Antonio M. Fernández rose from a modest
background to become an influential and
noteworthy politician. As New Mexico’s longest-serving
Representative in the mid-20th century, he
tirelessly defended his constituents. While concentrating
on issues affecting the military and American Indians—two
core groups in his At-Large district—he preferred to stay
out of the limelight, focusing on compromise and diligent
research. “Political leaders are necessary in our party system
of Government,” Fernández once remarked, “but the
men chosen by the people to serve in Congress can best
do so if when elected they devote their time at their posts
without too much regard for their own political fortunes,
and certainly without attempting to direct and control the
political fortunes of others.”1
Antonio M. Fernández was born in Springer, in
northwestern New Mexico, on January 17, 1902, to José
Estevan and Maria Anita Fernández. Educated as a child
in a one-room country schoolhouse, Fernández went on to
attend New Mexico Normal University (now Highlands) in
Las Vegas, New Mexico. After college, he married Cleofas
Chavez on June 9, 1924. The couple had five children:
Anita; Dolores; Antonio, Jr.; Orlando; and Manuel.
Fernández worked in the office of a local judge and served
as a court reporter in the Eighth Judicial District of New
Mexico from 1925 to 1930. After earning a law degree at
Cumberland University Law School in Lebanon, Tennessee,
in 1931, Fernández was admitted to the bar in New Mexico
and began practicing in Raton, New Mexico. He worked as
an assistant district attorney of the Eighth Judicial District
of New Mexico in 1933, and a year later he opened a law
practice in Santa Fe. Before serving in the U.S. House,
Fernández held a series of elected and appointed positions.
In 1935 he represented Colfax County in the New Mexico
house of representatives. As a state legislator, he introduced
and shepherded the first Rural Electrification Authority Act
to passage.2 After leaving office, Fernández was chief tax
attorney for the New Mexico state tax commission before
serving as assistant attorney general from 1937 to 1941. He
then worked for the New Mexico public service commission
in 1941 and 1942.
Reapportionment after the 1940 Census altered New
Mexico’s political landscape when the state gained a second
seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Fernández’s legal
background, political experience, and extensive public
service attracted him to federal office, and in the 1943
Democratic primary, he joined four other contenders for
the two At-Large seats. Incumbent Representative Clinton Anderson easily topped the field to secure the first House
seat, while Fernández and New Mexico state corporation
commissioner Robert Valdez battled for the second spot.
Amid allegations of voter fraud and irregularities by both
Fernández and Valdez, the New Mexico state canvassing
board led an investigation that included several recounts
in the disputed precincts. On October 7, 1942, nearly one
month after the primary, the board ruled that Fernández
had won the nomination by a slim 45-vote margin.3
In the general election, Fernández again placed second
behind Representative Anderson, but he defeated his
nearest Republican opponent, William A. Sutherland, by
nearly 14,000 votes to earn a seat in the 78th Congress
(1943–1945).4 Fernández was usually the second highest
vote getter, but in New Mexico’s At-Large campaigns
that was enough to win re-election. In 1950, however,
he placed ahead of former Democratic New Mexico
governor John Dempsey by 504 votes. During his tenure
in the House, Fernández served alongside Democrat
Georgia Lee Lusk, the first woman to represent New
Mexico, and Democrat John E. Miles, New Mexico’s
governor from 1939 to 1942.5
Fernandez’s committee assignments reflected the
interests and priorities of his southwestern state. In his
first term, Fernández served on a host of committees:
Claims; Indian Affairs; Insular Affairs; Irrigation and
Reclamation; Mines and Mining; Public Lands; and
Elections No. 1. During the 79th Congress (1945–1947),
he retained his assignments, with the exception of Mines
and Mining; in its place he chaired the Committee on
Memorials. After the Legislative Reorganization Act of
1946 merged disparate committees with overlapping
jurisdictions, Fernández served on the modified Public
Lands Committee, a combination of four of his previous
committee assignments (Indian Affairs, Irrigation and
Reclamation, Insular Affairs, and Mining) during the 80th Congress (1947–1949).
Elected in the midst of World War II, Fernández
ardently represented his military constituents when he
arrived at the Capitol. He drew attention to the issue
of absentee voting for servicemen and consistently
supported increased federal funding for New Mexico
military personnel. During debates on amendments to the
Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1943—legislation aimed
at assisting disabled individuals, including war veterans—Fernández reminded his colleagues of the sacrifices New
Mexico servicemen had made for the war effort, including
a large number of troops who had suffered through the
Bataan Death March in the Japanese-occupied Philippines.
“New Mexico has more of her men in the armed forces
injured and prisoners today than any other State except
possibly Texas,” he remarked. Fernández proposed that
his state should receive additional compensation from
the government since the “wounded in battle are not
distributed on an equal basis between the states” and since
New Mexico relied disproportionately on federal aid.6
During his first term in office, Fernández supported the
Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, better known as the GI
Bill of Rights, which passed the House on May 18, 1944.
Among its chief provisions were tuition benefits for college-bound
veterans and low-interest home mortgage loans.
During the floor debate, Fernández took exception to a
provision in the bill that would require returning soldiers
to prove that the war had interrupted their educational
pursuits, saying, “the people of New Mexico would resent
discrimination against a large proportion of their boys
serving in the war, who because of lack of facilities, lack
of opportunity, and lack of more encouragement, went
to work at an early age instead of to school.”7 The House
eventually adopted a compromise measure that required
servicemen older than 24 to verify an interruption in
schooling.8 The landmark legislation sailed through the
House and Senate, with no dissenting votes.
After the war, Fernández continued to work on behalf
of military personnel in New Mexico by assisting veterans
and their families to process compensation claims. On
October 18, 1951, he testified before the House Interstate
and Foreign Commerce Committee to recommend the
swift passage of legislation ensuring financial compensation
for American prisoners of war. “I appear only because I feel
we owe it to the people of my State, who in proportion
to their numbers furnished the largest contingent of any
State to the heroic defense of Bataan.”9 Throughout his
House service, Fernández publicized the bravery of New
Mexican POWs stationed in the Philippines during World
War II. To honor their service and sacrifice, including the
infamous Bataan Death March, in which American and
Filipino soldiers who had surrendered were brutalized by
the Japanese, Fernández lobbied for the rank promotion
of prisoners of war in the Pacific Theater. Many of them
were New Mexico Guardsmen. “Promotion,” Fernández
maintained, “is only a token of the Nation’s gratitude for
the valor of all those men who held the Japanese at bay for
many months without hope of rescue.” Their families, he
added, looked “to Congress for some recognition of the
aggravated circumstances under which they fell.”10
In the 78th and 79th Congresses, Fernández introduced
legislation to establish a military aviation academy. One of
the earliest Members of Congress to vocalize the need for
a separate air force training facility, Fernández sought to
make New Mexico a leading contender in a competitive
process that involved several states vying to host the new
military academy. Emphasizing his state’s vast space and
temperate climate—both favorable for flying—Fernández
added, “New Mexico has shown a spirit which should be
recognized by the Nation and rewarded with something
more tangible than praise.”11 In keeping with his
determination to recognize the sacrifices made by the
military, Fernández observed that an aviation academy
located in New Mexico would be a fitting tribute and a
“perpetual memorial” to the many soldiers of his state who
had been involved in the Bataan Death March. But despite
the support of Senator Dennis Chavez of New Mexico,
who also introduced similar legislation, the Air Force
ultimately built its facilities in Colorado Springs, Colorado.12
In the 81st Congress (1949–1951), Fernández
relinquished his seat on Public Lands for a spot on the
influential Appropriations Committee. A member of
the Military Appropriations Subcommittee because of
his knowledge of and experience with military affairs,
Fernández also served on the Appropriations subcommittee
responsible for the District of Columbia. Fernández
quickly earned a reputation as an advocate for the District
who lobbied for increased federal aid for the nation’s
capital. The New Mexico Representative reminded his
colleagues of the unique and complex situation posed by
the District. “We must operate within a balanced budget
for the District, against the background of needs for
operation, maintenance, and particularly capital outlay,
far above the money available,” he observed.13 According
to Fernández, Congress had the responsibility to promote
the public welfare of D.C. residents by providing adequate
funding for their schools, police, and hospitals without
placing an onerous tax burden on the District.14
Fernández sought to acquire federal aid for his Native-American constituents, especially the Navajo and Hopi
tribes, two of the most destitute groups in the nation.15
In 1949 Fernández took center stage in a heated debate
with John Collier, the former head of the Bureau of
Indian Affairs. A major proponent of a 10-year, $88
million appropriation that authorized new schools, roads,
hospitals, and resource development on reservation lands,
Fernández introduced an amendment that would place
the Navajos and Hopis under state jurisdiction. The New
Mexico Representative contended that American Indians
should be afforded the same rights as other state residents,
including access to state courts.16 Although Collier
supported the underlying impetus of the Navajo-Hopi
rehabilitation bill, which first passed the House on July
14, 1949, he criticized Fernández’s rider and launched a
public battle for its removal from the legislation.17 Collier
used his position as a nationally recognized advocate
for Native Americans to voice concern that states could
manipulate their new jurisdictional power to seize control
of Navajo and Hopi rights to water—an essential resource
in the arid Southwest. He also speculated that shifting
jurisdiction from the federal government to states could
undermine Native-American independence by hindering
tribal organization.18 Fernández took to the House Floor
to defend his amendment, which he maintained would
lead to a better quality of life and increased rights for
the Navajos and Hopis. “It is time that we took some
positive steps toward the final assimilation, education,
and rehabilitation of the Indians as real citizens rather
than perpetuate their segregation to the point of
absurdity,” he asserted.19 Fernández adamantly denied
that his amendment would provide states the authority to
undermine any federal treaties with American Indian tribes
and claimed that Collier “deliberately attempted to mislead
the public.”20 Amid the growing controversy and concern
about the potential flaws and ambiguity of the measure,
President Harry S. Truman vetoed the Navajo-Hopi Bill
on October 17, 1949.21 More than five months later, on
April 6, 1950, the House passed a revised economic aid bill
for the Navajos and Hopis—a compromise measure with
the Senate that eliminated Fernández’s amendment. The
President signed the bill into law on April 19, 1950.22
Throughout his House tenure, Fernández called for
government intervention to assist the many impoverished
people in New Mexico. An unswerving advocate of
increased educational opportunities for the children of his
state, he proposed Congress allocate federal funds to build
new schools and improve existing facilities, particularly
those for Hispanic Americans and American Indians.
However, he balked at the notion of increased financial
responsibility at the state level for American-Indian
education. “My State is desperately trying to educate
the native children, the Spanish-speaking children of
that State,” Fernández observed.23 He explained that
although he thought the education was essential for Native
Americans’ increased independence and improved welfare,
the state was not in a position to take on this responsibility.
Fernández also sought to help his constituents by using
land grants. During the 78th Congress, he introduced
legislation on behalf of Hispanic Americans living in
northern New Mexico. Lamenting their challenging
circumstances, Fernández asked for a federal land grant to
accommodate a series of trade schools in the impoverished
region: “Those good people, hedged in on very small
holdings, starting life under a handicap by reason of
inadequate familiarity with the language of the country
and unable to compete with the industrial life of those
who have followed from other States, come before you
asking only that some of the land which once surrounded
them and which would have provided for their increase, be
set aside to their State in trust and on condition that the
proceeds thereof be used for trade schools.”24
On October 25, 1956, Fernández collapsed while
campaigning for an eighth consecutive term in Congress.
He suffered a stroke and was hospitalized for the remainder
of the campaign. Despite well-publicized reports of his
poor health, voters re-elected Fernández to demonstrate
their loyalty; he finished behind fellow Democrat John
Dempsey but defeated his closest Republican opponent,
Dudley Cornell, by more than 13,000 votes.25 After
suffering a second stroke and lapsing into a coma,
Fernández died on November 7, 1956, the day after his
election to the 85th Congress (1957–1959). “I know
of no member of Congress who was more able, upright
and devoted to the service of the people he represented,”
Representative Dempsey said. “He made understanding
and brilliant contributions to his state and country which
will stand as a monument to his sterling character.”26
Majority Leader and future Speaker of the House John McCormack of Massachusetts remembered Fernández as
“a great man in this body; not great so much as any speeches
are concerned but great in the real sense of greatness, in the
contributions he made in committee to the production of
legislation.”27 Shortly after Fernández’s death, New Mexico
state party leaders considered his widow as a possible
candidate for the vacant House seat.28 Ultimately, however,
Democratic Lieutenant Governor Joseph Montoya received
the party’s nomination and won the April 9, 1957, special
election for the state’s second At-Large House seat.29
View Record in the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
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