David Ignatius Walsh (November 11, 1872June 11, 1947) was an American politician from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 46th Governor of Massachusetts before serving several terms in the United States Senate. Born in Leominster, Massachusetts to Irish Catholic immigrants, Walsh practiced law in Boston after graduating from the Boston University School of Law. He served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1900 to 1901, establishing a reputation as an anti-imperialist and isolationist. In 1912, he won election as the Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, becoming the state's first Democratic lieutenant governor in seventy years. He served as governor from 1914 to 1916 and led a successful effort to call for a state constitutional convention. Walsh won election to the Senate in 1918, lost his re-election bid in 1924, and returned to the Senate with a victory in the 1926 special election to succeed Henry Cabot Lodge. Walsh became increasingly opposed to an activist government after 1924. He supported Al Smith over Franklin D. Roosevelt at the 1932 Democratic National Convention and gave lukewarm support to President Roosevelt's agenda. Walsh introduced and helped pass the Walsh–Healey Public Contracts Act of 1936, which established labor standards for employees of government contractors. Prior to the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor, Walsh opposed American involvement in World War II and was a leading member of the America First Committee. He lost his 1946 re-election bid to Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. and died the following year. Youth and education Walsh was born in Leominster, Massachusetts, on November 11, 1872, the ninth of ten children. His parents were Irish Catholic immigrants. Walsh attended public schools in his birthplace and later in Clinton, Massachusetts. His father, a comb maker, died when he was twelve. Thereafter, his mother ran a boarding house. Walsh graduated from Clinton High School in 1890 and from Holy Cross in 1893. He attended Boston University Law School, where he graduated in 1897. Walsh was admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of law in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, in 1897, later practicing in Boston. Career in state politics Walsh was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives for two terms in 1900 and 1901, elected from a longtime Republican district. From the start of his political career, he was anti-imperialist and isolationist and opposed America's authority over the Philippines as part of the settlement