Andrew Jackson May (June 24, 1875 – September 6, 1959) was a Kentucky attorney, an influential New Deal-era politician, and chairman of the House Military Affairs Committee during World War II, infamous for his rash disclosure of classified naval information that may have resulted in the loss of 10 American submarines and 800 sailors, and his subsequent unrelated conviction for bribery. May was a Democratic member of United States House of Representatives from Kentucky during the 72nd to 79th sessions of Congress.
Education and early career
May was born on Beaver Creek, near Prestonsburg in Floyd County, Kentucky, on June 24, 1875. On June 25, 1898, he and his twin brother William H. May graduated from Southern Normal University Law School in Huntingdon, Tennessee (later named Union University, Jackson, Tennessee), and was admitted to the bar the same year, commencing his law practice in Prestonsburg. May and his brother formed the law firm of May & May which was not dissolved until the death of his brother on February 20, 1921. May was county attorney of Floyd County, Kentucky, 1901–1909; special judge of the circuit court of Johnson and Martin Counties in 1925 and 1926. During this time, May also engaged in Democratic Party politics, agricultural pursuits, coal mining and banking.
In 1928, May ran for Congress against Katherine Langley in a heavily Republican district and lost. Two years later he ran again and won in the 1930 election defeating Langley. May was elected as a New Deal Democrat to the Seventy-second Congress and to seven succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1931 – January 3, 1947). He was Chairman of the powerful Committee on Military Affairs during the Seventy-sixth through Seventy-ninth Congresses, and a consistent supporter of the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration. During World War II, May became involved with Murray and Henry Garsson, New York businessmen who sought lucrative munitions contracts then being awarded by the U.S. Government.
Chairman of the House Military Affairs Committee
During May's career he helped push through the Social Security Act, and the GI Bill of Rights, both programs central to the New Deal. In 1940, May was credited with being the chief architect of the Peacetime Selective Service Act which provided manpower for the nation's armed forces. The act played a critical role in America's preparedness when Japanese forces bombed Pearl Harbor in December 1941. In a letter to May from Representative John W. McCormack, McCormack wrote:
"As chairman of the all important House Committee on the Military Affairs before Pearl Harbor and during the war, you led the fight for the passage of legislation necessary to defend and preserve our country. You post, as Chairman of the House Military Affairs Committee is not only a most important position but in addition, a most trying one. History will record that the part you played in the passage of necessary legislation would justifiably place you as one of the foremost Americans of this generation."
May was considered neither an isolationist or a warmonger. He did speak out frequently about the war in Europe. May was quoted as saying, "it will not be left up to the President or the Congress or the people of the United States, whether or not we go to war." May continued, "It will be decided by the impersonation of hatred Adolph Hitler, who decided it also for Poland, France, Belgium, and Holland."
The May Incident
May was responsible for a major release of highly confidential military information during World War II known as the May Incident. U.S. submarines had been conducting a successful undersea war against Japanese shipping during World War II, frequently escaping their anti-submarine depth charge attacks. May revealed the deficiencies of Japanese depth-charge tactics in a press conference held in June 1943 on his return from a war zone junket. At this press conference, he revealed the highly sensitive fact that American submarines had a high survival rate because Japanese depth charges were exploding at too shallow a depth. Various press associations sent this leaked news story over their wires and many newspapers published it, including one in Honolulu, Hawaii.