Although Hiram Johnson loathed being referred to as an isolationist, it has become his chief legacy. Johnson represented California in the Senate for 28 years, through two world wars, from1917 to 1945. Known as one of the “irreconcilables” during the post-World War I debate on the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations, Johnson followed Woodrow Wilson’s pro-treaty speaking tour with impassioned rebuttals. In the 1930s, he blocked U.S. membership in the World Court. In 1940, he opposed Franklin Roosevelt’s peace-time draft. Before the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941, he opposed Roosevelt’s lend-lease plan, though he voted for the war after Pearl Harbor. Beyond foreign policy, he is perhaps best known for his support of the Hoover Dam’s creation.
