Chavez, Dennis, 1888-1962

<p>The first Hispanic Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate, Dennis Chavez changed the face of New Mexican and national politics. Over his 31-year career, Chavez never strayed far from the New Deal liberalism that first won him election to national office. Through ambitious public works legislation, Chavez modernized the country’s infrastructure and national defense systems. But it is perhaps his civil rights agenda, which broadened the idea of American citizenship, that Chavez is best remembered for. As Representative Henry B. González of Texas said, “the fact that a man with a surname such as Chavez was able to contribute as magnificently as the Senator did will forever be an inspiration to those of us who cannot escape our names.”</p>

<p>The third of eight children, Dionisio (Dennis) Chavez was born in early April of 1887 or 1888 to David Chavez and Paz Sanchez Chavez in Los Chavez, Valencia County, New Mexico. Chavez’s father maintained a small farm in the Rio Grande Valley and worked for neighboring ranches when the need arose. As there was no school in town, the younger Chavez tended the family’s sheep and cattle with his father. David Chavez had been appointed the Republican Party’s precinct chairman and was also a justice of the peace.</p>

<p>During Chavez’s childhood the railroad came to central New Mexico, forever transforming the territory by bringing new people, ideas, and jobs to the region. In 1895, seeking new opportunities and an education for their children, Chavez’s parents moved the family to a section of south Albuquerque known as Barelas. Chavez’s father took a job with the railroad and enrolled Dennis in the nearby Presbyterian Mission School, where he learned English. Dennis later transferred to St. Mary’s Elementary School and then attended Albuquerque’s public schools.</p>

CHAVEZ, Dennis, a Representative and a Senator from New Mexico; born in Los Chavez, Valencia County, N.Mex., April 8, 1888; attended the public schools; worked as a grocer's clerk as a boy and later in the engineering department of the city of Albuquerque; travelled to Washington in 1917 with Senator Andrieus A. Jones and served as clerk in the office of the Secretary of the United States Senate 1917-1920; graduated from the law department of Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., in 1920; admitted to the bar in 1920 and commenced practice in Albuquerque, N.Mex.; member, State house of representatives 1923-1924; elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-second and Seventy-third Congresses (March 4, 1931-January 3, 1935); chairman, Committee on Irrigation and Reclamation (Seventy-third Congress); did not seek renomination in 1934, but was an unsuccessful candidate for United States Senator; appointed as a Democrat on May 11, 1935, and elected on November 3, 1936, to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Bronson M. Cutting; reelected in 1940, 1946, 1952, and again in 1958, and served from May 11, 1935, until his death in Washington, D.C., November 18, 1962; chairman, Committee on Post Office and Post Roads (Seventy-ninth Congress), Committee on Public Works (Eighty-first, Eighty-second, and Eighty-fourth through Eighty-seventh Congresses); interment in Mount Calvary Cemetery, Albuquerque, N.Mex.

<p>Dionisio "Dennis" Chávez (April 8, 1888 – November 18, 1962) was an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1931 to 1935, and in the United States Senate from 1935 to 1962. He was the first Hispanic person elected to a full term in the US Senate and the first U.S. Senator to be born in New Mexico (which was still a U.S. Territory at the time of his birth).</p>

<p>Chávez was born in Los Chavez in the New Mexico Territory. His parents, David and Paz Chávez, were members of families that had lived in Los Chavez for generations. There was no school in that town. In 1895, David Chávez moved his family to the Barelas section of Albuquerque, New Mexico to work on the railroad and Dennis attended school until 7th grade when financial hardships necessitated that he work. His first job was delivering groceries at the Highland Grocery store. Later on, he studied engineering and surveying at night, and worked as an engineer for the City of Albuquerque for several years. Dennis's younger brother, David Chávez, served as the 34th Mayor of Santa Fe, a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, and as a member of the New Mexico Supreme Court.</p>

<p>Chávez worked briefly as editor of a Belen weekly newspaper, as a court interpreter, and as a private contractor until 1916, when he obtained temporary employment as a Spanish interpreter for Senator Andrieus A. Jones' election campaign. In 1917, he was offered a position as assistant executive clerk of the Senate in Washington, D.C. by Senator Jones. He accepted this position, passed a special admission exam at Georgetown University Law Center and studied law at night. He graduated from Georgetown in 1920, and returned to Albuquerque to establish a law practice. He was successful in defending organized labor and as a defense counsel in high-profile murder cases, where he used his popularity to run for office.</p>