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Alben W. Barkley
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Alben W. Barkley
Portrait of Barkley, c. 1950
35th Vice President of the United States
In office
January 20, 1949 January 20, 1953
President
Harry S. Truman
Preceded by
Harry S. Truman
Succeeded by
Richard Nixon
United States Senator

from Kentucky
In office
January 3, 1955 April 30, 1956
Preceded by
John Sherman Cooper
Succeeded by
Robert Humphreys
In office
March 4, 1927 January 19, 1949
Preceded by
Richard P. Ernst
Succeeded by
Garrett L. Withers
Senate Minority Leader
In office
Whip
Scott W. Lucas
Preceded by
Wallace H. White, Jr.
Succeeded by
Kenneth S. Wherry
Senate Majority Leader
In office
July 14, 1937 January 3, 1947
Whip
J. Lister Hill
Sherman Minton
J. Hamilton Lewis
Preceded by
Joseph Taylor Robinson
Succeeded by
Wallace H. White, Jr.
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives

from Kentucky's 1st district
In office
March 4, 1913 March 3, 1927
Preceded by
Ollie M. James
Succeeded by
William Voris Gregory
Personal details
Born
Willie Alben Barkley

November 24, 1877
Lowes, Kentucky, United States
Died
April 30, 1956 (aged 78)

Lexington, Virginia, United States
Resting place
Mount Kenton Cemetery
Political party
Democratic
Spouse(s)
Dorothy Brower (m. 190347)
Jane Rucker Hadley (m. 194956)
Relations
Father-in-law of Douglas MacArthur II

Grandfather of Stephen M. Truitt
Children
Residence
The Angles
Alma mater
Emory University (B.A.)

University of Virginia (J.D.)
Profession
Lawyer
Religion
Methodist
Signature
Alben William Barkley (/brkl/; November 24, 1877 April 30, 1956) was
a lawyer and politician from Kentucky who served in both houses of Congress and as
the 35th Vice President of the United States from 1949 to 1953. In 1905, he was
elected county attorney for McCracken County, Kentucky. He was chosen county judge in
1909 and U.S. Representative from Kentucky's First District in 1912. As a Representative,
he was a liberal Democrat, supporting President Woodrow Wilson's New Freedom domestic
agenda and foreign policy.
Endorsing Prohibition and denouncing parimutuel betting, Barkley narrowly lost the 1923
Democratic gubernatorial primary to fellow Representative J. Campbell Cantrill. In 1926, he
unseated Republican Senator Richard P. Ernst. In the Senate, he supported the New
Deal approach to addressing the Great Depression and was elected to succeed Senate
Majority Leader Joseph T. Robinson upon Robinson's death in 1937.
During his 1938 re-election bid, his opponent A. B. "Happy" Chandler accused him of
using Works Progress Administration employees to campaign for him; Barkley claimed
Chandler used state employees in the same way. Neither candidate was charged with any
wrongdoing, but in 1939, Congress passed the Hatch Act, making it illegal for federal
employees to campaign for political candidates.
When World War II focused President Franklin D. Roosevelt's attention on foreign affairs,
Barkley gained influence over the administration's domestic agenda. He resigned as floor
leader after Roosevelt ignored his advice and vetoed the Revenue Act of 1943.[1] (The veto
was promptly overridden.) The Democratic caucus supported and unanimously re-elected
Barkley to the position of Majority Leader.
Barkley had a better working relationship with Harry S. Truman, who ascended to the
presidency after Roosevelt's death in 1945. With Truman's popularity waning entering
the 1948 Democratic National Convention, Barkley gave akeynote address that energized
the delegates. Truman selected him as his running mate for the upcoming election and the
Democratic ticket scored an upset victory. Barkley took an active role in the Truman
administration, acting as its primary spokesman, especially after the Korean
War necessitated the majority of Truman's attention.
When Truman announced that he would not seek re-election in 1952, Barkley began
organizing a presidential campaign, but labor leaders refused to endorse his candidacy
because of his age, and he withdrew from the race. He retired but was coaxed back into
public life, defeating incumbent Republican Senator John Sherman Cooper in 1954.
[2]
Barkley died of a heart attack while giving a speech at the Washington and Lee Mock
Convention on April 30, 1956.
Contents
[hide]
1Early life
2Early political career
3U.S. Representative
3.1Domestic matters
3.2World War I
3.3Relations with Harding administration
3.4Gubernatorial election of 1923
3.5Later House career
4U.S. Senator
4.1Second term and ascension to floor leader
4.2Challenge by Happy Chandler
4.3Floor leadership
4.4Split with Roosevelt
4.5Truman succeeds Roosevelt
5Vice Presidency
o
5.1Campaign for president
6Later life and death
7Memory
8References
o
8.1Bibliography
9Further reading
o
9.1Primary sources
9.2Secondary sources
10External links
Early life[edit]
Willie Alben Barkley, the eldest of John Wilson and Electa Eliza (Smith) Barkley's eight
children, was born November 24, 1877.[3][4] His grandmother, midwife Amanda Barkley,
delivered him in the log house she lived in with her husband, Alben, in Wheel, Kentucky.
[5]
Barkley's parents were tenant farmers who grew tobacco, and his father was an elder in
the local Presbyterian church.[6] Both parents were religious, opposed to playing cards and
alcohol.[6] Occasionally, Barkley's parents would leave him in the care of his grandparents for
extended periods.[7] During these times, his grandmother related stories of her relatives.
Where her childhood playmates included future U.S. Vice President Adlai
Stevenson and James A. McKenzie, a future U.S. Representative from Kentucky.[7]
Barkley worked on his parents' farm and attended school in Lowes, Kentucky, between the
fall harvest and spring planting.[8] Unhappy with his birth name, he adopted "Alben William"
as soon as he was old enough to express his opinion in the matter.[9] In the difficult economy
of late 1891, relatives convinced Barkley's father to sell his farm and move to Clinton, to
pursue opportunities as a tenant wheat farmer.[10] Barkley enrolled at a local seminary
school, but did not finish his studies before entering Marvin College, a Methodist school in
Clinton that accepted younger students, in 1892. [11][12] The college's president offered him a
scholarship that covered his academic expenses in exchange for his work as a janitor. [12] He
allowed Barkley to miss the first and last month of the academic year to help on the family
farm.[12] Barkley was active in the debating society at Marvin. [13] He earned a Bachelor of Arts
degree in 1897, and his experiences at Marvin persuaded him to convert to Methodism, the
denomination with which he identified for the rest of his life. [9][12][14]
After graduation, Barkley went to Emory College (now part of Emory University) in Oxford,
Georgia, the alma mater of several administrators and faculty members at Marvin. [15] During
the 18971898 academic year, he was active in the debating society and the Delta Tau
Delta fraternity, but he could not afford to continue his education and returned to Clinton
after the spring semester.[16] He took a job teaching at Marvin College but did not make
enough money to meet his basic living expenses. [3] He resigned in December 1898 to move
with his parents to Paducah, Kentucky, the county seat of McCracken County, where his
father found employment at a cordage mill. [17]
In Paducah, Barkley worked as a law clerk for Charles K. Wheeler, an attorney and
congressman for the district, accepting access to Wheeler's law library as payment for his
services.[18] Despite their political differences Wheeler supported William Jennings
Bryan and Free Silver, while Barkley identified with the Gold Democrats he hoped that
being acquainted with and taught by Wheeler would aid him in his future endeavors, but
congressional duties frequently kept Wheeler away from the office. [19] After two months,
Barkley accepted an offer to clerk for Judge William Sutton Bishop and former
congressman John Kerr Hendrick, who paid him $15 per month.[18] He read law while
completing his duties and was admitted to the bar in 1901.[3] Barkley practiced in Paducah
where a friend of Hendrick's appointed him reporter of the circuit court.[3] He continued
studying law in the summer of 1902 at the University of Virginia School of Law.[20]
Barkley joined the Broadway Methodist Episcopal Church, where he was a lay preacher,
and several fraternal organizations, including Woodmen of the World, theBenevolent and
Protective Order of Elks, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Improved Order of
Red Men.[21] On June 23, 1903, he married Dorothy Brower (November 14, 1882 to March
10, 1947).[3] They had three childrenDavid Murrell Barkley (19061983), Marion Frances
Barkley (19091996), and Laura Louise Barkley (19111987). [3][21] Laura Louise
married Douglas MacArthur II, a U.S. diplomat and nephew of General Douglas MacArthur.
[22]
Early political career[edit]

On December 19, 1904, Barkley declared his candidacy for county attorney of McCracken
County well before the March 1905 Democratic primary.[23] TheRepublicans did not nominate
a candidate, so the Democratic primary was the de facto general election.[24] Barkley faced
two opponents in the primary two-term incumbent Eugene A. Graves and Paducah Police
Court Judge David Cross.[25] He organized his own campaign and made speeches across
the county, showcasing his eloquence and likeability.[3] Graves received more votes than
Barkley in Paducah, but McCracken County's rural farmers gave Barkley the victory, 1,525
votes to 1,096; Cross came in third with 602 votes. [25] This was the only time Barkley ever
challenged an incumbent Democrat.[26]
Taking office in January 1906, Barkley saved taxpayers over $35,000 by challenging
improper charges to the county.[24] He prosecuted two magistrates for approving contracts in
which they had a conflict of interest.[27] Even Republicans admitted that he performed well,
and he was chosen president of the State Association of County Attorneys. [3][24] During the
1907 gubernatorial election, he was the Democratic county spokesman, and despite his
previous support for the Gold Democrats, he backed William Jennings Bryan in the 1908
presidential election.[28] Friends encouraged him to run for county judge, a powerful position
which controlled county funds and patronage, and he announced his candidacy on August
22, 1908.[8][29] After the chairman of the county's Democratic Club Executive Committee
endorsed him, the incumbent judge, Richard T. Lightfoot, retired rather than challenge him.
[29][30]
On January 16, 1909, Democrat Hiram Smedley, county clerk since 1897, was indicted for
embezzlement.[24] Smedley resigned, and Barkley was appointed to a three-man
commission to investigate the losses.[24] The commission found $1,582.50 missing, and the
county's Fiscal Court authorized Barkley to settle with the company that held
Smedley's surety bond.[24] In May 1909, Smedley was arrested and charged with 20 counts
of forgery, prompting an audit of the county's finances that showed a shortage of $16,000,
only $6,000 of which was accountable to Smedley.[31] The scandal gave Republicans an
issue for the upcoming campaign.[32] In a series of debates, Barkley's opponent, Thomas N.
Hazelip, claimed that the county's entire Democratic organization was corrupt and made
charges against past Democratic administrations. [32][33] Barkley responded that he had no
more responsibility for those wrongdoings than Hazelip had for the murder of William
Goebel, a Democratic governor who had allegedly been assassinated by Republican
conspirators in 1900.[34] He pointed to his improvement of the county's finances through
inspection of charges presented to his office and showed evidence that he had fulfilled his
obligations as county attorney, a fact Hazelip conceded. [35] In spite of the scandal,
Democrats won every county-wide office, although by reduced margins, but Republicans
captured a 5-to-3 majority on the Fiscal Court. [36] Barkley's victory margin3,184 to 2,662
was the smallest of any county officer.[37]
At the Fiscal Court's January 1910 meeting, Barkley laid out an agenda to reduce the
county's debt, improve its roads, and audit its books annually.[38] Despite the Republican
majority on the Court, most of the measures he proposed during his term were adopted.
[38]
He appointed a purchasing agent and an inspector of weights and measures for the
county and allocated a salary for the county's almshouse keeper instead of relying on fees
to fund the position.[38] He replaced thecorve system wherein residents either paid a tax
or donated labor to build and repair county roads with private contracts. [39] The widening
and gravelling of county roads provided rural residents access to Paducah's amenities but
reduced funds for programs like free textbooks for indigents and prevented Barkley from
reducing the county's debt as planned.[40] When he named his father as the county's juvenile
court probation officer, opponents charged him with nepotism. [39]
U.S. Representative[edit]
Prompted by First District Representative Ollie M. James' decision to seek election to

the U.S. Senate in 1912, Barkley declared his candidacy for the district's congressional seat
in December 1911.[41] Courting the votes of the district's farmers, Barkley advocated lower
taxes and increased regulation of railroads by theInterstate Commerce Commission.[42] After
one challenger withdrew in March, three more candidates entered the race Trigg
County Commonwealth's AttorneyDenny Smith, Ballard County Judge Jacob Corbett, and
John K. Hendrick, Barkley's former employer.[41] All were conservative Democrats who
branded Barkley a socialist because he supported federal funding of highway construction.
[42][43]
Hendrick attacked Barkley's youth, inexperience and ambition to seek higher offices.
[43]
Barkley admitted his eventual desire for a Senate seat and countered that Hendrick had
also frequently sought office: "When the Pope died some years ago, nobody would tell
Hendrick, for fear he would declare for that office." [43] Charging that Barkley's membership in
Woodsmen of the World was politically motivated, Hendrick ended up attacking the
organization itself, angering the approximately 5,000 club members in the First District. [44] In
June, the nomination ofWoodrow Wilson for president and adoption of a progressive
platform at the 1912 Democratic National Convention bolstered Barkley's candidacy.[42] He
won 48.2% of the votes in the primary and went on to win the general election. [45]
Domestic matters[edit]
Barkley in 1913
Initially conservative, working with Wilson (who was elected president) inspired Barkley to
become more liberal.[9] On April 24, 1912, he first spoke on the House floor, favoring the
administration-backed UnderwoodSimmons Tariff Act which lowered tariffs on foreign
goods.[46] He endorsed Wilson's New Freedom agenda, including the 1913 Federal Reserve
Act and the 1914 Federal Trade Commission Act.[47] Because of his support for the
administration, he was assigned to the powerful Interstate and Foreign Commerce
Committee and became the first freshman to preside over a session of the House. [48] As a
member of the Interstate Commerce Commission, he supported the Clayton Antitrust
Act and sought to end child labor in interstate commerce through the KeatingOwen Act in
1916.[42][49] He also supported measures to extend credit to and fund road improvements in
rural areas.[20]
A speaker for the Anti-Saloon League, Barkley co-sponsored the 1916 SheppardBarkley
Act which banned alcohol sales in Washington, D.C.[50][51] It was passed in 1917.[51] He
sponsored an amendment to the Lever Food and Fuel Act forbidding the use of grain
rendered scarce by World War I and a poor harvest in 1916 to make alcoholic beverages.
[52]
The amendment passed the House, but a conference committee amended it to allow
production of beer and wine.[52] Both measures increased Barkley's national visibility and set
the stage for future prohibition legislation, including the Eighteenth Amendment.[20] By 1917,
the state Democratic Party was divided over prohibition, and the prohibitionist faction tried
to enlist Barkley for the 1919 gubernatorial race. [53] TheMemphis Commercial Appeal noted
in late 1917 that Barkley had not declined the invitations, but his continued silence reduced
the prohibitionists' enthusiasm.[53] He also showed little interest in the faction's attempts to
recruit him to challenge incumbent anti-prohibition Senator Ollie James in the 1917
Democratic primary.[26]
By 1919, James had died in office and Governor Augustus Owsley Stanley was elected to
his vacant seat.[54] The divisive prohibition issue and recent Republican gains in the state
made the Democratic gubernatorial primary of particular interest. [55] Stanley was the leader
of the party's anti-prohibitionists.[55] Prohibitionists, led by former governor J. C. W. Beckham,
did not support James D. Black, who became governor when Stanley went to the Senate
and was seeking re-election.[55] At the time of Black's election as lieutenant governor in
1915, he had sided with the prohibitionists; he was chosen to run with Stanley to balance
the party's ticket, so the anti-prohibitionists did not entirely trust him either. [55] Attempting to
unite the party and prevent a Republican victory, Black invited Barkley, who had not been
linked to either leader despite his support for prohibition, to be temporary chairman of the
1919 state Democratic convention.[56] Barkley's convention address attacked Republicans
and praised the Democrats' record without making reference to prohibition, but many in the
Beckham faction refused to accept Black, and he was defeated in the general election by
Republican Edwin P. Morrow.[57] Chairing the convention introduced Barkley to state political
leaders outside the First District.[58]
World War I[edit]

Barkley supported U.S. neutrality in World War I and endorsed Wilson's plan to purchase
merchant ships for the U.S. instead of paying foreign carriers to travel waters containing
German U-boats.[59] His position was popular in his district, as 80% of the dark tobacco
grown in western Kentucky was sold overseas, and higher shipping costs adversely
affected profits.[59] The House authorized the purchase, but Republicans and conservative
Democrats in the Senate regarded the idea as socialistic and blocked its passage with
a filibuster.[59]
Wilson supporters, including Barkley, campaigned for his re-election in 1916, using the
slogan "he kept us out of war".[60] By early 1917, Germany had lifted all restrictions on
attacks on neutral shipping supplying Britain and France, outraging many Americans. [60] The
publication in February of the Zimmermann Telegram, in which a German official proposed
to Mexico that, if the U.S. entered the war, Mexico should declare war on them and the
Germans would work to return Texas,Arizona, and New Mexico to Mexican control, also
brought the United States closer to war.[61] Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war
on April 2, 1917, and Barkley voted for the resolution when it came before the House two
weeks later.[61] At 40 years old, he considered resigning his seat to enlist in the U.S. Army,
but Wilson persuaded him not to do so.[61]
After the declaration of war, Barkley supported bills implementing conscription and raising
revenue for the fight.[52] Between August and October 1918, he joined an unofficial
congressional delegation that toured Europe, surveying the tactical situation and meeting
with leaders there.[61] Like Wilson, he supported U.S. ratification of the Treaty of
Versailles and participation in the League of Nations, but both measures failed after the
election of a more conservative Congress in 1918.[62]
Relations with Harding administration[edit]

Barkley supported William Gibbs McAdoo for president at the 1920 Democratic National
Convention, but the nomination went to James M. Cox.[63] He campaigned for Cox and his
running mate, Franklin D. Roosevelt, but his speeches focused more on Wilson's
progressive record than Cox's fitness for office. [63] RepublicanWarren G. Harding defeated
Cox in the general election, and Barkley found common ground with him on issues such as
the creation of the Veterans' Bureau and the passage of the progressive SheppardTowner
Act.[64] Barkley thought the administration was too favorable to big business interests,
however, and in 1922, he proclaimed that if Harding had returned the country to normalcy,
"then in God's name let us have Abnormalcy". [65]
Gubernatorial election of 1923[edit]

By the time of his 1922 re-election bid, Barkley was the ranking Democrat on the Interstate
and Foreign Commerce Committee.[65] In the election, he carried every First District county,
including the Republican strongholds of Caldwell and Crittenden counties.[65] Despite the
victory he lacked the political organization needed for higher office. [66] According to Barkley
biographer James K. Libbey, the establishment of such an organization, and not necessarily
a desire to become governor, may have motivated him to announce his candidacy for the
Democratic gubernatorial nomination on November 11, 1922. [66] Critics charged that this was
his intent, and he did little to deny it. [67]
J. Campbell Cantrill defeated Barkley in the 1923 Democratic gubernatorial primary.
Opposing Barkley in the primary was Congressman J. Campbell Cantrill, who along with
Stanley, led the conservative wing of the party, opposing prohibition and women's suffrage.
Beckham, leader of the liberal wing, intended to run, and his surrogates,
particularly Louisville Courier-Journal editor Robert Worth Bingham, began a "Business Man
for Governor" campaign in late 1922.[69]Beckham had served as governor from 1900 to 1907
and later in the U.S. Senate, but he was out of office (a "Business Man"), in contrast to
Cantrill and Barkley.[69] While Bingham's campaign forced Barkley to declare his candidacy
earlier than planned, the tactic was not successful outside Louisville; Beckham supporters
backed Barkley, more to prevent Cantrill's nomination than because they desired Barkley's.
[69]
Barkley's leadership team included his own supporters, influential members of the
Beckham faction, and erstwhile Cantrill supporters. [70][71]
[66][68]
Recognizing the need to broaden his appeal beyond western Kentucky, Barkley opened his
campaign in the central Kentucky town of Danville on February 19, 1923.[71] He employed
the slogan "Christianity, Morality, and Good Government", and he and Cantrill colleagues
in the House agreed to refrain from personal attacks. [50][72] Due to Percy Haly's influence on
Barkley and Barkley's own admiration for Woodrow Wilson, he denounced the influence of
the coal, racing, and railroad trusts in state politics.[50] "Woodrow Wilson drove the crooks
and corruptionists out of New Jersey, Governor Pinchot is driving them out of Pennsylvania,
and if I am elected Governor of Kentucky I promise to drive them out of Frankfort," he
declared.[50] In contrast to his usual preference for low taxes, he advocated a tax on coal
deposits.[70] In addition to reducing the coal trust's political influence, he believed the
increased revenue, which would largely be generated by out-of-state coal buyers, would
result in lower property taxes on farmers.[73] Friends in the Anti-Saloon League convinced
him that banning parimutuel betting would cripple the racing trust.[50][73] Many Catholics
and Protestants notably those affiliated with the Louisville Churchmen's Federation
favored prohibition and opposed parimutuel betting on religious grounds, and endorsed
Barkley's candidacy, but Bingham, typically a Beckham ally, was slow to endorse him. [70]
[74]
Like Bingham, Lexington Herald editor Desha Breckinridge had helped create the
parimutuel betting system, and Barkley's positions were enough to convince him to back
Cantrill, despite the fact that Breckinridge generally disliked Cantrill. [70]
Barkley campaigned across the state, earning the nickname "Iron Man" for making up to 16
speeches in a day.[9] His proposals for a statewide highway system and improvements in
education were popular, but coal mining and horse racing interests, based mostly in eastern
Kentucky, opposed him.[42][68] Counties east of a line from Louisville to Middlesboro generally
supported Cantrill, while those west of the line mostly went for Barkley, who lost the primary
by 9,000 votes (out of 241,000 cast), marking his only election loss. [75][76] He supported
Cantrill in the general election, gaining goodwill within the Democratic Party.[77] Cantrill died
on September 2, and the Democratic State Committee had to name his replacement.
[76]
Barkley was not acceptable to many of the members of the committee, and he refused to
accept nomination by party leaders instead of the voters. [78] On September 11, the
committee nominated Congressman William J. Fields, and Barkley supported him in the
general election, which he won over Republican Charles I. Dawson.[76][78]
Later House career[edit]

Barkley's party loyalty in the governor's race made him a formidable candidate to challenge
Stanley, who by 1924 had angered members of both party factions, but Barkley had spent
most of his funds in his campaign against Cantrill, and he did not want to risk his reputation
as a party unifier by challenging a Democrat. [79]Instead, he decided to rebuild his war chest
to unseat Kentucky's incumbent Republican senator, Richard P. Ernst, in 1926.[79] In the
meantime, he refrained from using his influence in state races to avoid losing any goodwill
with Kentucky voters.[80]
At the 1924 Democratic National Convention, Barkley again supported William G. McAdoo
for president.[80] Urban interests at the convention promoted New York Governor Al Smith,
and a bitter convention fight ensued.[80] During the course of 103 ballots, chairman Thomas
J. Walsh needed a rest and temporarily yielded his position to Barkley.[80] The convention
was the first to be broadcast nationally, and Barkley's service as chair augmented his
national recognition and appeal.[20] The two Democratic factions agreed to compromise,
nominating John W. Davis, who Libbey called a "competent nonentity"; Davis lost in the
general election to Calvin Coolidge.[80] Barkley won another term in the House by a 2-to-1
margin over his Republican opponent in 1924, but Democratic divisions cost Stanley his
Senate seat, and Barkley became even more convinced of the value of party loyalty.[80]
U.S. Senator[edit]
Richard P. Ernst, Barkley's opponent in the 1926 Senate race
Because of Barkley's role in crafting the Railway Labor Act, the Associated Railway Labor
Organizations endorsed him to unseat Ernst even before he formally announced his
candidacy on April 26, 1926.[81] Since the 1923 gubernatorial contest, he had distanced
himself from Haly and promised the conservatives that he would not push a ban on
parimutuel betting if elected.[82]Consequently, he had no opposition in the primary.
[42]
Congressman (and later Chief Justice) Fred M. Vinson managed his general election
campaign.[82]
Coolidge supported Ernst, and Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover campaigned in the
state on his behalf.[83] Ernst had opposed a bonus for veterans of World War I, an unpopular
position in Kentucky, and at 68 years old, his age worked against him. [82][84]Barkley contrasted
his impoverished upbringing with Ernst's affluent lifestyle as a corporate lawyer, and also
attacked him for supporting Michigan Senator Truman Handy Newberry, who resigned due
to allegations of election fraud.[83] Republican voters were angered that Ernst did not support
Republican Kentucky Congressman John W. Langley when Langley was charged with
illegally aiding a large bootlegging operation in Louisville.[84] Ernst tried to resurrect the
issues of Barkley's support for the coal tax and opposition to parimutuel betting, but in the
general election, Barkley won by a vote of 287,997 to 266,657. [82]
In the Senate, Barkley was assigned to the Committee on the Library, and the committees
on Finance and Banking and Currency; later, he was added to theCommerce Committee.
[85]
In early 1928, Vice President Charles G. Dawes assigned him to a special committee to
investigate the campaign expenditures of the leading candidates in the upcoming
presidential election.[85]
Joseph T. Robinson received the Democratic vice presidential nomination in 1928 instead of Barkley.
Democrats considered nominating him for vice president that year, calculating that his party
loyalty and appeal to rural, agricultural and prohibitionist constituents, could balance a ticket
headed by likely presidential nominee Al Smith, an urban anti-prohibitionist. [86]When the
Kentucky delegation arrived at the 1928 Democratic National Convention, they approached
Smith supporters with a view to pairing Barkley to their candidate. [86] They were received
cordially, but Smith's advisors thought placing candidates with such differing views on the
ticket would seem contrived to the electorate. [87] They did not tell Barkley of their decision
until after he seconded Smith's nomination for president. [87] Smith then
announced Arkansas Senator Joseph T. Robinson as his preferred running mate.[87] The
Kentuckians nominated Barkley in spite of Smith's preference, but the overwhelming
majority of delegates voted for Robinson, and Barkley announced that Kentucky was
changing its support in order to make the nomination unanimous. [87]
Barkley and his wife Dorothy took a vacation after the convention, returning to Kentucky in
August 1928 to find that, in his absence, Barkley had been chosen state chairman of
Smith's campaign.[88] He campaigned for Smith, but Herbert Hoover won a landslide victory.
[89]
After the election, Barkley led a coalition of liberal Democrats and Republicans that
opposed Hoover's use of protective tariffs, a debate that took particular urgency following
the Wall Street Crash of 1929.[90] Barkley opposed the SmootHawley Tariff Act, claiming it
would cost Americans both jobs and exports, but Congress approved it, and Hoover signed
it on June 17, 1930.[91]When Congress adjourned, Barkley accompanied Sherwood
Eddy and fellow senators Burton K. Wheeler and Bronson M. Cutting to the Soviet Union in
August 1930.[91] He was impressed by the industrial development brought about by Joseph
Stalin's First Five-Year Plan but did not advocate closer diplomatic ties with the Communist
nation, as some of his colleagues did.[92]
Barkley maintained that Hoover's response to the continuing depression and the severe
drought in 1930 were inadequate and pointed out that the $45 million in loans to farmers
that he approved amounted to less than half the losses sustained by Kentucky's farmers
alone.[93] He was angered that Hoover refused to call a special legislative session to adopt
relief measures after the regular congressional adjourned in early March 1931. [93] He
planned a series of speeches condemning Hoover beginning in June but was injured in an
automobile accident on June 22, limiting his political activities for the remainder of the year.
[94]
Second term and ascension to floor leader [edit]

External video
"Life and Career of Senator Alben

Barkley", presentation by Senate
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (RKY), June 30, 2014, C-SPAN[95]
Barkley supported Franklin D. Roosevelt for the Democratic presidential nomination in

1932, but facing a re-election bid himself, he did not announce his support, fearing that his
message might not resonate with Kentucky voters. [96] Roosevelt supporters offered Barkley
the keynote address and temporary chairmanship of the 1932 Democratic National
Convention if he would endorse their candidate.[97] Both opportunities would help Barkley's
re-election chances, so he announced his support for Roosevelt on March 22, 1932. [97] In his
keynote, Barkley warmly recalled the Wilson administration and denounced more than a
decade of Republican dominance.[98] Applause frequently punctuated the speech, with the
longest interruption a 45-minute near-riot erupting after Barkley called for a platform
plank directing Congress to repeal prohibition.[98] According to Libbey, the remark was not a
repudiation of his prohibitionist position but a desire for the people to express their will on
repeal.[99] Prohibitionist constituents still supported Barkley because, for most of them, the
depression trumped all other concerns.[99]
George B. Martin, who had served six months in the Senate in 1918 after being appointed
to fill a vacancy, opposed Barkley in the 1932 primary, but Barkley defeated him by a two-toone margin.[100] In the general election, he defeated Republican Congressman Maurice H.
Thatcher by a vote of 575,077 to 393,865, marking the first time in the 20th century that a
Kentucky senator won a second consecutive term. [101][102] Democrats gained control of the
Senate during the 1932 elections; Joseph Robinson was chosen majority leader, and he
appointed Barkley as his assistant.[9] Together, they secured passage of New
Deal legislation, including the Agricultural Adjustment Act, the National Industrial Recovery
Act, and the Federal Emergency Relief Act.[103] In July 1934, the Democratic National
Committee chose Barkley to respond to Republican National Committee chairman Henry P.
Fletcher's radio attacks on the New Deal.[104] Later that year, he embarked on a tour of
twenty states, defending the New Deal and stumping for Democratic candidates in the 1934
midterm elections.[104]
Barkley was again the keynote speaker at the 1936 Democratic National Convention.
[42]
During his address, he alluded to the Supreme Court's decision inSchechter Poultry
Corp. v. United States which struck down the National Industrial Recovery Act as
unconstitutional asking "Is the court beyond criticism? May it be regarded as too sacred to
be disagreed with?"[105] These remarks help set an anti-Supreme Court tone for Roosevelt's
second term.[106] On February 5, 1937, Roosevelt proposed legislation authorizing the
president to appoint an additional justice for each one over the age of 70. [106] Many saw this
proposal as an attempt to avoid further nullification of New Deal provisions as
unconstitutional by appointing more sympathetic justices, and they dubbed the measure
Roosevelt's "court-packing plan".[106]
Barkley and Mississippi Senator Pat Harrison were the leading candidates to succeed
Robinson as Democratic floor leader when he died on July 14, 1937. [9][100]Harrison's tenure in
the Senate was eight years longer than Barkley's, and he was supported by conservative
Southern Democratic senators opposed to Roosevelt's court-packing plan. [9] Harrison had
helped secure Roosevelt's nomination at the 1932 Democratic National Convention by
convincing Mississippi Governor Martin Sennet Conner to keep his state's delegation loyal
to Roosevelt, but Roosevelt preferred Barkley because of his support of the New Deal. [107] A
letter from Roosevelt praising Barkley's legislative accomplishments and addressed to "My
Dear Alben" was seen as an endorsement.[108] Although Roosevelt remained publicly neutral,
he pressured Illinois' William H. Dieterich and Missouri's Harry S. Truman to support Barkley
instead of Harrison; Dieterich acquiesced, but Truman remained loyal to Harrison. [108] Many
senators resented Roosevelt's interference in a traditionally legislative prerogative.
[108]
Ultimately, Barkley was elected by a single vote. [109]
Challenge by Happy Chandler[edit]
Happy Chandler unsuccessfully challenged Barkley for his U.S. Senate seat.
Barkley faced a primary challenge in his 1938 re-election bid from A. B. "Happy" Chandler,
Kentucky's popular governor who had a strong political organization throughout the state.
[110]
According to historian James C. Klotter, Chandler was confident of his ascension to the
presidency and saw the Senate as a stepping stone. [111] Chandler twice asked Roosevelt to
appoint Kentucky's junior Senator, M. M. Logan, to a federal judgeship so he could arrange
his own appointment to Logan's Senate seat.[112] On one of these occasions the retirement
of Supreme Court Justice George Sutherland Barkley advised Roosevelt to
appoint Solicitor General Stanley Reed instead.[111] Chandler's mentor, Virginia Senator Harry
F. Byrd, and the bloc of Democrats who opposed Roosevelt's New Deal, then encouraged
Chandler to announce his candidacy for Barkley's seat. [112][113]
The New York Times saw the primary as "the Gettysburg of the party's internecine strife"
over control of the Democratic National Convention in 1940.[114] Early on, Chandler portrayed
himself as a supporter of Roosevelt since Roosevelt was popular in Kentucky but
opposed to the New Deal.[115] He pointed to his fiscal conservatism as governor, including
reorganizing and downsizing the executive branch and reducing the state's debt. [111] Polls
showing Barkley with a comfortable lead and an overwhelming victory by New Deal
supporter Claude Pepper in Florida's May Senate primary convinced Chandler to shift his
focus from the New Deal.[114] He criticized Barkley as "a stranger to the state" and obliquely
referred to "fat, sleek senators who go to Europe and have forgotten the people of Kentucky
except when they run for election".[115] Forty years old 20 years Barkley's junior he
referred to Barkley as "Old Alben".[116]
Early in the contest, congressional business restricted Barkley's campaign to weekends, so
he enlisted allies like Fred Vinson to speak on his behalf. [117][118]Chandler's political enemies
such as former governor Ruby Laffoon, whom Chandler had crossed as lieutenant
governor, and John Y. Brown, Sr., who felt that Chandler had broken a promise to support
him for a seat in the Senate, also supported Barkley.[117] Although labor leaders had backed
Chandler's gubernatorial bid, they endorsed Barkley because of Roosevelt's support for
labor unions.[119] After the congressional session, Barkley resumed his "Iron Man" campaign
style, making between 8 and 15 speeches each day and traveling, on average, 4,500 miles
(7,200 km) per week.[22][117] This countered Chandler's implication that Barkley's age was a
disadvantage, a charge that was further blunted when the younger Chandler fell ill in July,
temporarily halting his campaigning.[117] Chandler indirectly charged that a Barkley supporter
had poisoned his ice water, causing the illness. [120] Barkley ridiculed the suggestion,
promising to appoint "an ice water guard" for his campaign. [120] During speeches, he would
lift a glass of water to his lips, then mockingly inspect it and refuse to drink it. [120] Louisville
police dismissed Chandler's claim as "a political bedtime story". [121]
Recognizing that the defeat of his hand-picked floor leader would be a repudiation of his
agenda, Roosevelt began a tour of the state in Covington on July 8, 1938.[122] Chandler, the
state's chief executive, was invited to welcome the president. [123] Although clearly
campaigning for Barkley, Roosevelt made courteous remarks about Chandler in the spirit of
party unity, but in Bowling Green, he chastised Chandler for "dragging federal judgeships
into a political campaign".[110][124]
As nearly every 20th century Kentucky governor had done, Chandler printed campaign
materials with state funds, solicited campaign funds from state employees, and promised
new government jobs in exchange for votes.[117] A later investigation determined that
Chandler had raised at least $10,000 from state employees. [125]Federal New Deal employees
countered by working on Barkley's behalf.[117] Barkley and George H. Goodman, director of
the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in Kentucky, denied that WPA employees played
a role in the campaign, but journalist Thomas Lunsford Stokes concluded that "the WPA ...
was deep in politics" in Kentucky, winning the 1939 Pulitzer Prize for Reporting for his
investigation.[126] A Senate committee investigated Stokes' findings, and WPA
administrator Harry Hopkins claimed the committee's report refuted all but two of Stokes'
twenty-two charges.[127] Nevertheless, Congress passed the Hatch Act of 1939 which
restricted federal employees' participation in political activities. [125]
Barkley won the August 6 election by a vote of 294,391 to 223,149, carrying 74
of Kentucky's 120 counties, with large majorities in western Kentucky, the city of Louisville,
and rural areas.[120][125] It was the first loss of Chandler's political career, and the worst
suffered by a primary candidate in Kentucky's history to that time. [128] Barkley defeated his
Republican opponent, Louisville Judge John P. Haswell, securing 62% of the general
election vote.[129] Encouraged by Barkley's success, Roosevelt campaigned against
conservative Democratic incumbents in southern states, but all of these candidates won,
which damaged Roosevelt's image.[130]
Floor leadership[edit]
With his caucus divided between conservatives and liberals, Barkley failed to secure
passage for Roosevelt's court-packing plan.[42] After the successive failures of several
administration-backed domestic bills, the press dubbed the Senate Majority Leader
"bumbling Barkley".[109] He was able to salvage an appropriations bill to cover overspending
by the WPA, although it allocated much less funding than Roosevelt had wanted. [129] He
helped secure the Hatch Act and The Washington Daily News called a 1940 amendment
that prohibited campaigning by federally funded state employees a "monument to Alben
Barkley's persistence and parliamentary skill". [123][129] Despite this mixed record, Roosevelt
believed some Democratic partisans hoped to nominate Barkley for president at the 1940
Democratic National Convention, but the German invasion of Poland on September 1,
1939, deepened his resolve to seek a third term. [131]
Barkley during his tenure as floor leader
Barkley disagreed with Roosevelt's selection of Agriculture Secretary Henry A. Wallace as

his running mate; Libbey felt that "there is enough evidence from Barkley's tortuous private
and public statements about the qualifications of Wallace to infer that Barkley wanted the
vice presidency for himself", although he did not promote this idea to Roosevelt. [131] Barkley
was chosen permanent chairman of the convention; chants of "We want Roosevelt"
interrupted his July 16 speech for 20 minutes, indicating that he had created a popular
mandate for Roosevelt's renomination, which occurred the next day.[132]Roosevelt went on
to win an unprecedented third term in a landslide.[132]
Supporting Roosevelt's provision of aid to Allied Powers during World War II, Barkley
sponsored the Lend-Lease Act in the Senate.[133] In November 1943, he helped draft
the ConnallyFulbright Resolution for the creation of an international peace-keeping body at
the end of the war, an idea he had favored since Woodrow Wilson's support of the League
of Nations.[133]Supreme Court Justice and fellow Kentuckian Louis Brandeis influenced
Barkley to adopt Zionism; during and after the war, Barkley advocated creation of a Jewish
homeland in Palestine and introduced a 1943 resolution demanding that the Nazis to be
punished for persecuting Jews.[20][133] U.S. entry into the war diverted Roosevelt's attention
away from domestic affairs.[109] Vice President Wallace, House Speaker Sam Rayburn,
Democratic House Floor Leader John William McCormack, and Barkley the president's
"Big Four" helped develop and pass the administration's legislative agenda. [109] Barkley
regularly met with the chairmen of the Senate's standing committees, forming a sort of
legislative cabinet.[133] With their support, he secured passage of the War Powers Act and
the Emergency Price Control Act.[134] He also advocated passage of a measure to outlaw poll
taxes, but the bill was defeated.[135]
Split with Roosevelt[edit]

In April 1943 a confidential analysis by Isaiah Berlin of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee for the British Foreign Office described Barkley as "a Democratic party
"wheelhorse" who will pull the Administration wagon through thick and thin. Although he is
the Majority Leader in the Senate, he is not an adroit negotiator, but a loyal supporter of the
President come hell or high water."[136]
Tension developed between Roosevelt and Barkley during the war, however.[109] In 1943,
Roosevelt refused to appoint Barkley to a vacancy on the Supreme Court, and Barkley
criticized the War Production Board for awarding contracts for the production of war-related
materials to large companies rather than small businesses. [20][135] Their most notable clash
occurred in February 1944 when Roosevelt requested that Congress approve tax increases
to generate over $10 billion in revenue for the war. Barkley and the Senate Finance
Committee negotiated a bill containing only $2.3 billion in tax increases. Feeling the
measure was insufficient, Roosevelt convened the "Big Four" on February 21 and told them
he would veto it.[135] They urged him not to do so, assuring him that the bill they had drafted
was the best one that they could pass.[135] Roosevelt vetoed the bill the next day, marking the
first time a U.S. president vetoed a revenue bill. [109]
When Barkley entered the Senate chamber on February 23, word had spread that
Roosevelt's veto had angered him.[137] He announced that he would resign as floor leader
and encouraged his legislative colleagues to override the veto. He stated that Roosevelt's
characterization of the bill as "providing relief not for the needy, but for the greedy" was "a
calculated and deliberate assault upon the legislative integrity of every member of the
Congress of the United States".[138]Roosevelt sent a letter to Barkley insisting he had not
intended to impugn Congress' integrity and urging him not to resign. The next morning,
Barkley resigned and left the Democratic Conference Room; minutes later, the caucus
unanimously re-elected him. Many members who had seen Barkley as Roosevelt's
advocate in Congress now looked upon him as Congress' advocate with Roosevelt.
[109]
Subsequently, Congress overwhelmingly overrode the veto. [138]
Delegates to the 1944 Democratic National Convention favored dropping vice president
Henry Wallace from their ticket in favor of Barkley, but Roosevelt refused to consider him,
telling a July 11 meeting of Democratic leaders that he was too old. [109][139] Instead, he took the
recommendation of Democratic National Committeechairman Robert E. Hannegan and
choose Harry S. Truman.[139] Despite his differences with Roosevelt, Barkley faced no
serious challengers in the 1944 Democratic primary and defeated his Republican
challenger, Fayette County Commonwealth's Attorney James Park, by a vote of 464,053 to
380,425.[140]
Truman succeeds Roosevelt[edit]

Truman ascended to the presidency when Roosevelt died in April 1945, just before the end
of World War II.[109][141] In the war's aftermath, Americans wanted to know why the U.S.
seemed ill-prepared for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.[141] Barkley sponsored a
resolution to create the Joint Committee on the Investigation of the Pearl Harbor Attack and
was chosen as chairman of the ten-person committee. [142] The committee's report, delivered
on July 20, 1946, exonerated Roosevelt of any blame for the attack and highlighted
weaknesses in communications between branches of the U.S. armed forces, leading to the
creation of the United States Department of Defense.[142] Barkley also helped ensure U.S.
participation in the United Nations and advocated approval of billions of dollars in loans to
rebuild Europe.[142] Look magazine named him the second most fascinating person in the
country behind Dwight D. Eisenhower.[143]
In the 1946 elections, Republicans wrested control of both houses of Congress from the
Democrats for the first time since the Great Depression and gained control of the majority of
state governments.[109][143] The power of labor unions had expanded under Roosevelt and the
Democrats, and when a 1946 railroad worker strikeexacerbated a post-war recession the
Republican majorities over Barkley's objection curbed union power via the TaftHartley
Act.[144] They also passed theTwenty-second Amendment, limiting the president to two terms,
a posthumous slap at Roosevelt.[145]
Barkley's wife, Dorothy, died March 10, 1947 after a long illness.
Barkley's wife became an invalid due to heart disease. [20] Barkley had closed his law practice
when he was elected to the Senate, so to pay for his wife's care, he supplemented his
$10,000 annual salary with speaking engagements. [139] He was the Democratic Speakers
Bureau's most requested orator, surpassing Truman. [143] A Pageant magazine poll of
legislators chose Barkley and Republican Robert A. Taft as the hardest-working members of
their respective parties.[143] The Barkleys sold their Washington, D.C. home and moved into
an apartment to reduce expenses.[141] Marny Clifford, wife of Truman's Naval Advisor Clark
Clifford, nicknamed Barkley "Sparkle Barkle" for his care of his wife, who died March 10,
1947.[141] When Barkley won the Collier Award in May 1948, he donated the $10,000 prize to
the University of Louisville School of Medicine in his wife's honor.[143]
Civil rights bills, unpopular with Southern Democrats, were central to Truman's Fair Deal.
[145]
Because Barkley could still appeal to Southern Democrats, Truman asked him to be the
keynote speaker at the 1948 Democratic National Convention for an unprecedented third
time.[146] Because of the Republican resurgence and Truman's difficulty appealing to some
Democrats, Republican presidential nominee Thomas E. Dewey was expected to win
the upcoming presidential election.[146] Democrats were energized by Barkley's keynote
address, which promoted New Deal accomplishments and called the Republicancontrolled Eightieth Congress a "do nothing" Congress.[147] He mentioned Truman only once,
leading Truman to suspect that Barkley sought to supplant him as the party's presidential
nominee, but no such attempt occurred.[109] Despite these suspicions and his contention that
a ticket consisting of a Missourian and a Kentuckian lacked regional geographic balance,
convention delegates persuaded Truman to take Barkley as his running mate. [109]Truman had
wanted Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, but Douglas declined.[139]
Barkley was disappointed that he was not Truman's first choice as running mate, but over
the next six weeks, he crisscrossed the country by plane, making over 250 campaign
speeches in 36 states.[147][148] Playing off Barkley's keynote speech, Truman called a special
congressional session on July 26, 1948, challenging Republicans to enact their agenda.
[149]
They were unable to pass any significant legislation, seeming to confirm Barkley's
characterization of them as a "do-nothing Congress". [149]
Vice Presidency[edit]
In an upset victory, Truman and Barkley were elected over the Republican ticket by over
2 million votes, and Democrats regained majorities in both houses of Congress. [150] Seventyone years old at the time of his inauguration, he was the oldest man ever elected Vice
President, breaking Charles Curtis' record at 69. [42][151] His grandson, Stephen M. Truitt,
suggested the nickname "Veep" as an alternative to "Mr. Vice President". [152] The nickname
was used by the press, but Barkley's successor, Richard Nixon, discontinued using it,
saying it belonged to Barkley.[151]
Barkley showing the vice presidential seal to Prime Minister of Pakistan Liaquat Ali Khan and his wife
Despite their personal differences, Truman and Barkley agreed on most issues. [148] Because
of Barkley's legislative experience, Truman insisted his vice-president attend cabinet
meetings.[42] Barkley chaired the Senate Democratic Policy Committee and attended
Truman's weekly legislative conferences.[153] When Congress created the National Security
Council, it included the vice president as a member.[154] Barkley acted as the administration's
primary spokesperson, making 40 major speeches in his first eight months in office.
[154]
Truman commissioned the United States Army Institute of Heraldryto create
a seal and flag for the vice president, advocated raising his salary, and increased his
expense budget.[42][155] Mark O. Hatfield's biographical sketch of Barkley noted that he was
"the last [vice president] to preside regularly over the Senate, the last not to have an office
in or near the White House, [and] the last to identify more with the legislative than the
executive branch".[151]
Despite the Democrats' advantage in the Senate, conservative Democrats united with the
Republican minority to oppose much of Truman's agenda, most notably, civil rights
legislation.[156] In March 1949, Democratic floor leader Scott W. Lucasintroduced an
amendment to Senate Rule XXII to make cloture easier to achieve; hoping to end a ten-day
filibuster against a civil rights bill.[157] Conservative Republicans and Southern Democrats
opposed the rule change and tried to obstruct it. [157] Lucas asked for a cloture vote on the
rule change, but opponents contended that the motion was out of order.[157] Barkley studied
the original debate on Rule XXII, which governed both cloture motions, before ruling in
Lucas' favor.[158] Georgia Senator Richard Russell, Jr. appealed Barkley's decision, and the
chamber voted 4641 to overrule.[158] Sixteen Republicans, mostly from Northeast and West
Coast states, voted to sustain the ruling; most Southern Democrats voted with the
remaining Republicans to overrule it.[158]
On July 8, 1949, Barkley met Jane (Rucker) Hadley, a St. Louis widow approximately half
his age, at a party thrown by Clark Clifford. [151][159] After Haldey's return to St. Louis, Barkley
kept contact with her via letters and plane trips. [159] Their courtship received national
attention, and on November 18, 1949, they married in the Singleton Memorial Chapel of St.
John's Methodist Church in St. Louis.[160] Barkley is the only U.S. vice president to marry
while in office.[42]
Barkley's most notable tie-breaking vote as vice president was cast on October 4, 1949, to
save the YoungRussell Amendment which set a 90% parity on the price of cotton, wheat,
corn, rice, and peanuts.[161] His friends, Scott Lucas and Clint Anderson, opposed the
amendment, but Barkley had promised support during the 1948 campaign. [161]
In 1949, Emory University chose Barkley to deliver its commencement address and
awarded him an honorary Doctor of Laws .[162] The following year, the university's debating
society renamed itself the Barkley Forum.[163] The university also created the Alben W.
Barkley Distinguished Chair in its Department of Political Science. [163]
President Truman presents the Congressional Gold Medal to Vice President Barkley honoring his years of
legislative service.
Barkley tried to mentor Scott Lucas and Ernest McFarland, his immediate successors as
floor leader, by teaching them to work with the vice president as he had during Truman's
vice presidency, but Truman's unpopularity made cooperation between the executive branch
and the legislature difficult.[156] After the U.S. entered the Korean War, Truman focused on
foreign affairs, leaving Barkley to campaign for Democratic candidates in the 1950 midterm
elections.[155] He traveled over 19,000 miles (31,000 km) and spoke in almost half of the
states during the campaign.[164] He felt ill when he arrived in Paducah on election day, and a
doctor diagnosed him with a "tired heart". [165] Returning to Washington, D.C., he spent
several days in Naval Hospital, but was able to preside when the Senate opened its session
on November 28, 1950.[165]Democrats lost seats in both houses but maintained majorities in
each.[155]
On March 1, 1951 exactly 38 years from his first day in Congress Barkley's fellow
congressmen presented him with theCongressional Gold Medal in honor of his legislative
service.[166] Truman surprised Barkley, appearing on the Senate floor to present the
medallion and a gavel made of timbers used to renovate the White House after the burning
of Washington in 1814.[165]
In November 1951, Barkley and his wife ate Thanksgiving dinner with U.S. troops at Kimpo
Air Base in Seoul.[167] On his seventy-fourth birthday, Barkley traveled to the front lines on a
fact-finding mission for the president.[167] On June 4, 1952, he cast another notable tiebreaking vote to save the Wage Stabilization Board.[168]
Campaign for president[edit]

At the March 29, 1952, JeffersonJackson Day fundraiser, Truman announced that he
would not seek re-election, although he was exempt from the Twenty-second
Amendment's term limits.[169] After the announcement, the District of Columbia Democratic
Club formed a Barkley for President Club with Iowa Senator Guy Gilletteas chairman.
[168]
Prominent Kentuckians including Senator Earle C. Clements, Governor Lawrence
Wetherby, and Lieutenant Governor Emerson "Doc" Beauchamp supported the
candidacy.[168] Exactly two months after Truman's announcement, Barkley declared his
availability to run for president while maintaining he was not actively seeking the office. [170]
Adlai Stevenson II received the Democratic presidential nomination in 1952 instead of Barkley.
Barkley's distant cousin, Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson II (grandson of the former vice
president), was considered his primary competition for the nomination, but had not
committed before the convention.[170] Richard Russell, Jr. and Tennessee Senator Estes
Kefauver were also interested in the nomination.[171] Kentucky's delegation to the 1952
Democratic National Convention announced that they would support Barkley, and Truman
encouraged Missouri's delegates to do so.[170] Democratic National Committee
chairman Frank E. McKinney, former chairman James Farley, and Senate Secretary Leslie
Biffle also supported him.[172] Two weeks before the convention, Stevenson advisor Jacob
Arvey told Barkley that Stevenson was not going to be nominated and favored nominating
Barkley.[172] Barkley's advisors believed that Kefauver and Russell would knock each other
out of the early balloting, allowing Barkley to capture the nomination. [171]
To dispel concerns about his age (74), failing eyesight, and heart problems, Barkley arrived
in Chicago for the 1952 Democratic National Convention and briskly walked seven blocks
from the bus station to his campaign headquarters. [171][172] The attempt was rendered moot on
July 20 when a group of labor leaders, including United Automobile
Workers President Walter Reuther, issued a statement calling Barkley too old and
requesting that Democrats nominate someone younger like Stevenson. [173] At a meeting with
labor leaders the next morning, Barkley failed to persuade them to retract the statement,
which caused delegations from large industrial states like Illinois, Indiana, and Pennsylvania
to waver on their commitments to Barkley.[173][174] On July 21, he announced his withdrawal
from the race.[173] Invited to make a farewell address on July 22, he received a 35-minute
ovation when he took the podium and 45-minute one at the speech's end. [155][175] In a show of
respect, a Missouri delegate nominated Barkley for president and House Majority Leader
McCormack seconded it, but Stevenson was easily nominated. [176] A month after the
convention, Barkley hosted a Stevenson picnic and campaign rally at his home in Paducah
and later introduced him at a rally in Louisville. [177] Despite Barkley's predictions of a
Democratic victory, Stevenson lost in overwhelming fashion to Republican Dwight
Eisenhower.[178]
Later life and death[edit]
The Angles, Barkley's home in Paducah
Barkley's term as vice president ended on January 20, 1953. [14] After the election, he had
surgery to remove hiscataracts.[178] He contracted with NBC to create 26 fifteen-minute
commentary broadcasts called "Meet the Veep". [178] Low ratings prompted NBC's decision
not to renew the series in September 1953. [178] In retirement, Barkley remained a popular
speaker and began working on his memoirs with journalist Sidney Shallett. [178] He re-entered
politics in 1954, challenging incumbent Republican Senator John Sherman Cooper.[179] In a
1971 study of Barkley's Senate career, historian Glenn Finch argued that Barkley was the
only person who could beat Cooper.[180] Few issues differentiated the candidates, and the
campaign hinged on party politics; visits to Kentucky by President Eisenhower, Vice
President Richard Nixon, and SenatorEverett Dirksen on Cooper's behalf reinforced this
notion.[178] Barkley resumed his Iron Man campaign style, campaigning for up to sixteen
hours a day, countering the "too old" charge that cost him the presidential nomination. [181] He
won the general election by a vote of 434,109 to 362,948, giving Democrats a one-vote
advantage in the Senate.[155][177]
Veteran West Virginia Senator Harley M. Kilgore offered to exchange seats with Barkley,
putting Barkley on the front row with the chamber's senior members and himself on the back
row with the freshman legislators, but Barkley declined the offer.[182] In honor of his previous
service, he was assigned to the prestigiousCommittee on Foreign Relations.[42] In this
position, he endorsed Eisenhower's appointment of Cooper as U.S. Ambassador to India
and Nepal.[182] His relative lack of seniority did not afford him much influence. [182]
In an April 30, 1956, keynote address at the Washington and Lee Mock Convention, Barkley
spoke of his willingness to sit with the other freshman senators in Congress, he ended with
an allusion to Psalm 84:10, saying "I'm glad to sit on the back row, for I would rather be a
servant in the House of the Lord than to sit in the seats of the mighty." [155] He then collapsed
onstage and died of a heart attack.[42] He was buried in Mount Kenton Cemetery near
Paducah.[14]
Memory[edit]
A dam constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the Cumberland River in 1966,
and the lake it forms, were named Barkley Dam and Lake Barkley in Barkley's honor.
[183]
Barkley Regional Airport in Paducah is also named for him.[184] In 1984, the federal
government declined to purchase The Angles, his Paducah home, and it was sold at
auction.[185] In February 2008, Paducah's American Justice School of Law changed owners
after failing to secure accreditation from theAmerican Bar Association.[186] It was renamed
the Alben W. Barkley School of Law, but remained unaccredited, and closed in December
2008.[186]
References[edit]
1. Jump up^ "Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States:
F.D. Roosevelt, 1944 ...".
2. Jump up^ Finch, p. 167
3. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g h Libbey in The Kentucky Encyclopedia, p. 52
4. Jump up^ Libbey in Dear Alben, pp. 1, 3
5. Jump up^ Libbey in Dear Alben, p. 1
6. ^ Jump up to:a b Libby in Dear Alben, p. 3
7. ^ Jump up to:a b Libbey in Dear Alben, p. 2
8. ^ Jump up to:a b Finch, p. 286
9. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g Hatfield, p. 2
10. Jump up^ Libbey in "Alben Barkley's Clinton Days", p. 343
12. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Libbey in Dear Alben, p. 5
14. ^ Jump up to:a b c "Barkley, Alben William". Biographical Directory of
the United States Congress
18. ^ Jump up to:a b Libbey in "The Making of the 'Paducah Politician'",
p. 255
19. Jump up^ Libbey in "The Making of the 'Paducah Politician'", pp.
251252
20. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g "Alben William Barkley". Dictionary of
American Biography
23. Jump up^ Libbey in "The Making of the 'Paducah Politician'", p.
266
24. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f Grinde in "Politics and Scandal", p. 37
25. ^ Jump up to:a b Libbey in "The Making of the 'Paducah Politician'",
p. 268
26. ^ Jump up to:a b Grinde in "Gentle Partisan", p. 249
27. Jump up^ Libbey in "Alben Barkley's Rise", p. 264
28. Jump up^ Libbey in "Alben Barkley's Rise", pp. 261, 266
29. ^ Jump up to:a b Grinde in "Politics and Scandal", p. 39
31. Jump up^ Grinde in "Politics and Scandal", pp. 3738
32. ^ Jump up to:a b Grinde in "Politics and Scandal", p. 38
33. Jump up^ Grinde in "Politics and Scandal", p. 42
36. Jump up^ Grinde in "Politics and Scandal", pp. 49, 51
38. ^ Jump up to:a b c Libbey in "Alben Barkley's Rise", p. 271
39. ^ Jump up to:a b Libbey in "Alben Barkley's Rise", p. 272
42. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Libbey in The Kentucky

Encyclopedia, p. 53
43. ^ Jump up to:a b c Libbey in "Alben Barkley's Rise", p. 276
48. Jump up^ Libbey in Dear Alben, pp. 2223
50. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e Sexton, p. 53
52. ^ Jump up to:a b c Libbey in Dear Alben, p. 31
53. ^ Jump up to:a b Grinde in "Gentle Partisan", p. 248
54. Jump up^ Grinde in "Gentle Partisan", pp. 250251
55. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Grinde in "Gentle Partisan", p. 251
56. Jump up^ Grinde in "Gentle Partisan", p. 252
57. Jump up^ Grinde in "Gentle Partisan", pp. 254257
58. Jump up^ Grinde in "Gentle Partisan", p. 257

68. ^ Jump up to:a b Harrison and Klotter, p. 352
70. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Klotter, p. 272
74. Jump up^ Hill, p. 120
75. Jump up^ Harrison and Klotter, p. 353
76. ^ Jump up to:a b c Finch, p. 287
80. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f Libbey in Dear Alben, p. 45
82. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Klotter, p. 284

95. Jump up^ "Life and Career of Senator Alben Barkley". C-SPAN.
June 30, 2014. Retrieved September 11,2016.
101. Jump up^ Klotter, p. 299
107. Jump up^ Finch, pp. 290291
108. ^ Jump up to:a b c Finch, p. 290
109. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g h i j k l Hatfield, p. 3
111.^ Jump up to:a b c Klotter, p. 312
113. Jump up^ Hixson, p. 313
114. ^ Jump up to:a b Hixson, p. 316
117. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f Klotter, p. 313

120. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Harrison and Klotter, p. 370
125. ^ Jump up to:a b c Klotter, p. 315
126. Jump up^ Klotter, p. 314
136. Jump up^ Hachey, Thomas E. (Winter 19731974)."American
Profiles on Capitol Hill: A Confidential Study for the British Foreign
Office in 1943"(PDF). Wisconsin Magazine of History. 57 (2): 141
153. JSTOR 4634869. Archived from the original (PDF) on October
21, 2013.
139. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Finch, p. 294

143. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e Libbey in Dear Alben, p. 92
148. ^ Jump up to:a b Hatfield, p. 4
151. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Hatfield, p. 1
152. Jump up^ Davis, p. 115
155. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f Hatfield, p. 6
156. ^ Jump up to:a b Hatfield, p. 5
157. ^ Jump up to:a b c Davis, p. 116
161. ^ Jump up to:a b Davis, p. 118
162. Jump up^ "A History of Commencement at Emory". Emory
University
163. ^ Jump up to:a b "Alben William Barkley". University of Virginia

178. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f Libbey in Dear Alben, p. 110
183. Jump up^ "Lake Barkley". Lake Productions, LLC.
184. Jump up^ Poore, "Challenger Pounds Home His Message"
185. Jump up^ "Alben Barkley Home, Effects to be Sold".Lexington
Herald-Leader
186. ^ Jump up to:a b Martin, "Attorney General Conway Concludes
Investigation into Student Loan Company Involved with Bankrupt
West Kentucky Law School"
Bibliography[edit]
"Alben Barkley Home, Effects to be Sold". Lexington Herald-Leader.

March 21, 1984. p. B1.
"Alben William Barkley". Dictionary of American Biography. New York

City: Charles Scribner's Sons. 1936. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
"Alben William Barkley". University of Virginia. Retrieved October

6, 2012.
"Barkley, Alben William". Biographical Directory of the United States

Congress. United States Congress. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
Davis, Polly Ann (April 1978). "Alben W. Barkley: Vice President". The
Register of the Kentucky Historical Society. 76 (2).
Finch, Glenn (July 1971). "The Election of United States Senators in

Kentucky: The Barkley Period". Filson Club History Quarterly. 45 (3).
Grinde, Gerald S. (Summer 1980). "The Emergence of the 'Gentle

Partisan': Alben W. Barkley and Kentucky Politics, 1919". The Register
of the Kentucky Historical Society.78 (3).
Grinde, Gerald S. (April 1976). "Politics and Scandal in the Progressive

Era: Alben W. Barkley and the McCracken County Campaign of
1909". Filson Club History Quarterly.50 (2).
Harrison, Lowell H.; James C. Klotter (1997). A New History of

Kentucky. Lexington, Kentucky: The University Press of
Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-2008-X.
Hatfield, Mark O. (1997). "Alben W. Barkley (19491953)" (PDF). Vice

presidents of the United States, 17891993. Washington, D.C.: U.S.
Government Printing Office. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
Hill, Samuel S. (1983). Religion in the Southern States: A Historical

Study. Macon, Georgia: Mercer University Press. ISBN 0-86554-045-4.
"A History of Commencement at Emory". Emory University.

Retrieved October 6, 2012.
Hixson, Walter L. (Summer 1982). "The 1938 Kentucky Senate

Election: Alben W. Barkley, 'Happy' Chandler, and the New Deal". The
Register of the Kentucky Historical Society. 80.
Klotter, James C. (1996). Kentucky: Portraits in Paradox, 1900

1950. Lexington, Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0916968-24-3.
"Lake Barkley". Lake Productions, LLC. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
Libbey, James K. (Autumn 1980). "Alben Barkley's Clinton Days". The

Register of the Kentucky Historical Society. 78 (4).
Libbey, James K. (Summer 2000). "Alben Barkley's Rise from

Courthouse to Congress". The Register of the Kentucky Historical
Society. 98 (3).
Libbey, James K. (Summer 1998). "Alben W. Barkley: The Making of

the 'Paducah Politician'". The Register of the Kentucky Historical
Society. 96 (3).
Libbey, James K. (1979). Dear Alben: Mr. Barkley of

Kentucky. Lexington, Kentucky: The University Press of
Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-0238-3.
Libbey, James K. (1992). "Barkley, Alben William". In John E.

Kleber. The Kentucky Encyclopedia. Associate editors: Thomas D.
Clark, Lowell H. Harrison, and James C. Klotter. Lexington, Kentucky:
The University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-1772-0.
Retrieved August 28, 2012.
Martin, Allison Gardner (September 28, 2010). "Attorney General

Conway Concludes Investigation into Student Loan Company Involved
with Bankrupt West Kentucky Law School". U.S. Federal News
Service. Retrieved October 6, 2012.
Poore, Chris (November 3, 1993). "Challenger Pounds Home His

Message". Lexington Herald-Leader. p. A1.
Sexton, Robert F. (January 1976). "The Crusade Against Pari-mutuel

Gambling in Kentucky: a Study of Southern Progressivism in the
1920s". Filson Club History Quarterly. 50(1).
Further reading[edit]
Primary sources[edit]
Barkley, Alben (1954). That Reminds Me. Garden City, New York:
Doubleday. OCLC 456611.
Barkley, Alben (1959). Veep: Former Vice President Alben W. Barkley

Tells His Own Story. New York City: Folkways
Records. OCLC 692298110.
Barkley, Jane Rucker Hadley (1958). I Married the Veep. New York
City: Vanguard. OCLC 1368739.
Secondary sources[edit]
Davis, Polly (1976). "Court Reform and Alben W. Barkley's Election as

Majority Leader". Southern Quarterly. 15 (1): 1531.
Davis, Polly Ann (1977). "Alben W. Barkley's Public Career in

1944". Filson Club History Quarterly. 51 (2): 143157.
Pietrusza, David (2011). 1948: Harry Truman's Improbable Victory and

the Year that Changed America. Union Square Press. ISBN 1-40276748-X.
Ritchie, Donald A. (1991). "Alben Barkley". In Richard A. Baker and

Roger H. Davidson. First Among Equals: Outstanding Senate Leaders
of the Twentieth Century. CQ Press.
Robinson, George W. (1969). "Alben Barkley and the 1944 Tax

Veto". Register of the Kentucky Historical Society. 67 (3): 197210.
External links[edit]
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media related to Alben
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Kentucky
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ISNI: 0000 0001 0653 794X
GND: 118657259
SUDOC: 172307627
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US Congress: B000145
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Portrait of Barkley, c. 1950

35th Vice President of the United States

United States Senator

John Sherman Cooper

Senate Minority Leader

Wallace H. White, Jr.

Senate Majority Leader

Joseph Taylor Robinson

Wallace H. White, Jr.

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives

William Voris Gregory

Willie Alben Barkley

April 30, 1956 (aged 78)

Mount Kenton Cemetery

Dorothy Brower (m. 190347)

Jane Rucker Hadley (m. 194956)

Father-in-law of Douglas MacArthur II

Emory University (B.A.)

2Early political career

3.3Relations with Harding administration

3.4Gubernatorial election of 1923

3.5Later House career

4.1Second term and ascension to floor leader

4.2Challenge by Happy Chandler

4.4Split with Roosevelt

4.5Truman succeeds Roosevelt

5.1Campaign for president

6Later life and death

Early political career[edit]

Prompted by First District Representative Ollie M. James' decision to seek election to

World War I[edit]

Relations with Harding administration[edit]

Gubernatorial election of 1923[edit]

J. Campbell Cantrill defeated Barkley in the 1923 Democratic gubernatorial primary.

Later House career[edit]

Richard P. Ernst, Barkley's opponent in the 1926 Senate race

Second term and ascension to floor leader [edit]

"Life and Career of Senator Alben

Barkley supported Franklin D. Roosevelt for the Democratic presidential nomination in

Challenge by Happy Chandler[edit]

Barkley during his tenure as floor leader

Barkley disagreed with Roosevelt's selection of Agriculture Secretary Henry A. Wallace as

Split with Roosevelt[edit]

Truman succeeds Roosevelt[edit]

Campaign for president[edit]

Later life and death[edit]

The Angles, Barkley's home in Paducah

42. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Libbey in The Kentucky

67. Jump up^ Libbey in Dear Alben, p. 36

92. Jump up^ Libbey in Dear Alben, pp. 5859

117. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f Klotter, p. 313

141. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Libbey in Dear Alben, p. 90

166. Jump up^ Libbey in Dear Alben, p. 102

"Alben Barkley Home, Effects to be Sold". Lexington Herald-Leader.

"Alben William Barkley". Dictionary of American Biography. New York

"Alben William Barkley". University of Virginia. Retrieved October

"Barkley, Alben William". Biographical Directory of the United States

Finch, Glenn (July 1971). "The Election of United States Senators in

Grinde, Gerald S. (Summer 1980). "The Emergence of the 'Gentle

Grinde, Gerald S. (April 1976). "Politics and Scandal in the Progressive

Harrison, Lowell H.; James C. Klotter (1997). A New History of

Hatfield, Mark O. (1997). "Alben W. Barkley (19491953)" (PDF). Vice