Everything about Alben W Barkley totally explained
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
Paducah, 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 deeply religious tenant farmers. He graduated from
Marvin College in 1897, where he excelled in speech and debate. He worked his way through college with a full-time janitorial job. Barkley later attended
Emory College, in Atlanta, 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 Kentucky 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
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 a crusade against the coal and gambling special interests during his 1923 campaign for Governor of Kentucky. Barkley narrowly lost the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. However, that sole electoral defeat actually helped propel him into the U.S. Senate in 1926, because the race gave him name recognition throughout Kentucky and won him the title "Iron Man," for his ability to give as many as sixteen speeches a day on the campaign trail.
Senate
Barkley was first elected to the
United States Senate in
1926; he'd be reelected in
1932,
1938, and again in
1944.
Barkley was the keynote speaker at the 1932 national Democratic convention. The following year, he became vice chairman of the Democratic Conference and assistant to
Senate majority leader Joseph T. Robinson. After Robinson's death during the
court-packing incident of 1937, Barkley narrowly defeated
Pat Harrison of Mississippi in a 38-37 vote to become the new majority leader. He was aided by the vocal support of
Franklin D. Roosevelt and the President's "Dear Alben" letter submitted to the Washington press corps, which highlighted Roosevelt's desire for Barkley to become majority leader. Barkley's most critical election came in the 1938 primary when he defended the
New Deal against conservative Governor
Albert B. "Happy" Chandler. After a bitter race in which Barkley's diligent campaigning was bolstered by Roosevelt's strong endorsement, Barkley handily defeated the sitting Governor, receiving 56% of the vote.
Barkley continued to serve as Senate majority leader from 1937 to 1947 and
Senate 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 a veto override. The veto was overridden and Barkley was unanimously returned as Majority Leader, clearly demonstrating that he, not the President, controlled the Senate.
Vice President: "The Veep"
Barkley was elected Vice President on the Democratic ticket with President
Harry S. Truman in 1948 and was inaugurated January 20, 1949. His "prop-stops" by airplane initiated a new phase in presidential campaigning. He was 71 years old at the time of his election and inauguration, the oldest vice president to date.
In his first year as Vice President, Barkley became the only vice president to marry while in office. At the age of 71, he married Jane Hadley, a widow from St. Louis, capturing national attention.
Barkley was popularly known as "the Veep". His young grandson,
Stephen M. Truitt, had suggested this abbreviated alternative to the cumbersome "Mr. Vice President." When Barkley told the story at a press conference, the newspapers printed it, and the title stuck. Barkley's successor as vice president, Richard Nixon, declined to continue the nickname, saying that it had been bestowed on Barkley affectionately and belonged to him.
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.
In December 1950, the Paducah site (the location of the former Kentucky Ordnance Works) was chosen from a short list of eight locations for construction of a new gaseous diffusion plant. It was speculated that Vice President Barkley, a former Paducah, KY resident, may have helped tip the scales toward the selection of the Paducah site.
1952 Presidential campaign
Truman gave up his reelection campaign in 1952 after losing the
New Hampshire primary. Barkley announced his bid on July 6. On July 20 the A.F.L and C.I.O announced they wouldn't support his candidacy. The ranking A.F.L. official among the delegates to the Democratic convention, George M. Harrison, said "we can't sell Barkley to labor, not because of his record, but his age." Barkley was 74 at the time. Two days later, Barkley withdrew from consideration.
This is in marked contrast to later Vice Presidents, the majority of whom have succeeded to the presidency or at least campaigned hard for the it. (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 wouldn't be seen again until 2008. Ultimately, the nominees were Adlai E. Stevenson II 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 1960.
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.
Electoral history
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
Further Information
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