Distinguished United States Senators Quiz

Answer: Robert Taft

In addition to his father, William Howard Taft, his grandfather, Alphonso Taft, served as Attorney General and Secretary of War. Other Tafts were active in local and national politics. To label Taft as a conservative would be correct but some historians would label him more as a libertarian as he supported social programs but deplored the waste and duplication.

The "Taft-Harley Act" is still a term we hear as it remains the basic labor legislation. In part, it bans closed shops, and authorizes the president broad powers in strikes against national interests. He led the fight for the bill through Congress, resulting in an over-ride of Harry Truman's veto.

He was staunchly opposed to the United States involvement in foreign wars. He condemned the Nuremberg trials following World War Two as vengeful bloodletting. In this act of principle, he alienated both political parties.

Four times (1940, 1944, 1948, 1952) he made himself available for the Republican nomination for president but failed in each attempt to centralist candidates.

Answer: Robert LaFollette

In that election of 1924, LaFollette carried Wisconsin. Born in rural Dane County, he made his home in Madison for most of his years. He was known to take unpopular positions on issues that met neither political party's agenda. He was an opponent of railroad trusts, bossism and cronyism in politics, entering World War One, and later the League of Nations. In 1957, he was selected as one of the five greatest senators. His sons, Robert Jr. and Phillip, also entered politics.

(Aside: All my kids graduated from LaFollette High School.)

Answer: Henry Clay

Clay was named as one of five great senators in 1957. The issue that Clay worked on most diligently was not allowing the United States to be divided over the issue of slavery. Typical of his compromises was the "Missouri Compromise" which admitted Missouri as a slave state but Maine at the same time as a slave-free state.

He died just before the Kansas-Nebraska Act (which admitted Nebraska as slave free and Kansas as a slave state) but Stephen Douglas picked up the political whip and shepherded it through Congress. Clay ran for president five times, generally as a Whig, and lost at each attempt. Neither the North nor the South were happy with his compromises. Clay served as Secretary of State under John Q. Adams.

Answer: Stephen Vincent Benét

Benét first published the tale in 1937. In 1941, he co-authored the screenplay that starred Edward Arnold as Daniel Webster and Walter Houston as Mr. Scratch, the Devil. Although it was not a commercial success, Houston was nominated for best supporting actor and the musical score won the Oscar.

Benét's version owed much to Goethe's "Faust" and to Washington Irving's "The Devil and Tom Walker".

Webster served 10 years as the Congressional Representative from New Hampshire and 19 years as the Senator from Massachusetts. He was Secretary of State under three Presidents, Harrison, Tyler, and Fillmore. He was a leading member of the Whig Party and his politics were closely aligned with Henry Clay in attempts to preserve the Union despite the schism between North and South. Historians classify him as a conservative and elitist, opposed to Jacksonianism. He is one of the five senators chosen as great in 1957.

Answer: Strom Thurmond

Thurmond was a stern opponent of the civil rights movement and was an ardent segregationist. He reflected what was then the populist view of South Carolinians. He was at first a Democrat, then a Dixiecrat, then a Republican. As a Dixiecrat, he ran for president and although garnering only 2.6% of the vote, he won 39 electoral votes.

He filibustered for over 24 hours against the Civil Rights Bill of 1957. He was a key figure in converting the so-called "Solid South" from the Democratic Party to Republican.

Although in modern context, his views seem archaic, he was dedicated to his beliefs.

Answer: Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy

Kennedy championed for economic and social justice. Kennedy and his staff developed over 300 pieces of legislation including on topics such as immigration, cancer research, health insurance, apartheid, disability discrimination, AIDS care, civil rights, mental health benefits, children's health insurance, education, and volunteering. He became a skilled orator and worked with other senators of both major parties on compromise. His presidential aspirations were damaged by his personal reputation.

Very ill, he appeared at the Democratic National Convention in 2008 and delivered this message: "This November, the torch will be passed again to a new generation of Americans. So, with Barack Obama and for you and for me, our country will be committed to his cause. The work begins anew. The hope rises again. And the dream lives on." The Obama health care bill owes much to the years of groundwork by Ted Kennedy.

Answer: John C. Calhoun

Although he was a brilliant political theorist, some of his positions may be hard to explain to modern audiences. As I understand it, because of dominance of Northern States, he felt that Southerners were a minority, particularly Southern slave owners.

Therefore, he reasoned that this 'minority' needed to be protected under the Constitution. Slaves then are 'property' and fell under rights that needed to be protected, i.e. states' rights. Calhoun is also one of the five great senators selected in 1957.

Answer: Hubert H. Humphrey

If one wants to understand Hubert Humphrey, one needs only to recall his speech at the 1948 Democratic Convention. Because of the weak plank the party had submitted on civil rights, Humphrey said: "To those who say, my friends, [...] that we are rushing this issue of civil rights, I say to them we are 172 years [too] late! To those who say, this civil rights program is an infringement on states' rights, I say this: the time has arrived in America for the Democratic Party to get out of the shadow of states' rights and walk forthrightly into the bright sunshine of human rights!" Humphrey found enough support to have the plank rewritten and to reinforce the party's commitment to civil rights.

After serving as vice president, Humphrey was the Democratic nominee for president in 1968. It was the time of the Vietnam War and Humphrey found it difficult to explain his support of the conflict and to differentiate between himself and Lyndon Johnson. He said: "Anyone who thinks that the vice president can take a position independent of the president of his administration simply has no knowledge of politics or government. You are his choice in a political marriage, and he expects your absolute loyalty". Humphrey was to lose that election to Richard Nixon.

Answer: Robert Wagner

Wagner was active in the grand sweep of legislation that characterized the "New Deal". Among these were National Industrial Recovery Act in 1933, National Labor Relations Act, and Social Security. Wagner was unsuccessful in a number of proposals such as allocating 25% of radio channels to the public, liberalizing immigration laws for people fleeing Nazi Germany, and anti-lynching laws.

After the original five greatest senators in 1957, Wagner was added in 2004.

Answer: Arthur H.Vandenberg

Vandenberg had a shot at the Republican nominee for president in 1936 but demurred as he felt that Roosevelt would be re-elected. He continued to oppose bills that he felt were frivolous and costly but supported legislation that he felt was in the national good.

He often said that politics ends at the water's edge. He had a law degree from the University of Michigan but spent many years as a journalist prior to entering the political arena. He was greatly admired for his bipartisanship in the post World War Two era.

His was the seventh portrait added to the Senate Reception Room in 2004.