Alben W. Barkley

Alben W. Barkley
A man with white hair wearing a gray jacket and vest, black tie, and white shirt, seated and leaning on a desk
Official portrait, 1949
35th Vice President of the United States
In office
January 20, 1949 – January 20, 1953
PresidentHarry S. Truman
Preceded byHarry S. Truman
Succeeded byRichard Nixon
Senate Majority Leader
In office
July 14, 1937 – January 3, 1947
DeputyJ. Lister Hill
Sherman Minton
J. Hamilton Lewis
Preceded byJoseph Taylor Robinson
Succeeded byWallace H. White
Senate Minority Leader
In office
January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1949
DeputyScott W. Lucas
Preceded byWallace H. White
Succeeded byKenneth S. Wherry
Chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus
In office
July 14, 1937 – January 3, 1949
Preceded byJoseph Taylor Robinson
Succeeded byScott W. Lucas
United States Senator
from Kentucky
In office
January 3, 1955 – April 30, 1956
Preceded byJohn Sherman Cooper
Succeeded byRobert Humphreys
In office
March 4, 1927 – January 19, 1949
Preceded byRichard P. Ernst
Succeeded byGarrett L. Withers
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Kentucky's 1st district
In office
March 4, 1913 – March 3, 1927
Preceded byOllie M. James
Succeeded byWilliam Voris Gregory
Personal details
Born
Willie Alben Barkley

(1877-11-24)November 24, 1877
Lowes, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedApril 30, 1956(1956-04-30) (aged 78)
Lexington, Virginia, U.S.
Resting placeMount Kenton Cemetery
Political partyDemocratic
Spouses
Dorothy Brower
(m. 1903; died 1947)
(m. 1949)
Children3
RelativesStephen M. Truitt (grandson)
Alben W. Barkley II (grandson)
EducationMarvin College (BA)
SignatureAlben W. Barkley

Alben William Barkley (/ˈbɑːrkli/; November 24, 1877 – April 30, 1956) was an American lawyer and politician from Kentucky who served as the 35th vice president of the United States from 1949 to 1953 under President Harry S. Truman. In 1905, he was elected to local offices and in 1912 as a U.S. representative. Serving in both houses of Congress, he was a liberal Democrat, supporting President Woodrow Wilson's New Freedom domestic agenda and foreign policy.[1]

Endorsing Prohibition and denouncing parimutuel betting, Barkley narrowly lost the Kentucky Democratic gubernatorial primary in 1923 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 handling the Great Depression in the United States. Democrats chose him to succeed Senate Majority Leader Joseph Taylor Robinson upon Robinson's death in 1937. His 1938 re-election bid was an intense, bitter victory against Governor A. B. "Happy" Chandler.[2] 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.[3] The veto was overridden by both houses and the Democratic senators unanimously re-elected Barkley to the position of Majority Leader.

Barkley had a good working relationship with Senator Harry S. Truman, who became vice-president and then president in 1945. With Truman's popularity waning entering the 1948 Democratic National Convention, Barkley gave a keynote address that energized the delegates. Truman selected him as his running mate for the upcoming election, and the Democratic ticket scored an upset victory against Thomas Dewey and Earl Warren of the Republican Party. Barkley took an active role in the Truman administration, acting as its primary spokesman, especially after the Korean War required 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 is the most recent Democratic vice president to never receive the party's presidential nomination. He retired but was coaxed back into public life, defeating incumbent Republican senator John Sherman Cooper in 1954.[4] Barkley died of a heart attack on April 30, 1956.[5]

  1. ^ James K. Libbey, Alben Barkley: A Life in Politics (2016) ch 1–7.
  2. ^ James K. Libbey, Alben Barkley: A Life in Politics (2016) ch 8–12.
  3. ^ Roosevelt, Franklin D. (January 1950). Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: F.D. Roosevelt, 1944 ... Best Books on. ISBN 9781623769734. Archived from the original on January 8, 2020. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  4. ^ Finch, p. 167
  5. ^ James K. Libbey, Alben Barkley: A Life in Politics (2016) ch 13–16.

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