Hugh A. Butler
| Hugh Alfred Butler | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Former U.S. Senator from Nebraska From: January 3, 1941 – July 1, 1954 | |||
| Predecessor | Edward R. Burke | ||
| Successor | Samuel W. Reynolds | ||
| Information | |||
| Party | Republican | ||
| Spouse(s) | Fay Johnson[1] (died 1941) | ||
| Religion | Congregationalist[2][3] | ||
Hugh Alfred Butler (February 28, 1878 – July 1, 1954) was a strongly conservative Republican from Nebraska who served as the state's U.S. senator from 1941 until his death in office at 1954. Similar to his senatorial colleague Kenneth Wherry, Butler was an outspoken isolationist and part of the Old Right.
Political career
U.S. Senate
In 1940, incumbent Democrat senator Edward R. Burke, who initially supported Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal but broke with the president, lost renomination to Robert L. Cochran.[4] In the concurrent GOP primary, Butler won with a plurality polling 37% of the vote.[5] During the general election, Burke crossed party lines in endorsing Butler, who handily defeated Cochran.[6] Butler similarly won re-election in 1946 and 1952 by landslide margins.[7]
Butler proved to be a consistently adamant conservative. He voted with the political right over 90% of the time during the 1945–46 congressional session[8] as well as the 1949–50 session.[9] He also supported cloture for a "voluntary FEPC" bill introduced by Robert Taft against a Southern filibuster,[10] in addition to an amendment by Scott Lucas bolstering President Harry Truman's army desegregation.[11]
A consistent non-interventionist, Butler opposed U.S. aid to Latin America in 1944 as World War II was continuing, and claimed that the Roosevelt Administration failed to correctly disprove his points.[12] In late February 1945, he sharply criticized what he called:[13]
| “ | ...the secrecy in which foreign discussions have been conducted. | ” |
During the 1952 presidential election, Butler supported fellow isolationist and staunchly conservative Robert Taft in the GOP primaries against Moderate Republican Dwight Eisenhower.[14] Eisenhower ultimately won the GOP nomination and proceeded to defeat Illinois Democrat Adlai Stevenson in the general election by a landslide.
According to The New York Times in early May 1954, Butler suffered an injury.[15] He died from a stroke two months later.[16]
Butler missed 9.5% of all roll call votes in Congress.[17]
References
- ↑ Paul, Justus F. THE MAKING OF A SENATOR ~ THE EARLY LIFE OF HUGH BUTLER. Nebraska State Historical Society. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
- ↑ Butler, G to I. The Political Graveyard. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
- ↑ Hugh Alfred Butler, 1878-1954. History Nebraska. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
- ↑ Ne US Senate - D Primary Race - Apr 09, 1940. Our Campaigns. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
- ↑ NE US Senate - R Primary Race - Apr 09, 1940. Our Campaigns. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
- ↑ NE US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1940. Our Campaigns. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
- ↑ Candidate - Hugh A. Butler. Our Campaigns. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
- ↑ FascinatingPolitics (July 31, 2020). 1945-46-civil-rights-converted.pdf. Mad Politics: The Bizarre, Fascinating, and Unknown of American Political History. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
- ↑ FascinatingPolitics (January 6, 2019). Ideology and Civil Rights, 1950 Edition. Mad Politics: The Bizarre, Fascinating, and Unknown of American Political History. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
- ↑ S 1728. PROHIBIT DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT BECAUSE OF RACE, COLOR, RELIGION OR NATIONAL ORIGIN. MOTION FOR CLOTURE.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
- ↑ HR 6826. EXTENSION OF SELECTIVE SERVICE MANPOWER REGISTRA- TION ACT. AMEND. TO ELIMINATE A COMMITTEE AMEND. WHICH WOULD GIVE OPTION TO ENLISTEE TO SERVE IN A UNIT, THE PER- SONNEL OF WHICH ARE OF HIS OWN RACE.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
- ↑ January 21, 1944BUTLER AGAIN HITS LATIN-AMERICA AID; He Tells Senate Government Fails to Upset His Charge of Spending in Billions. The New York Times. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
- ↑ February 27, 1945. Butler Demands Full Account Of Roosevelt's World Parleys. The New York Times. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
- ↑ Lawrence, W. H. (July 30, 1952). TAFT BACKER GIVES AID TO EISENHOWER; Butler Tells Him Nebraska Will Continue 'Most Republican' -- Big Party Talk Friday. The New York Times. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
- ↑ May 2, 1954. Senator Hugh Butler Injured. The New York Times. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
- ↑ July 2, 1954. Nebraska's Senator Butler Suffers Stroke; Dies in Maryland at 76. Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
- ↑ Sen. Hugh Butler. GovTrack.us. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
