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Josiah Bailey
American politician From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Josiah William Bailey (September 14, 1873 – December 15, 1946) was an American politician who served as a U.S. senator from the state of North Carolina from 1931 to 1946. Bailey moved back and forth. He was a leading reformer in the 1910s, promoting education and Wilsonian programs. As Senator he supported the early New Deal but by 1938 was a leader of the anti-New Deal faction of Southern Democrats. When war loomed in 1939, he moved to support Roosevelt's interventionist foreign policy. Likewise he supported Roosevelt's wartime domestic program, while opposing labor unions.[1]
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Early life and education
Born in Warrenton, North Carolina, he grew up in Raleigh and graduated from Wake Forest College (now Wake Forest University).
Career
Before turning to a career in law, Bailey was editor of the Biblical Recorder, a newspaper for North Carolina Baptists. He was a presidential elector in 1908.[2]
Elected to the United States Senate in 1930, defeating longtime incumbent Furnifold McLendel Simmons, Bailey earned a reputation as a conservative while in office. In 1937, he coauthored the bipartisan Conservative Manifesto, a document criticizing President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal and proposing more conservative alternatives. Among other things, the Manifesto called for lower taxes and less spending.[3]
That same year, Bailey gave a rousing floor speech against President Roosevelt's court-packing bill, which convinced at least three freshman Republicans, thought by Senate Majority Leader Joseph T. Robinson to be definite supporters, to oppose the measure.[4]
A segregationist and white supremacist, Bailey filibustered anti-lynching legislation in 1938.[5]
During his time in office, he served as chairman of the Committee on Claims and Committee on Commerce.
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Death
Bailey died in office in 1946.
See also
References
Further reading
External links
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