Joseph F. Guffey

Joseph F. Guffey
Joseph F. Guffey
Born	Error: Invalid birth date for calculating age; Guffey Station, Sewickley Township, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	6 March 1959 (aged 88)
Occupation(s)	Businessman, politician
Years active	1901–1947
Known for	U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania (1935–1947), Democratic Party leader, advocate of New Deal

Joseph Finch Guffey (December 29, 1870 – March 6, 1959) was a prominent American businessman and a Democratic Party leader from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Representing Pennsylvania in the United States Senate, he completed two terms between 1935 and 1947.

Early life

Joseph was born at Guffey Station in Sewickley Township, Pennsylvania to parents John and Barbaretta (Hough) Guffey. His family, of Scots-Irish heritage, flourished with the expansion of railroads along the Youghiogheny River. His mother descended from English ancestry. He was the youngest among eight children, including his sister Mary Emma Guffey Miller.

Although he attended Princeton University, Guffey did not graduate but became an admirer of Professor Woodrow Wilson. He later supported Wilson’s 1912 presidential bid and endorsed his Quad Plan aimed at Princeton’s growth.

From 1901 until 1918, Guffey held the position of general manager at the Philadelphia Company in Pittsburgh, a public utilities enterprise. In 1918, he partnered with E. N. Gillespie to establish the Guffey Gillespie Oil Company, which leased approximately 220,000 acres across vital oil-producing regions in the Mid-Continent and Texas. By 1921, the company’s value reached around $3.5 million before being purchased by Tide Water Oil Company.

World War I

During the First World War, Guffey entered public service, serving on the War Industries Board within its Petroleum Service Division and as Director of the Bureau of Sales in the Office of Alien Property Custodian. He worked until March 1921 for a nominal salary of one dollar while overseeing funds exceeding $50 million. In 1922, he faced twelve embezzlement charges related to alleged mismanagement of these funds during his tenure. Accusations included improper handling of interest from government deposits alongside obtaining personal loans from those banks. It was also noted that he experienced financial losses linked to Mexican oil ventures during the war. In 1926, another indictment accused him of undervaluing and conspiring in the sale of Bosch Magneto Company, an enemy-owned property.

Guffey’s defense attorney, Joseph Patrick Tumulty, argued that these allegations were politically driven and maintained that Guffey retained approximately $400,000 in accrued interest until retirement. After reconciling his Bureau of Sales accounts, the charges were dismissed amid broader settlements associated with scandals during the Harding and Coolidge administrations, including Teapot Dome.

United States Senate

Between 1920 and 1928, Guffey was a member of the Democratic National Committee and played a key role in revitalizing Pennsylvania's Democratic Party alongside David L. Lawrence. In the 1934 election, he defeated Republican David Reed to become Pennsylvania’s first Democratic senator since 1874. That same year marked George H. Earle’s election as Pennsylvania’s first Democratic governor in many decades.

As chairman of the Mines and Mining Committee, Guffey was a vigorous advocate for President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal initiatives and aligned himself with Henry Wallace’s progressive stance. He criticized Federal Bureau of Narcotics chief Harry Anslinger for using racially offensive language in official communications.

Guffey stirred political debate by supporting Lieutenant Governor Thomas Kennedy—an ally of mine union leader John L. Lewis—over Charles Alvin Jones, who was backed by Governor Earle and other party members; Jones subsequently lost the election to Republican Arthur James. Additionally, Guffey collaborated with Lewis to replace ineffective officials on the National Bituminous Coal Commission.

In 1938, Moses Annenberg, publisher of The Philadelphia Inquirer, filed a libel suit against Guffey after he accused Annenberg on a radio broadcast of attempting to "buy the governorship" for Arthur James.

Guffey secured reelection in 1940 with backing from Claude Pepper; however, his political influence diminished following Republican control of Congress and subsequent repeal of labor-supportive legislation culminating in the Taft-Hartley Act. He was decisively defeated in 1946 by Governor Edward Martin.

In 1943, British intellectual Isaiah Berlin described Guffey as a staunch Roosevelt supporter and a typical Pennsylvania politician who had become a loyal party operative lacking complete integrity, often voting against fellow Pennsylvania Senator James J. Davis.

Retirement

Following his departure from the Senate, Guffey settled in Washington, DC, where he passed away in 1959. His body was transported back to West Newton, Pennsylvania for interment at West Newton Cemetery.

The archival collection of Joseph Guffey's documents can be found at several institutions: Washington & Jefferson College, Princeton University Library, the Claude Pepper Center within Florida State University Library (which includes a campaign speech from 1940), and the National Archives at College Park, Maryland.

External links

Joseph F. Guffey, Historical Society of Pennsylvania
"Portrait of unidentified man" (likely Guffey) at the University of Mississippi Library Digital Collections