Charles Samuel Joelson
Encyclopedia
Charles Samuel Joelson was an American
lawyer
and politician
. Joelson, a Democrat
, succeeded Gordon Canfield
as the Representative
for New Jersey's 8th District
for eight years, lasting from 1961 until his resignation on September 4, 1969, when he became a judge in the Superior Court
of New Jersey
.
. After graduating from Montclair Academy
, he went on to college and attended Cornell University
. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelor of Arts
degree in 1937, Joelson went to attend the university's law school
. He graduated with a Bachelor of Laws
degree in 1939, and was admitted to the bar in 1940. He first started his law practice
in Paterson, New Jersey
and continued until he enlisted in the United States Navy
in 1942. During World War II
, Joelson served as an ensign in the Far Eastern Branch of the Office of Naval Intelligence
, where he learned and mastered the Japanese language
. After the war, Joelson first ran for the House seat in New Jersey's 8th congressional district
against incumbent Gordon Canfield
. In a close election, Canfield captured 59,191 votes, just 148 more than Joelson, and was proclaimed the winner of the election. Joelson then served on Paterson
's city counsel from 1949 to 1952.
in New Jersey
's criminal investigation division for three years, starting in 1954. That same year, he again ran for the Representative
seat for New Jersey's 8th District
, but again lost to incumbent
Gordon Canfield
. Joelson received 45.1% of the vote, in comparison to Canfield's 54.8%. Afterwards, Joelson then went on to the Passaic County's Prosecutor’s Office and then became the director of the state's criminal investigation division and served that post from 1958 to 1960.
He won the seat for New Jersey's 8th District
's in the November 1960 election. Canfield was not a candidate for renomination in 1960, and so Joelson was pitted against Republican Walter P. Kennedy. Joelson won the election by nearly 14,000 votes, capturing a 52%-43.8% majority. He was sworn into the United States Congress
on January 3, 1961. As Congressman, one of Joelson's finest achievements was a piece of legislation in 1969 that saved many school libraries. The legislation appropriated over a billion dollars for public school libraries, remedial programs and guidance counseling.
After his resignation, then-state cabinet member Robert A. Roe
was elected as a Democrat
by special election on November 4, 1969 to fill the vacancy left by Joelson. Joelson had asked the state's governor at the time, Richard J. Hughes
for a seat in the New Jersey Superior Court
. He served on the bench for fifteen years, spending time in the Chancery Division and the Appellate Division, before retiring in 1984.
A resident of Paramus
, Joelson died at the age of 83 in Freehold, New Jersey
on August 17, 1999.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and politician
Politics of the United States
The United States is a federal constitutional republic, in which the President of the United States , Congress, and judiciary share powers reserved to the national government, and the federal government shares sovereignty with the state governments.The executive branch is headed by the President...
. Joelson, a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, succeeded Gordon Canfield
Gordon Canfield
Gordon Canfield was an American lawyer and politician. Canfield, a Republican, was first a secretary under the United States Representative for New Jersey's 8th District, George N...
as the Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
for New Jersey's 8th District
New Jersey's 8th congressional district
New Jersey's Eighth Congressional District is currently represented by Democrat Bill Pascrell.-Counties and municipalities in the district:For the 108th and successive Congresses , the district contains all, or portions of 2 counties and 21 municipalities.Essex County:Passaic County:2010...
for eight years, lasting from 1961 until his resignation on September 4, 1969, when he became a judge in the Superior Court
New Jersey Superior Court
The Superior Court is the state court in the U.S. state of New Jersey, with state-wide trial and appellate jurisdiction. The Superior Court has three divisions: the Appellate Division is essentially an intermediate appellate court while the Law and Chancery Divisions function as trial courts...
of New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
.
Background
Joelson was born and raised in a Jewish family in Paterson, New JerseyPaterson, New Jersey
Paterson is a city serving as the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 146,199, rendering it New Jersey's third largest city and one of the largest cities in the New York City Metropolitan Area, despite a decrease of 3,023...
. After graduating from Montclair Academy
Montclair Kimberley Academy
Montclair Kimberley Academy, abbreviated "MKA", is a private coeducational day school located in Montclair, New Jersey, serving students from Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade. Thomas W. Nammack became the school's fourth Headmaster in July 2005...
, he went on to college and attended Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in 1937, Joelson went to attend the university's law school
Cornell Law School
Cornell Law School, located in Ithaca, New York, is a graduate school of Cornell University and one of the five Ivy League law schools. The school confers three law degrees...
. He graduated with a Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws
The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...
degree in 1939, and was admitted to the bar in 1940. He first started his law practice
Practice of law
In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the professional services of a lawyer or attorney at law, barrister,...
in Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson is a city serving as the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 146,199, rendering it New Jersey's third largest city and one of the largest cities in the New York City Metropolitan Area, despite a decrease of 3,023...
and continued until he enlisted in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
in 1942. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Joelson served as an ensign in the Far Eastern Branch of the Office of Naval Intelligence
Office of Naval Intelligence
The Office of Naval Intelligence was established in the United States Navy in 1882. ONI was established to "seek out and report" on the advancements in other nations' navies. Its headquarters are at the National Maritime Intelligence Center in Suitland, Maryland...
, where he learned and mastered the Japanese language
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
. After the war, Joelson first ran for the House seat in New Jersey's 8th congressional district
New Jersey's 8th congressional district
New Jersey's Eighth Congressional District is currently represented by Democrat Bill Pascrell.-Counties and municipalities in the district:For the 108th and successive Congresses , the district contains all, or portions of 2 counties and 21 municipalities.Essex County:Passaic County:2010...
against incumbent Gordon Canfield
Gordon Canfield
Gordon Canfield was an American lawyer and politician. Canfield, a Republican, was first a secretary under the United States Representative for New Jersey's 8th District, George N...
. In a close election, Canfield captured 59,191 votes, just 148 more than Joelson, and was proclaimed the winner of the election. Joelson then served on Paterson
Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson is a city serving as the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 146,199, rendering it New Jersey's third largest city and one of the largest cities in the New York City Metropolitan Area, despite a decrease of 3,023...
's city counsel from 1949 to 1952.
Politics and Superior Court
He then served as deputy Attorney GeneralState Attorney General
The state attorney general in each of the 50 U.S. states and territories is the chief legal advisor to the state government and the state's chief law enforcement officer. In some states, the attorney general serves as the head of a state department of justice, with responsibilities similar to those...
in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
's criminal investigation division for three years, starting in 1954. That same year, he again ran for the Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
seat for New Jersey's 8th District
United States Congressional Delegations from New Jersey
These are tables of congressional delegations from New Jersey to the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives. -United States Senate:-United States House of Representatives:-Sources:* *...
, but again lost to incumbent
Incumbent
The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
Gordon Canfield
Gordon Canfield
Gordon Canfield was an American lawyer and politician. Canfield, a Republican, was first a secretary under the United States Representative for New Jersey's 8th District, George N...
. Joelson received 45.1% of the vote, in comparison to Canfield's 54.8%. Afterwards, Joelson then went on to the Passaic County's Prosecutor’s Office and then became the director of the state's criminal investigation division and served that post from 1958 to 1960.
He won the seat for New Jersey's 8th District
New Jersey's 8th congressional district
New Jersey's Eighth Congressional District is currently represented by Democrat Bill Pascrell.-Counties and municipalities in the district:For the 108th and successive Congresses , the district contains all, or portions of 2 counties and 21 municipalities.Essex County:Passaic County:2010...
's in the November 1960 election. Canfield was not a candidate for renomination in 1960, and so Joelson was pitted against Republican Walter P. Kennedy. Joelson won the election by nearly 14,000 votes, capturing a 52%-43.8% majority. He was sworn into the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
on January 3, 1961. As Congressman, one of Joelson's finest achievements was a piece of legislation in 1969 that saved many school libraries. The legislation appropriated over a billion dollars for public school libraries, remedial programs and guidance counseling.
After his resignation, then-state cabinet member Robert A. Roe
Robert A. Roe
Robert A. Roe is an American Democratic Party politician who represented New Jersey in the United States House of Representatives for over twenty-three years, serving from November 4, 1969 to January 3, 1993....
was elected as a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
by special election on November 4, 1969 to fill the vacancy left by Joelson. Joelson had asked the state's governor at the time, Richard J. Hughes
Richard J. Hughes
Richard Joseph Hughes was an American Democratic Party politician, who served as the 45th Governor of New Jersey from 1962 to 1970, and as Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1973–1979...
for a seat in the New Jersey Superior Court
New Jersey Superior Court
The Superior Court is the state court in the U.S. state of New Jersey, with state-wide trial and appellate jurisdiction. The Superior Court has three divisions: the Appellate Division is essentially an intermediate appellate court while the Law and Chancery Divisions function as trial courts...
. He served on the bench for fifteen years, spending time in the Chancery Division and the Appellate Division, before retiring in 1984.
A resident of Paramus
Paramus, New Jersey
Paramus is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 26,342. A suburb of New York City, Paramus is located between 15–20 miles northwest of Midtown Manhattan and approximately west of Upper Manhattan.Paramus is one of...
, Joelson died at the age of 83 in Freehold, New Jersey
Freehold Borough, New Jersey
Freehold is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 12,052. It is the county seat of Monmouth County....
on August 17, 1999.
External links
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States CongressBiographical Directory of the United States CongressThe Biographical Directory of the United States Congress is a biographical dictionary of all present and former members of the United States Congress as well as its predecessor, the Continental Congress...
- The Political Graveyard profile for Charles Joelson