Background
Francis Duffy was born on June 23, 1888, in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. He was the son of Francis F. Duffy, a lawyer, and Hattie E. Ryan.
Francis Duffy was born on June 23, 1888, in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. He was the son of Francis F. Duffy, a lawyer, and Hattie E. Ryan.
Educated in the public schools of Fond du Lac, Duffy graduated from Fond du Lac High School in 1906. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1910 with a B. A. and then entered the University of Wisconsin Law School, where he earned an Bachelor of Laws in 1912.
Francis Duffy practiced law in Fond du Lac with his father. Between 1917 and 1919 he served in the United States Army, first on the Mexican border and then as a member of the American Expeditionary Force in France. After World War I he was discharged with the rank of major, Motor Transport Corps, and returned to the practice of law in Fond du Lac.
Between 1919 and 1933, Duffy became deeply involved in American Legion activities. After his election as commander of the Wisconsin Department in 1922, he served first as national vice-commander and then as a member of the national executive committee until 1925.
Through his work on the American veterans' bonus legislation he developed a deep interest in national politics. Elected as a Roosevelt delegate to the Democratic national convention in Chicago, he served as chairman of the state delegation. Duffy was elected to the United States Senate in November 1932 by defeating Republican John B. Chapple, who had made the alleged "red menace" the central theme in the campaign. While in the Senate, Duffy served on several important committees, including Foreign Relations, Military Affairs, and Appropriations. Among his primary interests were national defense issues and copyright legislation. At a time when isolationism prevailed in Wisconsin politics, he argued for substantial defense expenditures.
Because of his expertise in foreign and military affairs, Duffy sometimes served in a quasi-diplomatic capacity. In 1935 he served as a member of the American economic and diplomatic mission to China, Japan, and the Philippines, and two years later he was selected as one of three senators to participate in the dedication of American battle monuments in Europe.
When Duffy ran for reelection to the Senate in 1938, his liberalism and the influence of third-party farmer-labor politics in Wisconsin combined to ensure his defeat. Although Duffy ran 150, 000 votes ahead of the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, he divided the liberal vote with Progressive party candidate Herman Ekern. As a result of disunity on the left, Republican Alexander Wiley succeeded Duffy in an election that also spelled disaster for liberal Congressional and gubernatorial candidates nationwide.
Following his defeat Duffy returned to Fond du Lac, where he resumed his law practice with Russell E. Hanson. In June 1939, President Roosevelt appointed him United States district judge for the eastern district of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. In 1949, President Harry S. Truman elevated him to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Duffy's political lexperience led to his frequent selection to important judicial advisory committees, such as the Bankruptcy Committee of the Judicial Council of the United States and the Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States on Judicial Retirement and Tenure.
Duffy also served two terms on the board of directors of the National Legal Aid and Defender Association, starting in 1958. Duffy retired in 1966 but continued to serve as senior circuit judge until 1978, when he left the court. He died in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Francis Duffy is best remembered for advancement of the administration of justice and upgrade of the standards of the judicial profession. Characteristic of Duffy's conduct of the courts were the innovations he introduced as district judge. In order to conserve time and save money, he required pre-trial conferences in all civil cases. Not long after taking office, he also established a probation department, a step intended to emphasize both rehabilitation and economy in the administration of justice.
A liberal Democrat, Duffy was a strong supporter of Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Wisconsin presidential primary of April 1932. Duffy's liberal stance placed him in disagreement with the conservatives who dominated the Wisconsin Democratic party in the 1930's. His relationship with the state party became even more complicated in 1934, when the Progressive party assumed power in Wisconsin. During his subsequent senatorial career, he often cooperated in Washington with the congressional Progressives, whose liberal views frequently agreed with his own.
Duffy was a member of the University of Wisconsin Alumni Association and the Legal Aid Society.
On January 26, 1918, Duffy married Louise Haydon of Springfield, Kentucky. They had four children, including F. Ryan Duffy, Jr. , who later became a county judge in Milwaukee.
