Background
Harrison Earl Spangler was born on June 10, 1879, in Guthrie Center, Iowa, United States.
Harrison Earl Spangler was born on June 10, 1879, in Guthrie Center, Iowa, United States.
Harrison Spangler went to the State University of Iowa (now the University of Iowa), receiving a law degree in 1905, and was admitted to the Iowa bar that same year.
Having helped his father work for the GOP from a young age, Harrison Spangler undertook political work, helping to elect his law partner, James W. Good, to Congress in 1908.
Spangler’s rise to prominence in the national organization of the Republican Party coincided with the GOP’s efforts to formalize its national structure and find a way for the party to remain competitive and relevant as an opposition party during the New Deal and World War II. Under RNC chairmen Henry P. Fletcher and John D. M. Hamilton, Harrison Spangler helped strengthen the party organization during the Roosevelt years.
Spangler’s selection was seen as a compromise between Willkie supporters and the old guard, led by Senator Robert Taft of Ohio. Spangler’sparty loyalty and social conservatism made him a favorite of the old guard, while his cautious internationalism made him acceptable to Willkie supporters. His choice, however, also represented a victory for the party’s emerging star, New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey. Harrison Spangler had explored trying to deliver the Iowa delegation for Dewey in 1940 and had remained a correspondent of the governor. Internal debates over postwar policy posed the greatest immediate challenge for Chairman Spangler. Pushed by continued pressure from Willkie supporters and internationalists, Harrison Spangler formed the RNC Post-War Advisory Council to help shape the party’s policy positions.
Harrison Spangler presided over the conference held by the council on Mackinac Island, Michigan, in September 1943. He worked closely behind the scenes with Dewey, and as a result, the governor gained more influence within the party organization. The conference foreign policy declaration embraced a cautious internationalism favored by Dewey. The domestic policy declaration represented a closer working relationship between Dewey and the party old guard. It also was part of an increasingly anti-New Deal trend by the RNC during Spangler’s chairmanship. Harrison Spangler presided over the 1944 convention that nominated Dewey and worked behind the scenes to ensure that Willkie was excluded from any role. Herbert Brownell replaced Harrison Spangler as chairman of the RNC in 1944. He then became general counsel.
For the rest of his life, Harrison Spangler remained a party loyalist. He continued as a member of the national committee until 1952 and was a prominent supporter of Senator Taft’s efforts to secure the GOP presidential nomination. Even after his retirement from Iowa to Oregon, Harrison Spangler continued his interest in partisan politics.