United States Capitol Historical Society | Birdman of the Senate
On August 17, 2023 at 12:00 p.m., I took a lunch-and-learn break to watch the talk Birdman of the Senate: George P. McLean and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act presented by Will McLean Greeley and hosted by the United States Capitol Historical Society. I received a special invitation from Greeley to watch his talk, and I was immediately drawn by his book title, A Connecticut Yankee Goes to Washington published earlier this year by RIT Press, which alludes to the novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Connecticut author Mark Twain. During both the talk and the book, Greeley proudly shared the work of his great-great-uncle, Senator George P. McLean (R-CT), in passing the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 (MBTA).
Greeley began by noting how most American history classes focuses on charismatic presidents rather than other political figures such as state legislatures, governors, and congressional representatives. Although McLean worked with five US Presidents during his career, he was not recognize by even his own family, despite Greeley’s report that at his last family reunion, a third of the relatives were found to have McLean as a middle name. McLean was a Republican, while the rest of the family became Democrats because of their love for Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Due to their dislike of the Republican party, they did not realize McLean led significant bipartisan collaboration in the passage of the MBTA.
Greeley spent four years researching and writing this book to preserve the legacy of his great-great-uncle, reading over 300 sources in the process. He learned that McLean became a politician during the Progressive Era, a time period between Reconstruction after the Civil War but before World War I. Greeley noted that McLean was “the right person at the right time in the right place to do the right thing” when passing the MBTA, but McLean had to overcome three major life experiences before reach this point.
McLean had humble origins, as he was raised on a subsistence farm in Connecticut and bullied in school for wearing homemade clothes. Despite this poor treatment, McLean excelled in school and set his goals to be President of the United States and founder of the largest newspaper in Connecticut. While he never accomplished these particular goals, his work was nonetheless impressive. McLean began his career as a reporter, then completed a law apprenticeship, before starting his own firm. He was elected to the Connecticut General Assembly at age 25, became U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut at age 30, and won the office for Governor of Connecticut at age 43. Despite some setbacks during the early stages of his career, his success produced a “rags to riches” story.
McLean’s support for reform during his time as governor, which included measures like women’s suffrage in municipal voting and free textbooks for public school children, won him many political enemies. He was excluded from politics by his own party and entered a seven year period of “political exile”. McLean’s mental health declined during this period, but he also experienced many positive events. Already well-off from his career, he inherited $3 million from his Aunt Sarah in 1906 and became exceedingly wealthy. He married his friend Julia Goodrich at age 49, and they bought 4000 acres of land around his childhood home. Once McLean had recovered his mental health, he decided to return to politics to save the birds, setting in motion a remarkable comeback story.
Birds are truly “canaries in the coal mine”, and a lack of them indicates an imbalance in the environment. In 1911, when McLean was elected to the U.S. Senate, birds had no protection despite their importance. Hunters used newly invented automatic pump shotguns to kill birds and feed the burgeoning American population or to make their feathers and skins into fancy clothing like hats and coats. States had little to no regulation on hunting, except for prohibition for hunting on Sundays, and states’ rights activists lobbied against the federal government creating regulations.
McLean worked seven years to pass the MBTA, beginning with a less effective Weeks-McLean Act of 1913, which could have been struck down by the Supreme Court if a case had challenged the act on the basis of states’ rights. The MBTA became “America’s first and most important environmental legislation” and “as saved millions if not billions of birds from needless killing”. McLean cleverly created the regulation as a treaty, which could be passed in the Senate and not be struck down in the Supreme Court. Additionally, a treaty would receive global recognition, with more countries signing the MBTA over the next one hundred years. With the exception of the Trump Administration, all presidencies since 1918 have supported and strengthened the MBTA, and the federal government has successfully enforced the treaty and similar regulations. In fact, the MBTA paved the way for the passage of the Animal Welfare Act of 1966, the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, and the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
In his closing remarks, Greeley hypothetically asked, “What would the world have been like if George P. McLean had never been born?” alluding to the movie It’s a Wonderful Life. Some form of bird protection likely would have passed, but Greeley does not know when or who could have led the movement. McLean possessed a sense of rarely matched urgency and vision, having learned the hard way how to overcome political obstacles during his time as governor. The Progressive Era was drawing to a close in 1918 as a flu pandemic and a world war changed daily life and politics. Had McLean not crossed the aisle to encourage President Woodrow Wilson to sign the treaty, it may have been tabled for decades.
Throughout the presentation, Greeley proved a methodical and engaging speaker. While he was unable to use his slides during the presentation, and closed captions were not available for the webinar, I had no difficulty following his talk. His inclusion of personal anecdotes and cultural references throughout the talk, including a sweet story about his wife’s love of birds, balanced perfectly against the political drama of McLean’s biography. During the Q&A period, he answered complicated questions concerning modern windmills, favorite biographies, and finer details about the MBTA with the same calm demeanor while giving his prepared remarks. I look forward not only to reading Greeley’s book but also seeing what the U.S. Capitol Historical Society has to offer for future talks. To watch this talk yourself, look for it on the U.S. Capitol Historical Society YouTube channel in the coming days.