known today as the community of [[Meadow Lakes, Alaska|Meadow Lakes]] west of [[Wasilla]], was also named for him.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Williams |first1=Anita L.|last2=Ewers|first2=Linda D.|title=Ride Guide to the Historic Alaska Railroad |year=2003 |publisher=TurnAgain Products|location=[[Anchorage]]|isbn= 0939301016 |page=30}}</ref>  Pittman Road runs north from its intersection with the [[George Parks Highway]] at "downtown" Meadow Lakes.

A section of the city Henderson, Nevada is unofficially known as Pittman.  There is also a natural wash that traverses a large section of Henderson named after the former senator.  It is known as the Pittman Wash and has a walking / biking trail alongside it.

In 1941, his wife donated Pittman's papers to the Library of Congress. She temporarily withdrew them in 1942. They were returned to the Library by the Gates family in 1954.<ref>{{Citation |last=Brand |first=Katherine |date=2011 |title=Key Pittman Papers: A Finding Aid to the Collection in the Library of Congress |url=http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms011137 |publisher=Manuscript Division, Library of Congress |location=Washington, D.C.}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of United States Congress members who died in office (1900–1949)]]

==Footnotes==
{{reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite journal |last=Cole |first=Wayne S. |date=March 1960 |title=Senator Key Pittman and American Neutrality Policies, 1933-1940 |journal=Mississippi Valley Historical Review |publisher=Organization of American Historians |volume=46 |issue=4 |pages=644–662 |jstor=1886281 |doi=10.2307/1886281}}
* {{cite book |last=Glad |first=Betty |date=1986 |title=Key Pittman: The Tragedy of a Senate Insider |location=New York |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=0-231-06112-9 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/keypittmantraged0000glad }}
* {{cite journal |last=Israel |first=Fred L. |date=November 1961 |title=The Fulfillment of Bryan's Dream: Key Pittman and Silver Politics, 1918-1933 |journal=Pacific Historical Review |publisher=University of California Press |volume=40 |issue=4 |pages=359–380 |jstor=3636423 |doi=10.2307/3636423}}
* {{cite book |last=Israel |first=Fred L. |date=1963 |title=Nevada's Key Pittman |location=Lincoln, Nebr. |publisher=University of Nebraska Press}}

==External links==
{{Commons cat|Key Pittman}}
* The [http://findingaids.loc.gov/db/search/xq/searchMfer02.xq?_id=loc.mss.eadmss.ms011137&_faSection=overview&_faSubsection=did&_dmdid=d8715e6 Key Pittman papers], including a [http://findingaids.loc.gov/db/search/xq/searchMfer02.xq?_id=loc.mss.eadmss.ms011137&_faSection=printDownload&_faSubsection=otherfindaid&_dmdid=d8715e5 finding aid], at the Library of Congress
* {{CongBio|P000372}}
* {{Find a Grave|7125856}}
* {{PM20|FID=pe/013667}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-new|office}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee for [[United States Senator|U.S. Senator]] from [[Nevada]]<br>([[Classes of United States Senators|Class 1]])|years=[[1911 United States Senate election in Nevada|1911]], [[1913 United States Senate special election in Nevada|1913]], [[1916 United States Senate election in Nevada|1916]], [[1922 United States Senate election in Nevada|1922]], [[1928 United States Senate election in Nevada|1928]], [[1934 United States Senate election in Nevada|1934]], [[1940 United States Senate election in Nevada|1940]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[James G. Scrugham]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Willard Saulsbury Jr.]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[United States Senate Democratic Conference Secretary|Secretary of the Senate Democratic Caucus]]<br>Acting|years=1916–1917}}
{{s-aft|after=[[William H. King]]}}
|-
{{s-par|us-sen}}
{{s-bef|before=[[William A. Massey (politician)|William A. Massey]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of United States Senators from Nevada|U.S. Senator (Class 1) from Nevada]]|years=1913–1940|alongside=[[Francis G. Newlands]], [[Charles Henderson (Nevada politician)|Charles Henderson]], [[Tasker Oddie]], [[Pat McCarran]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Berkeley L. Bunker]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[William Alden Smith]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Chair of the Senate Territories Committee|years=1913–1917}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Harry Stewart New]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Thomas W. Hardwick]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Chair of the [[United States Senate Committee on Industrial Expositions|Senate Industrial Expositions Committee]]|years=1919–1921}}
{{s-non|reason=Position abolished}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[William Borah]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Chair of the [[United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations|Senate Foreign Relations Committee]]|years=1933–1940}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Walter F. George]]}}
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{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[George H. Moses]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[President pro tempore of the United States Senate|President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate]]|years=1933–1940}}
{{s-aft|after=[[William H. King]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{USSenNV}}
{{SenForeignRelationsCommitteeChairmen}}
{{USSenPresProTemp}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pittman, Key}}
[[Category:1872 births]]
[[Category:1940 deaths]]
[[Category:Democratic Party United States senators from Nevada]]
[[Category:Nevada Democrats]]
[[Category:Nevada lawyers]]
[[Category:People from Tonopah, Nevada]]
[[Category:People of the Klondike Gold Rush]]
[[Category:Politicians from Vicksburg, Mississippi]]
[[Category:Presidents pro tempore of the United States Senate]]
[[Category:Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations]]
[[Category:20th-century United States senators]]