Difference between revisions of "Bourke Hickenlooper"
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===Retirement=== | ===Retirement=== | ||
Hickenlooper did not run for another Senate term in the 1968 elections. He died three years later while visiting Shelter Island, New York, and is interred at Cedar Memorial Cemetery, located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. | Hickenlooper did not run for another Senate term in the 1968 elections. He died three years later while visiting Shelter Island, New York, and is interred at Cedar Memorial Cemetery, located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. | ||
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| + | ==Family== | ||
| + | Hickenlooper was married to Verna Bensch until her death less than a year preceding his. They had two children, David Hickenlooper and Mrs. Jane Oberlin.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1971/09/05/archives/bourke-hickenlooper-isdead-former-iowa-senator-was75-cosponsor-of.html Bourke Hickenlooper Is Dead; Former Iowa Senator Was 75]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved February 21, 2021.</ref> | ||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
Revision as of 19:51, February 21, 2021
| Bourke B. Hickenlooper | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Former U.S. Senator from Iowa From: January 3, 1945 – January 3, 1969 | |||
| Predecessor | Guy Gillette | ||
| Successor | Incumbent (no successor) | ||
| Former Governor of Iowa From: January 14, 1943 – January 11, 1945 | |||
| Lieutenant | Ronald D. Blue | ||
| Predecessor | George A. Wilson | ||
| Successor | Harold Hughes | ||
| Former Lieutenant Governor of Iowa From: January 12, 1939 – January 14, 1943 | |||
| Governor | George A. Wilson | ||
| Predecessor | John K. Valentine | ||
| Successor | Robert D. Blue | ||
| Former State Representative from Iowa From: 1934–1937 | |||
| Predecessor | ??? | ||
| Successor | ??? | ||
| Information | |||
| Party | Republican | ||
| Spouse(s) | Verna Bensch | ||
| Military Service | |||
| Allegiance | United States | ||
| Service/branch | United States Army | ||
| Service Years | 1918–1819 | ||
| Rank | Second Lieutenant | ||
| Battles/wars | World War I | ||
Bourke Blakemore Hickenlooper (July 21, 1896 – September 4, 1971) was an attorney from Iowa who served as the state's lieutenant governor, governor, and senator, previously serving in the lower state legislature. A member of the Republican Party, he was a strong conservative and an ardent anti-Communist who opposed the Senate censure of Joseph McCarthy, having been one of 22 Republicans to vote against it.[1] Being popular among his constituents, he was simply known by the nickname "Hick".
Early life, education, and military service
Hickenlooper was born in Taylor County, Iowa to Margaret Blakemore (1872–1943) and Nathan Hickenlooper (1869–1961). The only child of farmers, he attended local public schools and later Iowa State University. He served in the Army during World War I, enrolling at a training camp in Minnesota in April 1917, being commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, and serving in France as a battalion orientation officer.
He was honorably discharged from the military in early 1919 and continued his education. Hickenlooper graduated from Iowa State College that year and proceeded to enter University of Iowa College of Law, earning in 1922 his Bachelor of Laws degree.
Iowa state government
Hickenlooper unsuccessfully ran for lieutenant governor of Iowa in 1936,[2] being a year Democrats performed well, including President Franklin D. Roosevelt's landslide re-election over Moderate Republican Alf Landon. He ran again in 1938 and was successful the second time around.
During his tenure as lieutenant governor, Hickenlooper once saved a woman from drowning, which gained him a status as a hero.[2] He ran for governor in 1942 and easily won, sweeping over all but two counties.[3]
U.S. Senate
Hickenlooper, being a popular governor, was elected to the Senate in 1944,[4] narrowly defeating Guy Mark Gillette in an election cycle where he was the only Republican who managed to oust a Democrat incumbent.[2]
Civil rights
Hickenlooper was a strong supporter of civil rights, having backed desegregation efforts and the abolition of the poll tax.[2] He voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957[5] and 1960,[6] as well as the Voting Rights Act of 1965.[7] However, he merely voted "present" on the Civil Rights Act of 1968.[8]
After notorious Mississippi segregationist senator and former Klansman Theodore Bilbo faced calls to be denied his Senate seat after intimidating and inciting violence against black voters in his 1946 re-election, Hickenlooper joined Republican Style Bridges of New Hampshire in working to halt Bilbo,[2][9] as Republicans had just gained a bare Senate majority. As gridlock ensued with Southern senators starting filibusters, Minority Leader Alben Barkley broke the impasse in announcing that Bilbo would return to Mississippi for surgery. The racist demagogue never recovered to return to Congress, dying in 1947.
Like Barry Goldwater and Norris Cotton, Hickenlooper opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 over concerns of increasing federal bureaucracy despite deceitful left-wing attempts to highlight the conservative Republican opposition to the bill as "racist". While he voted against the final passage of the landmark legislation,[10] he voted in favor of invoking cloture to end the filibuster led by Southern Democrats[11] at the urging of Republican Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen.[12]
Foreign policy
As the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Hickenlooper proposed an amendment to the Foreign Assistance Act which would slash foreign aid to any country expropriating the privately owned property of American sugar plantations and oil companies.[2] The measure was opposed by President John F. Kennedy over concerns that diplomatic ties to Latin America would be weakened. The amendment was defeated by a 40–45 Senate vote.[13]
Intra-party disputes
A strong Republican who held firm conservative principles, Hickenlooper voted for Everett Dirksen in 1959 to lead the Senate GOP, though disputed with him over certain matters.[2] Hickenlooper particularly was not pleased with Dirksen's "backroom deals", believing that the Minority Leader compromised too often with Democrats without offering enough of a voice to fellow Republicans.
Retirement
Hickenlooper did not run for another Senate term in the 1968 elections. He died three years later while visiting Shelter Island, New York, and is interred at Cedar Memorial Cemetery, located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Family
Hickenlooper was married to Verna Bensch until her death less than a year preceding his. They had two children, David Hickenlooper and Mrs. Jane Oberlin.[14]
See also
References
- ↑ 1954McCarthyCensure.pdf. senate.gov. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 The First Hickenlooper. fascinatingpolitics.com. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
- ↑ IA Governor Race - Nov 03, 1942. Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
- ↑ IA US Senate Race - Nov 07, 1944. Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
- ↑ HR. 6127. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1957.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
- ↑ HR. 8601. PASSAGE OF AMENDED BILL.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
- ↑ TO PASS S. 1564, THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
- ↑ TO PASS H.R. 2516, A BILL TO PROHIBIT DISCRIMINATION IN SALE OR RENTAL OF HOUSING, AND TO PROHIBIT RACIALLY MOTIVATED INTERFERENCE WITH A PERSON EXERCISING HIS CIVIL RIGHTS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
- ↑ The Election Case of Theodore G. Bilbo of Mississippi (1947). senate.gov. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
- ↑ HR. 7152. PASSAGE.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
- ↑ HR. 7152. MANSFIELD DIRKSEN MOTION THAT THE SENATE INVOKE CLOTURE ON THE SOUTHERN FILIBUSTER.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved February 2021.
- ↑ Hickenlooper Opposes Closure Till Rights Bill Is Modified More. The New York Times. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
- ↑ S. 2996. AMEND. BARRING AID TO ANY NATION WHICH EXPORTED TO U.S.S.R. OR NATION DOMINATED BY U.S.S.R. ANY WAR IMPLEMENTS OR ARTICLES OF STRATEGIC SIGNIFICANCE.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
- ↑ Bourke Hickenlooper Is Dead; Former Iowa Senator Was 75. The New York Times. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
External links
- Profile at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Profile via senate.gov
- Bourke Blakemore Hickenlooper via Find A Grave
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