Zales Ecton

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Zales Nelson Ecton (April 1, 1898Template:Spaced ndashMarch 3, 1961) was an American attorney and Republican politician from Montana who represented the state in the United States Senate, serving from 1947 to 1953.

Early life and education

Ecton was born in Weldon, Iowa on April 1, 1898.<ref name=Tribune /> He moved with his family to Gallatin County, Montana in 1907, when he was nine years old.<ref name=Scott2009>Scott, Kim Allen. “Historical Note.” Zales N. Ecton Papers, 1947-1953, Montana State University, Special Collections and Archival Informatics, 2009.</ref> He attended the Gallatin County public schools. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business from Montana State College and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Chicago Law School.<ref name=Bio>“Ecton, Zales Nelson.” Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress - Retro Member. Accessed April 19, 2021. https://bioguideretro.congress.gov/Home/MemberDetails?memIndex=e000037.</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Career

In 1921, he became a rancher and gained interests in grain and livestock.<ref name="OurCandidate">“Our Campaigns - Candidate - Zales N. Ecton.” Our Campaigns. Accessed April 19, 2021. https://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=43829.</ref>

Entering politics, Ecton was a member of the Montana House of Representatives from 1933 to 1935 and the Montana Senate from 1936 to 1946.<ref name="Tribune" /> In 1946, he ran for the Montana United States Senate seat which was being vacated by Democrat Burton K. Wheeler, who had lost the Democratic primary.

As part of the Republican wave of the Senate in 1946, Ecton defeated Democratic former state Supreme Court Justice Leif Erickson by a vote of 54% to 46%.<ref name="Missoulian">University, Montana State. “U.S. Sen. Zales Ecton.” missoulian.com, September 15, 2016. https://missoulian.com/u-s-sen-zales-ecton/image_b5bc9206-7b64-11e6-b8a9-f35d2b2c30fc.html.</ref> He served in the Senate for one term, having been narrowly defeated for reelection in 1952 by U.S. Representative Mike Mansfield, a Democratic college professor and Far Eastern expert.<ref name="Gazette">Billings Gazette Archives. “U.S. Sen. Zales Ecton.” The Billings Gazette, September 10, 2015. https://billingsgazette.com/u-s-sen-zales-ecton/image_f73a3ac2-c121-50d2-abc7-638032947042.html.</ref>

While in the Senate, Ecton served on the United States Senate Committee on Appropriations, the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, the Committee on the United States Post Office and Civil Service, and the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.<ref name="Scott2009" />

Ecton was the only Republican U.S. senator from Montana for over 75 years, between Joseph M. Dixon's failed re-election bid in 1913 and the 1988 election of Conrad Burns, who served from 1989 to 2007. Ecton's papers are held by Archives and Special Collections at Montana State University.

Personal life

In 1921, Ecton married Vera Harris. The couple had two children, Eloise and Zales N. Jr.<ref name=Tribune>Associated Press. “Former U.S. Senator Zales Ecton, 62, Dies.” Great Falls Tribune, March 4, 1961.</ref>

Ecton resumed his ranching business until his death in Bozeman, Montana on March 3, 1961, four weeks before his 63rd birthday. He was interred in Sunset Hills Cemetery.<ref name=Bio />

Further reading

• Zales N. Ecton Papers (1898-1961), Merrill G. Burlingame Special Collections Library, Montana State University Collection website