Edward P. Costigan

Edward Prentiss Costigan (July 1, 1874 – January 17, 1939) was a Democratic Party politician who represented Colorado in the United States Senate from 1931 to 1937. He was a founding member of the Progressive Party in Colorado in 1912.

Early life and education Edward Prentiss Costigan was born near Beulahville in King William County, Virginia, on July 1, 1874. In 1877, his parents moved to Lake City, Colorado, and the following year settled in Ouray. His brother, George Purcell Costigan Jr. was a lawyer, professor, dean, and author. He was elected to the U.S. Senate as a Democrat in 1930. Oscar L. Chapman managed his campaign. He served from March 4, 1931, to January 3, 1937.

Mabel, a member of the National Child Labor Committee advisory council, was particularly concerned about the practice of employing children to work in sugar beet fields.

Costigan–Wagner Bill Costigan and New York Democratic Senator Robert F. Wagner sponsored a federal anti-lynching law in 1934. In 1935, Senate leaders tried to persuade President Franklin D. Roosevelt to support the Costigan–Wagner Bill. Roosevelt was concerned about a provision of the bill that called for the punishment of sheriffs who failed to protect their prisoners from lynch mobs. He believed that he would lose the support of the white voters in the South by approving it and lose the 1936 presidential election.

The Costigan–Wagner Bill received support from many members of Congress but the emerging Southern Caucus managed to defeat it in the Senate. The national debate that took place over the issue again brought renewed attention to the crime of lynching. By the mid-1930s, the rate of the crime had finally dropped to mostly below 20 annually. Several organizations held 1935 New York anti-lynching exhibitions in support of the bill. The Anti-Lynching Bill of 1937, also known as the Gavagan-Wagner Act, was proposed in response to Costigan–Wagner's failure, but was similarly blocked by the Senate after passing the House.

Personal life

Costigan married high school classmate Mabel Cory on June 12, 1903. He was class president and she was class secretary. She was involved in church, educational, and community affairs. She was an expert on Sunday school primary work and was a lecturer and story-teller. Mabel was the president of the Woman's Club of Denver and chairwoman of the industrial committee of the Colorado State Federation of Women's Clubs. She campaigned for child labor law, particularly interested in prohibiting the practice of using children in sugar beet fields. Mabel was a member of the National Child Labor Committee advisory council. She was also interested in the plight of foreign-born individuals in labor practices.

After leaving Congress, he retired from professional and political life. He died on January 17, 1939, and was buried at Fairmount Cemetery in Denver.