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Feature Essay Illinois Congressional Leaders, 1945-1984
Philip A. Grant, Jr. On January 3, 1945, the first session of the Seventy-Ninth Congress was called to order. Between the opening ceremonies on that date and the formal adjournment of the Ninety-Eighth Congress on October 12, 1984, the nation was destined to experience a substantial number and wide variety of serious domestic and international problems. It would be the responsibility of the House of Representatives and the United States Senate to propose solutions to many of the awesome challenges facing the United States during the eventful four decades from 1945 to 1984. Among the hundreds of congressmen serving between 1945 and 1984 were the members of the Illinois delegation. Representing a populous and diverse state near the geographic center of the country, these ladies and gentlemen, like their colleagues from other parts of the nation, would address themselves to the disposition of numerous important bills, resolutions, and treaties. Four veteran members of the House of Representatives from Illinois wielded considerable influence on Capitol Hill between 1945 and 1984. These individuals, spending an aggregate total of 145 years in Congress, were Republican Leo E. Allen of Galena and Democrats Adolph J. Sabath of Chicago, William L. Dawson of Chicago, and Melvin Price of East St. Louis. Allen, representing a predominantly rural district wedged in the northwestern corner of Illinois, was elected by his constituents to fourteen consecutive terms in the House. A conservative Republican in every respect, Allen was a staunch isolationist on foreign policy questions and a vocal critic of the domestic initiatives of Democratic Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman. Allen served as chairman of the powerful House Committee on Rules between 1947 and 1949, and again between 1953 and 1955. While presiding over the Rules Committee, Allen advocated legislation purposely designed to reverse or drastically curtail the New Deal and Fair Deal economic and social reforms of Roosevelt and Truman. In sharp contrast to Allen, Sabath was the spokesman of one of the nation's most densely populated urban districts and compiled a well-documented record as an uncompromising liberal on every issue of consequence. Sabath's forty-six-year congressional career paralleled the administrations of eight presidents of the United States. Sabath strongly sympathized with the plight of immigrants, consistently championed the priorities of organized labor, and repeatedly urged passage of bills to promote racial equality and social justice. During twelve of his final fourteen years in the House, Sabath occupied the chairmanship of the Rules Committee. At the time of his death in 1952 Sabath had the distinction of being the senior member of Congress. When he entered the house in 1943 Dawson was the only black member of Congress. Reelected by overwhelming margins to thirteen additional terms, Dawson steadfastly supported the policies of Democratic Presidents Roosevelt, Truman, John F.
jurisdiction over the Pentagon. In the latter capacity Price guided to passage legislation terminating the American military presence in Vietnam and determining the extent of research and development of such weapons as the B-1 Bomber, the M-X Missile, and the Trident Submarine. Also attaining genuine prominence in national affairs between 1945 and 1984 were four members of the United States Senate from Illinois. They were Democrats Scott W. Lucas of Havana and Paul Douglas of Chicago and Republicans Charles H. Percy of Kenilworth and Everett M. Dirksen of Pekin. Lucas, after completing two years as chairman of the Illinois Tax Commission, had initially been elected to the House of Representatives in 1934. Promoted to the Senate in 1938, Lucas was conspicuously involved in the legislative process during World War II and the early postwar period. Lucas was Assistant Majority Leader (Whip) from 1947 to 1949, and Majority Leader from 1949 to 1951. As floor leader, he assumed primary responsibility for the Democratic Party's legislative agenda, including bills affecting housing, social security, federal aid to education, and minimum wage; the authorization of a Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC); and the ratification of the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO). Prior to his election to the first of three Senate terms in 1948, Douglas for more than a quarter of a century had been a professor of economics at the University of Chicago. Douglas was an issue-oriented liberal Democrat. As a longstanding member of the Committee on Banking and Currency, Douglas was closely identified with such key measures as the Housing Acts of 1961 and 1965, the Area Redevelopment (Depressed Areas) Act, and the Truth-in-Lending Bill. And, as chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, from 1955 to 1957, 1959 to 1961, and 1963 to 1965, Douglas engaged in sustained attempts to devise programs to stimulate economic growth. Percy, who defeated Douglas in the 1966 Senate election, was regarded as a moderate Republican. While generally in accord with the positions of his party, Percy argued against the continuation of the Vietnam War, supported enactment of open housing legislation, and opposed the confirmations of two of Republican President Richard M. Nixon's Supreme Court nominees. Between 1981 and 1984 Percy was chairman of the prestigious Committee on Foreign Relations. During his tenure on the Foreign Relations Committee, Percy dealt with such major issues as the Panama Canal Treaty, the strategic arms limitation agreements (SALT), the nuclear freeze resolutions, and the role of the United States in resolving the complex difficulties plaguing the Middle East and Central America. A member of the House of Representatives from 1933 to 1949, and the United States Senate from 1951 to 1969, Dirksen polled more popular votes than any other congressman in the history of the State of Illinois. Noted for his pragmatism and flexibility, Dirksen was an outstanding orator and a skilled legislative strategist. As Senate Republican Leader between 1959 and 1969, he loyally and effectively supported the policies of G.O.P. Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Nixon. Furthermore, Dirksen, while serving on the Committee on the Judiciary, helped to shape three amendments to the Constitution, contributed to passage of five meaningful civil rights bills, and reviewed the qualifications of eleven appointees to the United States Supreme Court. Both Democrats and Republicans were included within the ranks of the eight aforementioned congressmen from Illinois. Obviously retaining the confidence of their constituents, these gentlemen emerged victorious in 104 of 107 races for seats in the House and Senate. Designated to hold positions of leadership in their respective political parties and chairing such organs as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; the House Rules, Government Operations, and Armed Services Committees; and the Joint Economic Committee, the eight Illinois congressmen individually and collectively reflected great credit on their state and nation between 1945 and 1984. Suggested Reading
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