Alben William Barkley (November 24, 1877 –
April 30, 1956) was a Democratic member of the U.S.
House of Representatives and the United States Senate from Kentucky, and the thirty-fifth Vice President of the
United States.
Early life and career
Barkley was born Willie Alben Barkley in a log cabin near Lowes, Graves County,
Kentucky. His parents, John Wilson Barkley and Electra Eliza (Smith) Barkley, were tenant farmers who were very religious.
He graduated from Marvin College, in Kentucky in 1897, where he excelled in speech and debate. He
attended Emory College, in Georgia. He was a member of Delta Tau
Delta Social Fraternity, graduated in 1900, and then attended the University of
Virginia Law School. It was during this time that he legally changed his name from "Willie Alben" to "Alben William."
Barkley was admitted to the bar in 1901 and commenced practice in Paducah,
Kentucky. He was prosecuting attorney for McCracken County from 1905 to 1909 and judge of McCracken County Court from 1909 to
1913. He built a reputation as a progressive who sided with the farmers more than the townspeople. His energetic, folksy
campaigning and strong oratorical skills made him a power in the local Democratic party, as he defeated three opponents in the 1912 primary and won the
Congressional election.
Congressional career
Button from Barkley's 1944 campaign for Senate
House of Representatives
Barkley was elected to the Sixty-third and to the six succeeding Congresses
(1913 - 1927) representing Kentucky's 1st district in the
U.S. House of Representatives. He gained statewide stature by
leading the anti-gambling crusade, in cooperation with Protestant ministers. Barkley nearly secured the Democratic gubernatorial
nomination in 1923, and he built a base that carried the Democratic primary for Senate in 1926.
Senate
Barkley was first elected to the United States Senate in 1926; he would be reelected in 1932, 1938, and again
in 1944.
In 1937 he defeated Pat Harrison of Mississippi in a 38-37 vote to become
Senate Majority Leader, by stressing his loyalty to
Franklin D. Roosevelt, particularly in regards to the Court Packing incident of 1937. His most critical election came in the 1938
primary when he defended the New Deal against conservative Governor Albert B. "Happy" Chandler. After a bitter campaign, Barkley won with 56% of the vote, drawing his
support from farmers and workers, while the middle class voted against him.
He was Senate majority leader from 1937 to 1947 and
minority leader from 1947 to 1949. He broke with Roosevelt in
1944 on tax issues. When Roosevelt vetoed a tax bill because the rates were too low, Barkley resigned his leadership position,
and called for an over-ride. The veto was overridden and Barkley was unanimously returned as Majority Leader, clearly
demonstrating that he, not the President, controlled the Senate.
Vice President
He was elected Vice President on the Democratic ticket with President Harry S. Truman
in 1948 and was inaugurated January 20, 1949. He was 71 years old at the time of his election and inauguration, the oldest vice
president to date.
In 1949, he returned to his alma mater, Emory University, to receive an LL.D. degree
and deliver the commencement address, an occasion which became the first Emory event ever televised. Later that year, he received
the Congressional Gold Medal.
Also in his first year Vice President, Barkley became the only vice president to marry while in office. At the age of 71, he
married a widow half his age, capturing national attention.
Campaigning via
whistle stop train tour in 1948: Harry S. Truman,
Harley Orrin Staggers, and Alben Barkley.
1952 Presidential Campaign
Truman gave up his reelection campaign in 1952 after losing the New Hampshire
primary, opening the way for Barkley, who wanted to run. Rumors that the President was unsure of Illinois Governor
Adlai Stevenson and other candidates were reported by the press. But powerful union
leaders felt him too old, at 74, for the nomination. He later withdrew from consideration.[1]
This is in marked contrast to later Vice Presidents, the majority of whom have succeeded to or at least campaigned hard for
the presidency (the exceptions are Spiro Agnew, Nelson
Rockefeller, Dan Quayle and Dick Cheney).
Barkley's own withdrawal created a wide open race in both parties the likes of which would not be seen again until 2008.
Ultimately, the nominees were Stevenson and former General Dwight Eisenhower, with
Eisenhower winning the 1952 Presidential election.
Return to the Senate
He was again elected to the United States Senate and served from 1955 until his death the following year of a heart attack while giving a speech at the 1956 Mock Convention held at Washington and Lee
University in Lexington, Virginia. He died moments after declaring, "I would
rather be a servant in the House of the Lord than to sit in the seats of the mighty." He was interred in Mount Kenton Cemetery,
on Lone Oak Road, near Paducah, Kentucky. In his honor, the award-winning debating society at Emory University was renamed the Barkley Forum in 1950.
Lake Barkley, a man-made lake on the Cumberland
River at the Kentucky-Tennessee border, and Barkley Dam at the same lake, are also named in his honor.
Trivia
According to comedian George Burns in his book All My Best Friends, the topic of
"Vice-President Barkley's vacation" was invoked by a circle of entertainers which included Jack
Benny, George Jessel, Groucho Marx, and
Eddie Cantor when they wanted to avoid being critical of each other or when they didn't
want to admit that they hadn't seen or heard each other's recent performances (pp. 177-178).
Electoral history
Barkley visits
Buchenwald, shortly after its liberation by American
forces.
1944 Kentucky United States Senatorial Election
| Alben W. Barkley (D) (inc.) 54.8% |
| James Park (R) 44.9% |
1938 Kentucky United States Senatorial Election
| Alben W. Barkley (D) (inc.) 62% |
| John P. Haswell (R) 38% |
1932 Kentucky United States Senatorial Election
| Alben W. Barkley (D) (inc.) 59.2% |
| M.H. Thatcher (R) 40.5% |
1926 Kentucky United States Senatorial Election
| Alben W. Barkley (D) 51.8% |
| Richard P. Ernst (R) (inc.) 48.2% |
References
Primary sources
- Alben Barkley, That Reminds Me (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1954), autobiography
- Jane R. Barkley, I Married the Veep (New York: Vanguard, 1958), memoir
Secondary sources
- Davis, Polly. "Court Reform and Alben W. Barkley's Election as Majority Leader". Southern Quarterly 1976 15(1):
15-31.
- Davis, Polly Ann. "Alben W. Barkley's Public Career in 1944". Filson Club History Quarterly 1977 51(2): 143-157.
- Hixson, Walter L. "The 1938 Kentucky Senate Election: Alben W. Barkley, 'Happy' Chandler, and the New Deal". Register of
the Kentucky Historical Society 1982 80(3): 309-329.
- Libbey, James K. Dear Alben: Mr. Barkley of Kentucky (1979), 110 page biography
- Libbey, James K. "Alben Barkley's Rise from Courthouse to Congress" Register of the Kentucky Historical Society (2000)
98(3): 261-278.
- Robinson, George W. "Alben Barkley and the 1944 Tax Veto". Register of the Kentucky Historical Society (1969) 67(3):
197-210.
- Sexton, Robert F. "The Crusade Against Pari-mutuel Gambling in Kentucky: a Study of Southern Progressivism in the 1920's"
Filson Club History Quarterly 1976 50(1): 47-57.
Footnotes
- ^ "Alben W.
Barkley", Mark O. Hatfield, with the Senate Historical
Office. Vice Presidents of the United States, 1789-1993 (Washington:
U.S. Government Printing Office, 1997), pp. 423-429.
External links
Preceded by
Ollie M. James |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Kentucky's 1st congressional district
1913 – 1927 |
Succeeded by
William Voris Gregory |
Preceded by
Richard P. Ernst |
United
States Senator (Class 3) from Kentucky
1927 – 1949
Served alongside: Frederic M. Sackett, John M. Robsion,
Ben M. Williamson, Marvel M. Logan,
A.B. "Happy" Chandler I, William A.
Stanfill, John Sherman Cooper |
Succeeded by
Garrett L. Withers |
Preceded by
Joseph T. Robinson |
Senate
Majority Leader
1937 – 1947 |
Succeeded by
Wallace H. White Jr. |
Preceded by
Wallace H. White Jr. |
Senate
Minority Leader
1947 – 1949 |
Succeeded by
Kenneth S. Wherry |
Preceded by
Harry S. Truman |
Democratic Party Vice Presidential candidate
1948 (won) |
Succeeded by
John Sparkman |
Vice President
of the United States
January 20, 1949 – January
20, 1953 |
Succeeded by
Richard Nixon |
Preceded by
John Sherman Cooper |
United
States Senator (Class 2) from Kentucky
1955 – 1956
Served alongside: Earle C. Clements |
Succeeded by
Robert Humphreys |
| Persondata |
| NAME |
Barkley, Alben W. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES |
|
| SHORT DESCRIPTION |
Vice President of the United States |
| DATE OF BIRTH |
November 24, 1877 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH |
Graves County, Kentucky |
| DATE OF DEATH |
1956-4-30 |
| PLACE OF DEATH |
Lexington, Virginia |
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