Kenneth S. Wherry
Kenneth Wherry | |
---|---|
Senate Minority Leader | |
In office January 3, 1949 – November 29, 1951 | |
Deputy | Leverett Saltonstall |
Preceded by | Alben W. Barkley |
Succeeded by | Styles Bridges |
Leader of the Senate Republican Conference | |
In office January 3, 1949 – November 29, 1951 | |
Deputy | Leverett Saltonstall |
Preceded by | Wallace H. White |
Succeeded by | Styles Bridges |
Senate Majority Whip | |
In office January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1949 | |
Leader | Wallace H. White |
Preceded by | J. Lister Hill |
Succeeded by | Francis J. Myers |
Senate Minority Whip | |
In office January 3, 1943 – January 3, 1947 | |
Leader | Charles L. McNary Wallace H. White |
Preceded by | Felix Hebert (1935) |
Succeeded by | Scott W. Lucas |
United States Senator from Nebraska | |
In office January 3, 1943 – November 29, 1951 | |
Preceded by | George W. Norris |
Succeeded by | Fred Seaton |
Personal details | |
Born | Liberty, Nebraska, U.S. | February 28, 1892
Died | November 29, 1951 (aged 59) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Marjorie Colwell |
Children | 1 son 1 daughter |
Education | University of Nebraska, Lincoln (BA) Harvard University |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Branch/service | United States Navy |
Years of service | 1917–1918 |
Unit | Flying Corps |
Battles/wars | World War I |
Kenneth Spicer Wherry (February 28, 1892 – November 29, 1951) was an American businessman, attorney, and politician.[1] A member of the Republican Party, he served as a U.S. senator from Nebraska from 1943 until his death in 1951; he was the minority leader for the last two years.
Early life
Wherry was the third of five children born in Liberty, Nebraska, to David Emery and Jessie (née Comstock) Wherry.[2] He received his early education at public schools in Pawnee City, and graduated from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity) in 1914.[3] From 1915 to 1916, he studied business administration at Harvard Business School.[2] During World War I, he served in the U.S. Navy Flying Corps (1917–18).[4]
Following his military service, Wherry began a business career selling automobiles, furniture, and livestock; he was also a licensed
Political career
Wherry entered politics as a member of Pawnee City's
In 1938, Wherry was again elected mayor of Pawnee City, serving until he left for Washington and the U.S. Senate.[3] He was chairman of the Nebraska Republican Party from 1939 to 1942, and Western Director for the Republican National Committee from 1941 to 1942.[4]
U.S. Senator
In
In 1945, Wherry was among the seven senators who opposed full U.S. entry into the United Nations.[5]
Wherry also backed, with Senator Homer Capehart of Indiana, legislation for building military family housing in the post-World War II era, when there were critical shortages of such housing.
Wherry represented the isolationist views of his large
Wherry was the unsuccessful leader in the fight to block the
Whatever the issue, Wherry could be counted on as a strong opponent of the
In 1950, Robert A. Taft's Fair Employment Practice Committee bill was filibustered in the U.S. Senate. Wherry joined most Republicans in supporting cloture,[8] although cloture was not invoked.
Wherry was strongly opposed to homosexuals serving the US government. In 1950, he asked his Senate colleagues "can [you] think of a person who could be more dangerous to the United States of America than a pervert?"[9] In a 1950 interview, he told Max Lerner that "You can't hardly separate homosexuals from subversives" and "But look Lerner, we're both Americans, aren't we? I say, let's get these fellows [closeted gay men in government positions] out of the government."[10]
He publicized his fear that
Buchenwald concentration camp
On April 11, 1945, US forces liberated the
Death
Wherry died in Washington in 1951 at age 59, while serving as Republican Floor Leader. Recovering from abdominal surgery a few weeks earlier, he felt ill and was admitted to George Washington University Hospital and died of pneumonia several hours later.[1]
The fifteenth Senate term for Nebraska's Class 2 seat, from January 3, 1949, to January 3, 1955, was unusual in that it saw six senators occupy the seat, beginning with Wherry.
See also
- List of United States Congress members who died in office (1950–99)
References
- ^ a b "GOP 'wheel' Wherry succumbs at 59". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 30, 1951. p. 1.
- ^ a b c d "Kenneth S. Wherry". Nebraska State Historical Society. Archived from the original on January 30, 2007.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ a b c d "WHERRY, Kenneth Spicer, (1892 - 1951)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- ^ a b c "Kenneth S. Wherry". Pawnee County History.
- ^ "UNO Bill Approved By Senate, 65 to 7, With One Change". The New York Times. December 4, 1945. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
- ^ John C. Campbell, The United States in World affairs: 1947-1948 (1948) pp 500-505; quotes on pages 504, 505.
- ^ Bernard Lemelin, "Isolationist Voices in the Truman Era: Nebraska Senators Hugh Butler and Kenneth Wherry." Great Plains Quarterly 37.2 (2017): 83-109.
- ^ S 1728. PROHIBIT DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT BECAUSE OF RACE, COLOR, RELIGION OR NATIONAL ORIGIN. MOTION FOR CLOTURE.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
- OCLC 52197376.
- ^ Lerner, Max, The Unfinished Country: A Book of American Symbols Simon and Schuster, 1959 pp 313–316
- ^ Von Hoffman, Nicholas, Citizen Cohn Doubleday, 1988, pp 130
- ^ Adkins, Judith (2016), "'These People Are Frightened to Death': Congressional Investigations and the Lavender Scare", Prologue, 48 (2), National Archives
- ^ Stromer, Marvin E. (1969), The Making of a Political Leader: Kenneth S. Wherry and the United States Senate, University of Nebraska Press, pp. 136–137
- ^ "American Congressmen and reporters visit Buchenwald, April 24, 1945". www.scrapbookpages.com. Archived from the original on 2020-11-18. Retrieved 2019-09-13.
External links
- United States Congress. "Kenneth S. Wherry (id: W000344)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- Kenneth S. Wherry papersNebraska State Historical Society
- "Fundamentalist Republican", obituary from Time
- Nebraska State Historical Society[usurped] – Kenneth S. Wherry, 1892-1951
- Kenneth S. Wherry at Find a Grave