Alben William Barkley (November 24, 1877 – April 30, 1956) was an American lawyer and politician from Kentucky who served as the 35th vice president of the United States from 1949 to 1953 under President Harry S. Truman. In 1905, he was elected to local offices and in 1912 as a U.S. representative. Serving in both houses of Congress, he was a liberal Democrat, supporting President Woodrow Wilson's New Freedom domestic agenda and foreign policy.James K. Libbey, Alben Barkley: A Life in Politics (2016) ch 1–7.
Endorsing Prohibition and denouncing parimutuel betting, Barkley narrowly lost the Kentucky Democratic gubernatorial primary in 1923 to fellow representative J. Campbell Cantrill. In 1926, he unseated Republican senator Richard P. Ernst. In the Senate, he supported the New Deal approach to handling the Great Depression in the United States. Democrats chose him to succeed Senate Majority Leader Joseph Taylor Robinson upon Robinson's death in 1937. His 1938 re-election bid was an intense, bitter victory against Governor A. B. "Happy" Chandler.James K. Libbey, Alben Barkley: A Life in Politics (2016) ch 8–12. When World War II focused President Franklin D. Roosevelt's attention on foreign affairs, Barkley gained influence over the administration's domestic agenda. He resigned as floor leader after Roosevelt ignored his advice and vetoed the Revenue Act of 1943. The veto was overridden by both houses and the Democratic senators unanimously re-elected Barkley to the position of Majority Leader.
Barkley had a good working relationship with Senator Harry S. Truman, who became vice-president and then president in 1945. With Truman's popularity waning entering the 1948 Democratic National Convention, Barkley gave a keynote address that energized the delegates. Truman selected him as his running mate for the upcoming election, and the Democratic ticket scored an upset victory against Thomas Dewey and Earl Warren of the Republican Party. Barkley took an active role in the Truman administration, acting as its primary spokesman, especially after the Korean War required the majority of Truman's attention. When Truman announced that he would not seek re-election in 1952, Barkley began organizing a presidential campaign, but labor leaders refused to endorse his candidacy because of his age, and he withdrew from the race. He is the most recent Democratic vice president to never receive the party's presidential nomination. He retired but was coaxed back into public life, defeating incumbent Republican senator John Sherman Cooper in 1954.Finch, p. 167 Barkley died of a heart attack in 1956.James K. Libbey, Alben Barkley: A Life in Politics (2016) ch 13–16.
Early life and education Willie Alben Barkley, the eldest of eight children of John Wilson Barkley and Electa Eliza (Smith) Barkley, was born November 24, 1877.Libbey in The Kentucky Encyclopedia, p. 52Libbey in Dear Alben, pp. 1, 3 His grandmother, midwife Amanda Barkley, delivered him in the log house she lived in with her husband, Alben, in Wheel, Kentucky.Libbey in Dear Alben, p. 1 Barkley's parents were tenant farmers who grew tobacco, and his father was an elder in the local Presbyterian church.Libby in Dear Alben, p. 3 Barkley traced his father's ancestry to Scots-Irish Presbyterians in Rowan County, North Carolina. Both parents were religious, opposed to playing cards and alcohol. Occasionally, Barkley's parents would leave him in the care of his grandparents for extended periods.Libbey in Dear Alben, p. 2 During these times, his grandmother related stories of her relatives. Her childhood playmates included future U.S. Vice President Adlai Stevenson I and James A. McKenzie, a future U.S. representative from Kentucky.
Barkley worked on his parents' farm and attended school in Lowes, Kentucky, between the fall harvest and spring planting.Finch, p. 286 Unhappy with his birth name, he adopted "Alben William" as soon as he was old enough to express his opinion in the matter.Hatfield, p. 2 In the hard times of late 1891, relatives convinced Barkley's father to move to Clinton, where he was a tenant wheat farmer.Libbey in "Alben Barkley's Clinton Days", p. 343 Barkley enrolled at a local seminary school, but did not finish his studies before entering Marvin College, a Methodist school in Clinton that accepted younger students, in 1892.Libbey in "Alben Barkley's Clinton Days", p. 346Libbey in Dear Alben, p. 5 The college's president offered him a scholarship that covered his academic expenses in exchange for his work as a janitor. He allowed Barkley to miss the first and last month of the academic year to help on the family farm. Barkley was active in the debating society at Marvin.Libbey in Dear Alben, p. 6 He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1897, and joined the Methodist Church, which he was a member of for the rest of life."Barkley, Alben William". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
After graduation, Barkley went to Emory College (now part of Emory University) in Oxford, Georgia, the alma mater of several administrators and faculty members at Marvin.Libbey in "Alben Barkley's Clinton Days", p. 358 During the 1897–1898 academic year, he was active in the debating society and the Delta Tau Delta fraternity, but he could not afford to continue his education and returned to Clinton after the spring semester.Libbey in "Alben Barkley's Clinton Days", p. 360 He took a job teaching at Marvin College but did not make enough money to meet his basic living expenses. He resigned in December 1898 to move with his parents to Paducah, Kentucky, the county seat of McCracken County, where his father found employment at a cordage mill.Libbey in "Alben Barkley's Clinton Days", p. 361
Early career In Paducah, Barkley worked as a law clerk for Charles K. Wheeler, an attorney and congressman, accepting access to Wheeler's law library as payment for his services.Libbey in "The Making of the 'Paducah Politician'", p. 255 Despite their political differences – Wheeler supported William Jennings Bryan and Free Silver, while Barkley identified with the Gold Democrats – he hoped that being acquainted with and taught by Wheeler would aid him in his future endeavors, but congressional duties frequently kept Wheeler away from the office.Libbey in "The Making of the 'Paducah Politician'", pp. 251–252 After two months, Barkley accepted an offer to clerk for Judge William Sutton Bishop and former congressman John Kerr Hendrick, who paid him $15 per month. He read law while completing his duties and was admitted to the bar in 1901. Barkley practiced in Paducah where a friend of Hendrick's appointed him reporter of the circuit court. He continued studying law in the summer of 1902 at the University of Virginia School of Law."Alben William Barkley". Dictionary of American Biography
On December 19, 1904, Barkley declared his candidacy for county attorney of McCracken County well before the March 1905 Democratic primary.Libbey in "The Making of the 'Paducah Politician'", p. 266 The Republicans did not nominate a candidate, so the Democratic primary was the de facto general election.Grinde in "Politics and Scandal", p. 37 Barkley faced two opponents in the primary – two-term incumbent Eugene A. Graves and Paducah Police Court Judge David Cross.Libbey in "The Making of the 'Paducah Politician'", p. 268 He organized his own campaign and made speeches across the county, showcasing his eloquence and likeability. Graves received more votes than Barkley in Paducah, but McCracken County's rural farmers gave Barkley the victory, 1,525 votes to 1,096; Cross came in third with 602 votes. This was the only time Barkley ever challenged an incumbent Democrat.Grinde in "Gentle Partisan", p. 249
Taking office in January 1906, Barkley saved taxpayers over $35,000 by challenging improper charges to the county. He prosecuted two magistrates for approving contracts in which they had a conflict of interest.Libbey in "Alben Barkley's Rise", p. 264 Even Republicans admitted that he performed well, and he was chosen president of the State Association of County Attorneys. During the 1907 gubernatorial campaign, he was the Democratic county spokesman, and despite his previous support for the Gold Democrats, he backed William Jennings Bryan in the 1908 presidential election.Libbey in "Alben Barkley's Rise", pp. 261, 266 Friends encouraged him to run for county judge, a powerful position which controlled county funds and patronage, and he announced his candidacy on August 22, 1908.Grinde in "Politics and Scandal", p. 39 After the chairman of the county's Democratic Club Executive Committee endorsed him, the incumbent judge, Richard T. Lightfoot, retired rather than challenge him.Libbey in "Alben Barkley's Rise", p. 266
On January 16, 1909, Democrat Hiram Smedley, county clerk since 1897, was indicted for embezzlement. Smedley resigned, and Barkley was appointed to a three-man commission to investigate the losses. The commission found $1,582.50 missing, and the county's Fiscal Court authorized Barkley to settle with the company that held Smedley's surety bond. In May 1909, Smedley was arrested and charged with 20 counts of forgery, prompting an audit of the county's finances that showed a shortage of $16,000, only $6,000 of which was accountable to Smedley.Grinde in "Politics and Scandal", pp. 37–38 The scandal gave Republicans an issue for the upcoming campaign.Grinde in "Politics and Scandal", p. 38 In a series of debates, Barkley's opponent, Thomas N. Hazelip, claimed that the county's entire Democratic organization was corrupt, and made charges against past Democratic administrations.Grinde in "Politics and Scandal", p. 42 Barkley responded that he had no more responsibility for those wrongdoings than Hazelip had for the murder of William Goebel, a Democratic governor who had allegedly been assassinated by Republican conspirators in 1900.Libbey in "Alben Barkley's Rise", p. 270 He pointed to his improvement of the county's finances through inspection of charges presented to his office and showed evidence that he had fulfilled his obligations as county attorney, a fact Hazelip conceded.Grinde in "Politics and Scandal", p. 45 In spite of the scandal, Democrats won every county-wide office, although by reduced margins, but Republicans captured a 5-to-3 majority on the Fiscal Court.Grinde in "Politics and Scandal", pp. 49, 51 Barkley's victory margin—3,184 to 2,662—was the smallest of any county officer.Grinde in "Politics and Scandal", p. 50
At the Fiscal Court's January 1910 meeting, Barkley laid out an agenda to reduce the county's debt, improve its roads, and audit its books annually.Libbey in "Alben Barkley's Rise", p. 271 Despite the Republican majority on the Court, most of the measures he proposed during his term were adopted. He appointed a purchasing agent and an inspector of weights and measures for the county, and allocated a salary for the county's almshouse keeper instead of relying on fees to fund the position. He replaced the corvée system – wherein residents either paid a tax or donated labor to build and repair county roads – with private contracts.Libbey in "Alben Barkley's Rise", p. 272 The widening and graveling of county roads provided rural residents access to Paducah's amenities but reduced funds for programs such as free textbooks for indigents, and prevented Barkley from reducing the county's debt as planned.Libbey in Dear Alben, p. 13 When he named his father as the county's juvenile court probation officer, opponents charged him with nepotism.
U.S. Representative (1913–1927)