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In the United States Senate, he was known for his support for school segregation through the signing in 1956 of the [[Southern Manifesto]].<ref>[https://www.congress.gov/84/crecb/1956/03/12/GPO-CRECB-1956-pt4-3.pdf GPO-CRECB-1956-pt4-3pdf]. ''Congressional Record''. Retrieved April 21, 2021.</ref> Ellender, a [[New Deal]]er<ref>[https://segregationinamerica.eji.org/report/segregation-forever-leaders.html Segregation Forever]. ''Equal Justice Initiative''. Retrieved April 21, 2021.</ref> was one of only twenty Democrats to vote against killing Roosevelt's 1937 [[court packing]] scheme.<ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/75-1/s42 TO RECOMMIT TO THE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIAL BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT. S. 1392, A BILL TO REORGANIZE THE JUDICIARY BRANCH.]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved June 29, 2021.</ref> Ellender was also an advocate of farm subsidies and the school lunch program, and he opposed the investigations into [[communist]] infiltration of the U.S. government conducted prior to 1954 by his colleague [[Joseph McCarthy]], voting in favor of censuring the [[Wisconsin]] Republican.<ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/83-1954/s271 S. RES. 301. PASSAGE.]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved April 21, 2021.</ref> Though Ellender later opposed the [[Vietnam War]], he voted for the [[Gulf of Tonkin Resolution]] of 1964.<ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/88-1964/s481 H.J.RES. 1145. SUPPORT PRESIDENT'S ACTIONS IN ORDERING RETALIATION AGAINST ATTACKS ON U.S. FORCES BY NORTH VIET NAM & PLEDGE U.S. DETERMINATION TO ASSIST ANY ANY MEMBER OR PROTOCOL STATE OF THE SEATO TREATY WHICH REQUESTS AID IN DEFENSE OF ITS FREEDOM.]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved April 21, 2021.</ref> During his Senate tenure he was chairman of the Agriculture Committee and then the Appropriations Committee. While he was considered a relatively more [[conservative Democrat]] in comparison to his party colleagues, he held some [[liberal]] positions such as adamantly supporting social programs championed by President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]].<ref>[https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-upon-signing-the-food-stamp-act Remarks Upon Signing the Food Stamp Act.]. ''The American Presidency Project''. Retrieved April 21, 2021.</ref><ref>[https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-the-signing-the-child-nutrition-act-1966 Remarks at the Signing of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966.]. ''The American Presidency Project''. Retrieved April 21, 2021.</ref> Ellender was furthermore considered a "[[progressive]]" when it came to censorship, education, public housing, and [[separation of church and state]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books/about/Senator_Allen_Ellender_of_Louisiana.html?id=wrbQd0_eA_EC Senator Allen Ellender of Louisiana: A Biography]. ''Google Books''. Retrieved April 21, 2021.</ref>

In the United States Senate, he was known for his support for school segregation through the signing in 1956 of the [[Southern Manifesto]].<ref>[https://www.congress.gov/84/crecb/1956/03/12/GPO-CRECB-1956-pt4-3.pdf GPO-CRECB-1956-pt4-3pdf]. ''Congressional Record''. Retrieved April 21, 2021.</ref> Ellender, a [[New Deal]]er<ref>[https://segregationinamerica.eji.org/report/segregation-forever-leaders.html Segregation Forever]. ''Equal Justice Initiative''. Retrieved April 21, 2021.</ref> was one of only twenty Democrats to vote against killing Roosevelt's 1937 [[court packing]] scheme.<ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/75-1/s42 TO RECOMMIT TO THE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIAL BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT. S. 1392, A BILL TO REORGANIZE THE JUDICIARY BRANCH.]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved June 29, 2021.</ref> Ellender was also an advocate of farm subsidies and the school lunch program, and he opposed the investigations into [[communist]] infiltration of the U.S. government conducted prior to 1954 by his colleague [[Joseph McCarthy]], voting in favor of censuring the [[Wisconsin]] Republican.<ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/83-1954/s271 S. RES. 301. PASSAGE.]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved April 21, 2021.</ref> Though Ellender later opposed the [[Vietnam War]], he voted for the [[Gulf of Tonkin Resolution]] of 1964.<ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/88-1964/s481 H.J.RES. 1145. SUPPORT PRESIDENT'S ACTIONS IN ORDERING RETALIATION AGAINST ATTACKS ON U.S. FORCES BY NORTH VIET NAM & PLEDGE U.S. DETERMINATION TO ASSIST ANY ANY MEMBER OR PROTOCOL STATE OF THE SEATO TREATY WHICH REQUESTS AID IN DEFENSE OF ITS FREEDOM.]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved April 21, 2021.</ref> During his Senate tenure he was chairman of the Agriculture Committee and then the Appropriations Committee. While he was considered a relatively more [[conservative Democrat]] in comparison to his party colleagues, he held some [[liberal]] positions such as adamantly supporting social programs championed by President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]].<ref>[https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-upon-signing-the-food-stamp-act Remarks Upon Signing the Food Stamp Act.]. ''The American Presidency Project''. Retrieved April 21, 2021.</ref><ref>[https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-the-signing-the-child-nutrition-act-1966 Remarks at the Signing of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966.]. ''The American Presidency Project''. Retrieved April 21, 2021.</ref> Ellender was furthermore considered a "[[progressive]]" when it came to censorship, education, public housing, and [[separation of church and state]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books/about/Senator_Allen_Ellender_of_Louisiana.html?id=wrbQd0_eA_EC Senator Allen Ellender of Louisiana: A Biography]. ''Google Books''. Retrieved April 21, 2021.</ref>

Ellender opposed anti-lynching measures, voting twice along with the majority of Senate Democrats to kill such rider amendments in late June 1937.<ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/75-1/s43 TO TABLE AN AMENDMENT TO S. 69, THE INTERSTATE COMMERCE ACT. THE AMEND. OFFERED BY SENATOR COPELAND WHICH WOULD HAVE ADDED HOUSE BILL 1507, THE ANTILYNCHING BILL, TO S. 69, A BILL LIMITING THE SIZE OF TRAINS IN INTERSTATE COMMERCE.]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved April 21, 2021.</ref><ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/75-1/s58 TO TABLE AN AMENDMENT TO S. 2475. OFFERED BY SENATOR COPELAND WHICH WOULD HAVE ADDED THE ANTILYNCHING BILL AS PERFECTED BY THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY TO THE PENDING LEGISLATION.]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved April 21, 2021.</ref>

Ellender opposed anti-lynching measures, voting twice along with the majority of Senate Democrats to kill such [[rider]] amendments introduced by [[Royal Copeland]] in late June 1937.<ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/75-1/s43 TO TABLE AN AMENDMENT TO S. 69, THE INTERSTATE COMMERCE ACT. THE AMEND. OFFERED BY SENATOR COPELAND WHICH WOULD HAVE ADDED HOUSE BILL 1507, THE ANTILYNCHING BILL, TO S. 69, A BILL LIMITING THE SIZE OF TRAINS IN INTERSTATE COMMERCE.]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved April 21, 2021.</ref><ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/75-1/s58 TO TABLE AN AMENDMENT TO S. 2475. OFFERED BY SENATOR COPELAND WHICH WOULD HAVE ADDED THE ANTILYNCHING BILL AS PERFECTED BY THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY TO THE PENDING LEGISLATION.]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved April 21, 2021.</ref>

Following the 1946 Senate election in [[Mississippi]] where [[segregation]]ist demagogue [[Theodore Bilbo]] intimidated and threatened blacks, most of whom then were not then voters, Senate Republicans, who just gained a bare majority in the election cycle, moved to block him from being seated.<ref>[https://www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations/electing-appointing-senators/contested-senate-elections/126Theodore_Bilbo.htm The Election Case of Theodore G. Bilbo of Mississippi (1947)]. ''United States Senate''. Retrieved February 19, 2021.</ref> Initially, a five-member Senate committee comprising of a 3–2 Democrat majority which was headed by Ellender headed to Missisippi to investigate.<ref name=bilbo.pdf>[http://www.mississippihistory.org/sites/default/files/bilbo.pdf Theodore G. Bilbo and the Decline of Public Racism, 1938-1947]. ''Mississippi Historical Society''. Retrieved June 29, 2021.</ref> Despite testimonies by blacks who were threatened and viciously attacked by Jim Crow white supremacists, Ellender defended the racist [[voter suppression]] in arguing that they were caused by "tradition and custom" rather than Bilbo's incitement of violence; the committee voted along party lines to clear Bilbo; the two Republicans, [[Bourke Hickenlooper]] and [[Styles Bridges]], dissented from the verdict.<ref name=bilbo.pdf/> However, the new Republican majority in the 80th Congress stood in refusal to seat Bilbo. Ellender's Louisiana senatorial colleague [[John H. Overton]] attempted to maneuver around this by introducing resolutions to allow the Mississippi demagogue to be seated while the investigations continued, as then it would take a two-thirds majority to remove him from Congress.<ref name=bilbo.pdf/> Both were tabled by bipartisan majorities.<ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/80-1947/s2 S RES 1. WHITE MOTION THAT THE OATH OF OFFICE BE ADMINIS- TERED TO BREWSTER. TAFT MOTION TO TABLE OVERTON MOTION TO SUBSTITUTE THE NAME OF BILBO.]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved June 29, 2021.</ref><ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/80-1947/s1 S RES 1. RESOLUTION TO REFER TO RULES COMMITTEE BILBO'S CLAIM TO A SENATE SEAT. OVERTON AMEND. TO PERMIT OATH TO BE ADMINISTERED TO BILBO. TAFT MOTION TO TABLE BOTH RESOLUTION AND AMEND.]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved June 29, 2021.</ref> Mississippi segregationist governor Fielding L. Wright then announced that if the Senate refused to seat Bilbo, he would name the latter as the replacement.<ref name=bilbo.pdf/> Ultimately, Bilbo, suffering from oral cancer after decades of inciting violence and promoting bigotry, never returned to the Senate due to poor health and died in August 1947. Ellender praised the Mississippi demagogue's legacy of violent incitements as having "died a martyr to southern traditions."<ref name=bilbo.pdf/>

Following the 1946 Senate election in [[Mississippi]] where [[segregation]]ist demagogue [[Theodore Bilbo]] intimidated and threatened blacks, most of whom then were not then voters, Senate Republicans, who just gained a bare majority in the election cycle, moved to block him from being seated.<ref>[https://www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations/electing-appointing-senators/contested-senate-elections/126Theodore_Bilbo.htm The Election Case of Theodore G. Bilbo of Mississippi (1947)]. ''United States Senate''. Retrieved February 19, 2021.</ref> Initially, a five-member Senate committee comprising of a 3–2 Democrat majority which was headed by Ellender headed to Missisippi to investigate.<ref name=bilbo.pdf>[http://www.mississippihistory.org/sites/default/files/bilbo.pdf Theodore G. Bilbo and the Decline of Public Racism, 1938-1947]. ''Mississippi Historical Society''. Retrieved June 29, 2021.</ref> Despite testimonies by blacks who were threatened and viciously attacked by Jim Crow white supremacists, Ellender defended the racist [[voter suppression]] in arguing that they were caused by "tradition and custom" rather than Bilbo's incitement of violence; the committee voted along party lines to clear Bilbo; the two Republicans, [[Bourke Hickenlooper]] and [[Styles Bridges]], dissented from the verdict.<ref name=bilbo.pdf/> However, the new Republican majority in the 80th Congress stood in refusal to seat Bilbo. Ellender's Louisiana senatorial colleague [[John H. Overton]] attempted to maneuver around this by introducing resolutions to allow the Mississippi demagogue to be seated while the investigations continued, as then it would take a two-thirds majority to remove him from Congress.<ref name=bilbo.pdf/> Both were tabled by bipartisan majorities.<ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/80-1947/s2 S RES 1. WHITE MOTION THAT THE OATH OF OFFICE BE ADMINIS- TERED TO BREWSTER. TAFT MOTION TO TABLE OVERTON MOTION TO SUBSTITUTE THE NAME OF BILBO.]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved June 29, 2021.</ref><ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/80-1947/s1 S RES 1. RESOLUTION TO REFER TO RULES COMMITTEE BILBO'S CLAIM TO A SENATE SEAT. OVERTON AMEND. TO PERMIT OATH TO BE ADMINISTERED TO BILBO. TAFT MOTION TO TABLE BOTH RESOLUTION AND AMEND.]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved June 29, 2021.</ref> Mississippi segregationist governor Fielding L. Wright then announced that if the Senate refused to seat Bilbo, he would name the latter as the replacement.<ref name=bilbo.pdf/> Ultimately, Bilbo, suffering from oral cancer after decades of inciting violence and promoting bigotry, never returned to the Senate due to poor health and died in August 1947. Ellender praised the Mississippi demagogue's legacy of violent incitements as having "died a martyr to southern traditions."<ref name=bilbo.pdf/>