Harrison, Marvin Clinton, 1890-1954

Cleveland lawyer and Ohio state senator who specialized in the areas of accident and labor law.

From the description of Papers, 1915-1954. (Rhinelander District Library). WorldCat record id: 17383369

Marvin Clinton Harrison (1890-1954) was a Cleveland, Ohio, attorney who often supported liberal causes. He grew up in Scribner, Nebraska, graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Grinnell College, Iowa, in 1912, and from Harvard Law School in June 1915. At this time, Harrison considered himself a socialist and spoke in favor of progressive issues, including women's suffrage. Despite his views, he quickly landed his first job with the Boston firm of Goodwin, Procter and Ballatine. After a year, he concluded his possibilities for advancement with this firm were limited, so he left to seek a more disireable position. In September of 1916, he joined Payer, Winch, and Rogers, a Cleveland, Ohio, firm specializing in accident litigation. There he gained valuable courtroom experience, but his desire for his own practice quickly led him into a partnership with George Seith to serve as corporate attorney for the General Insurance Company. In December 1917, despite the pacifist influences of his father, a Congregationalist minister, Harrison entered the Naval Reserve. His wartime experience, lasting only a year, consisted of duty aboard supply ships making runs between Panama and United States ports.

After the war, Harrison returned to Cleveland and resumed private practice. Always independent, he refused lucrative offers from several firms at several points in his career. In 1934, his partnership with Homer Marshman began, lasting until 1947 when Marshman left and the firm became Harrison, Thomas, Spangenberg, and Hull. These firms dealt primarily with accident litigation, but Harrison's council in several important cases involving labor unions and industrial accidents gained national attention. Harrison helped win settlements for victims of Republic Steel Corporation's attacks on strikers in the 1937 Little Steel Strike and for victims of the East Ohio Gas explosion of 1944.

Harrison did not wage all of his battles in the courtroom. During the 1930s he became involved in politics and reform legislation. In 1931 he drafted on of the nation's pioneering unemployment compensation bills for the Ohio legislature. As a state senator in 1933, he was instrumental in the passage of the Ohio minimum wage law and the ratification of the National Child Labor Amendment. He was a fervent supporter of the New Deal and chaired Roosevelt's Cuyahoga County campaign in 1936. He arbitrated the 1937 Cleveland Railway dispute, served during the Great Depression on a Senate investigation of defaulted Cleveland banks, and was a director of the City Club. Harrison was also a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the National Committee of the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Consumers League, and was president of the Ohio Consumers League from 1934-1954. Harrison had political aspirations but was unsuccessful in the 1944 and 1946 Democratic primaries for the United States Senate, and while he was mentioned several times as a Cleveland mayoral candidate, he never ran. Ten years before his death, he had appeared before the Ohio Supreme Court 238 times, purportedly an Ohio record, and certainly an indication of his energy and drive. On August 29, 1954, he died of a heart attack at his summer home in Ontario, Canada.

click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for Marvin Clinton Harrison

From the guide to the Marvin Clinton Harrison Papers, 1915-1954, (Western Reserve Historical Society)

Marvin Clinton Harrison (1890-1954) was a Cleveland, Ohio, attorney who often supported liberal causes. He grew up in Scribner, Nebraska, graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Grinnell College, Iowa, in 1912, and from Harvard Law School in June 1915. At this time, Harrison considered himself a socialist and spoke in favor of progressive issues, including women's suffrage. Despite his views, he quickly landed his first job with the Boston firm of Goodwin, Procter and Ballatine. After a year, he concluded his possibilities for advancement with this firm were limited, so he left to seek a more desireable position. In September of 1916, he joined Payer, Winch, and Rogers, a Cleveland, Ohio, firm specializing in accident litigation. There he gained valuable courtroom experience, but his desire for his own practice quickly led him into a partnership with George Seith to serve as corporate attorney for the General Insurance Company. In December 1917, despite the pacifist influences of his father, a Congregationalist minister, Harrison entered the Naval Reserve. His wartime experience, lasting only a year, consisted of duty aboard supply ships making runs between Panama and United States ports.

After the war, Harrison returned to Cleveland and resumed private practice. Always independent, he refused lucrative offers from several firms at several points in his career. In 1934, his partnership with Homer Marshman began, lasting until 1947 when Marshman left and the firm became Harrison, Thomas, Spangenberg, and Hull. These firms dealt primarily with accident litigation, but Harrison's council in several important cases involving labor unions and industrial accidents gained national attention. Harrison helped win settlements for victims of Republic Steel Corporation's attacks on strikers in the 1937 Little Steel Strike and for victims of the East Ohio Gas explosion of 1944.

Harrison did not wage all of his battles in the courtroom. During the 1930s he became involved in politics and reform legislation. In 1931 he drafted on of the nation's pioneering unemployment compensation bills for the Ohio legislature. As a state senator in 1933, he was instrumental in the passage of the Ohio minimum wage law and the ratification of the National Child Labor Amendment. He was a fervent supporter of the New Deal and chaired Roosevelt's Cuyahoga County campaign in 1936. He arbitrated the 1937 Cleveland Railway dispute, served during the Great Depression on a Senate investigation of defaulted Cleveland banks, and was a director of the City Club. Harrison was also a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the National Committee of the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Consumers League, and was president of the Ohio Consumers League from 1934-1954. Harrison had political aspirations but was unsuccessful in the 1944 and 1946 Democratic primaries for the United States Senate, and while he was mentioned several times as a Cleveland mayoral candidate, he never ran. Ten years before his death, he had appeared before the Ohio Supreme Court 238 times, purportedly an Ohio record, and certainly an indication of his energy and drive. On August 29, 1954, he died of a heart attack at his summer home in Ontario, Canada.

click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for Marvin Clinton Harrison

From the guide to the Marvin Clinton Harrison Photographs, 1930-1950, (Western Reserve Historical Society)