Van C. Swearingen

Van Cicero Swearingen (February 2, 1873 – March 3, 1943) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 21st Florida Attorney General, serving from 1917 until 1921.[1]

Van C. Swearingen
21st Florida Attorney General
In office
September 1, 1917 – January 4, 1921
GovernorSidney Johnston Catts
Preceded byThomas F. West
Succeeded byRivers Buford
30th Mayor of Jacksonville
In office
1913–1915
Preceded byWilliam S. Jordan
Succeeded byJ. E. T. Bowden
Judge of the Municipal Court of Jacksonville, Florida
In office
1911–1913
Appointed byAlbert W. Gilchrist
Personal details
Born(1873-02-02)February 2, 1873
Nassau County, Florida
DiedMarch 3, 1943(1943-03-03) (aged 70)
Miami, Florida
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Alice Padgett
​
(m. 1899)​
Children6
EducationMercer University (LL.B)
OccupationAttorney

Early life and education

Swearingen was born on February 2, 1873, in Nassau County, Florida. After being educated in local schools, Swearingen attended Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, graduating with his Bachelor of Laws degree in 1899. After graduating, he moved to Jacksonville, Florida, and began a private practice.[2]

Political career

Mayor of Jacksonville

In 1911, Governor Albert W. Gilchrist appointed Swearingen, a Democrat, to Jacksonville's municipal court.[2] He served on the court until 1913, when he successfully ran for mayor of Jacksonville, defeating Socialist Thomas W. Cox with over 92% of the vote.[3] As mayor, Swearingen began cracking down on vice, closing the bordellos and keeping minors out of pool halls. This struck a nerve with many in Jacksonville who saw value in the city's red light district. Swearingen even used spies in the form of undercover police officers to help find hidden bordellos.[4]

Swearingen sought reelection in 1915, though he faced three challengers in the Democratic primary: businessman Rudolph Grunthal, physician Charles Johnson, and former mayor J. E. T. Bowden. Though Swearingen came in first during the first round of the primary, he was defeated in the runoff by Bowden, receiving just 41.5% of the vote.[3] Bowden would go on to win in the general election, defeating Socialist I. C. Baldwin.[4]

Florida Attorney General

In 1917, newly elected Governor Sidney Johnston Catts, a member of the Prohibition Party, appointed the incumbent Florida Attorney General, Thomas F. West, to the Florida Supreme Court. Seeing Swearingen's efforts in cracking down on Jacksonville's red light district, Catts appointed him to finish the remaining 3 years of West's term.[2] Swearingen's tenure as Florida Attorney General remains controversial, Swearingen oversaw the implementation of prohibition in Florida. Despite making use of his spy network from Jacksonville, Swearingen was unable to combat rum runners coming from Cuba and the Bahamas.[5]

Additionally, the Ocoee massacre occurred near the end of Swearingen's tenure. In response to African-Americans attempting to vote in November of 1920 in the town of Ocoee, Florida, the entire black community of North Ocoee was razed to the ground, with as many as 56 blacks lynched or burned in their own homes. Swearingen, a noted racist, did nothing in the aftermath of the massacre to bring the perpetrators to justice.[6]

In 1920, Swearingen did not run for reelection, instead deciding to run for Florida governor. Swearingen faced the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives Cary A. Hardee and State Senator Lincoln Hulley in the Democratic primary. Swearingen was defeated by Hardee by over 22,000 votes. Hardee would go on to win in the general election.[7]

After this loss, Swearingen retired, moving to Miami, Florida, in 1925.[8]

Personal life and death

Swearingen married Alice Padgett on January 1, 1899. They had 6 children together. Additionally, Swearingen was a member of multiple fraternal orders, including the Freemasons, the Shriners from Jacksonville's Morocco Temple, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Knights of Pythias.[9]

Swearingen died at his home in Miami on March 3, 1943.[8]

Electoral history
1920 Florida gubernatorial election, Democratic primary[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Cary A. Hardee 52,591 59.48% N/A
Democratic Van C. Swearingen 30,240 34.20% N/A
Democratic Lincoln Hulley 5,591 6.32% N/A
Majority 22,351 25.28% N/A
Turnout 88,422
1915 Jacksonville mayoral election, Democratic runoff[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic J. E. T. Bowden 2,655 58.44% N/A
Democratic Van C. Swearingen (inc.) 1,888 41.56% N/A
Majority 767 16.88% N/A
Turnout 4,543
1915 Jacksonville mayoral election, Democratic primary[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Van C. Swearingen (inc.) 1,541 36.01% N/A
Democratic J. E. T. Bowden 1,360 31.78% N/A
Democratic Charles W. Johnson 1,123 26.24% N/A
Democratic Rudolph Grunthal 255 5.96% N/A
Majority 181 4.23% N/A
Turnout 4,279
1913 Jacksonville mayoral election, General election[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Van C. Swearingen 1,364 92.41% +9.69%
Socialist Thomas W. Cox 112 7.59% -9.69%
Majority 1,252 84.82% +19.38%
Turnout 1,476
1913 Jacksonville mayoral election, Democratic runoff[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Van C. Swearingen 2,492 53.78% N/A
Democratic William S. Jordan (inc.) 2,142 46.22% N/A
Majority 350 7.56% N/A
Turnout 4,634
1913 Jacksonville mayoral election, Democratic primary[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Van C. Swearingen 2,056 46.04% N/A
Democratic William S. Jordan (inc.) 1,354 30.32% N/A
Democratic John Joseph Ahern 601 13.46% N/A
Democratic S. T. Shaylor 267 5.98% N/A
Democratic G. T. Christie 187 4.19% N/A
Majority 702 15.72% N/A
Turnout 4,465

References
  1. "Florida Attorney General - Florida Attorneys General (1845 - )". myfloridalegal.com. Retrieved 2019-04-15.
  2. Cutler, Harry Gardner (1923). History of Florida.
  3. Davis, T. Frederick (1990). History of Jacksonville, Florida and Vicinity 1513 to 1924 (PDF) (3 ed.). San Marco Bookstore. p. 321. ISBN 0935259066.
  4. Woods, Mark. "One hundred years ago, we had a mayoral race for the ages". The Florida Times-Union. Archived from the original on 2019-04-15. Retrieved 2019-04-15.
  5. "St. Augustine Distillery Prohibition Times In Florida". staugustinedistillery.com. Archived from the original on 2019-04-15. Retrieved 2019-04-15.
  6. "Nov. 2, 1920: The Ocoee Massacre". Zinn Education Project. Retrieved 2019-04-15.
  7. "Our Campaigns - FL Governor - D Primary Race - Jun 08, 1920". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2019-04-15.
  8. "The Sampler - January 2014" (PDF). Springfield Heritage Center. 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  9. Rayburn, Nancy (October 23, 2015). "Duval County FlArchives Biographies.....Swearingen, Van C. February 2, 1873". USGenWeb. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  10. "1920 FL Governor - D Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
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