Douglas McKay

James Douglas McKay (June 24, 1893 – July 22, 1959) was an American businessman and politician from the U.S. state of Oregon. He served in World War I before going into business, where he was most successful as a car dealership owner in Salem. A Republican, he served as a city councilor and mayor of Salem before election to the Oregon State Senate. McKay served four terms in the state senate, also served stateside with the rank of major in the U.S. Army during World War II, serverd as the 25th governor of Oregon from 1949 to 1952. He left that office before the end of his term when he was selected as the 35th U.S. Secretary of the Interior during the Eisenhower administration. McKay's conservative policies were denounced by environmentalists; they forced his resignation in 1956.

Early life and business career McKay was born in Portland, Oregon, to farmer Edwin D. McKay and his wife Minnie A. Musgrove. His family's limited means required him to work while still a schoolboy. After his father's death in 1911, McKay was forced to leave school before receiving a high school diploma.

He was admitted to Oregon State College in Corvallis as an agriculture student at the age of twenty. McKay was elected student body president in 1916. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree and married Mabel Christine Hill on March 31, 1917. They had one son and two daughters: Douglas, Shirley and Marylou McKay.

During World War I, he served with the United States Army in Europe, where he advanced to the rank of first lieutenant. Upon discharge, the disability prevented him from performing the strenuous activities involved with farming, so he began a business career in Portland selling insurance, and then automobiles, rising to the position of sales manager.

Early political career McKay won election to several local political offices as a Republican, becoming mayor of Salem in 1932, and guided that city through fiscal troubles in the wake of the Great Depression.

Governor of Oregon He was elected governor in 1948 on a platform of fiscal conservatism and economic development.

Tom McCall, who would later become governor, served as McKay's executive secretary and press officer between 1949 and 1951.

Secretary of the Interior Secretary McKay and Dwight D. Eisenhower had significant ideological differences, the General being identified with the Republican moderates, and McKay with the conservative wing. Fearing that conservative Senator Robert A. Taft had little or no chance of winning the presidency in 1952, and admiring Eisenhower for his military record and leadership qualities, McKay supported Eisenhower's candidacy early in the campaign. Upon his election, Eisenhower appointed McKay as Secretary of the Interior. McKay resigned as Oregon governor on December 27, 1952. He fostered partnerships involving the states, local public groups, private enterprise, and the Federal Government in building facilities and developing natural resources. However McKay worked to prevent the Columbia Valley Authority and protection of the Hell's Canyon project. McKay created nine new wildlife reserves and he opposed the transfer of Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge property to the Army. However, he also advocated building a dam at Echo Park which would have flooded Dinosaur National Monument. In Oregon, he allowed a mining company to harvest timber; for that, his critics dubbed him, "Giveaway McKay."

In 1954, McKay was featured on the cover of the edition of August 23 of Time.

Later years and legacy At the urging of Eisenhower, McKay resigned March 9, 1956, effective April 15, 1956, to challenge incumbent Wayne Morse for his seat in the United States Senate.

Salem's Douglas McKay High School, built in 1979, bears his name.