Everett Dirksen 1896–1969

Table of Contents

Everett Dirksen 1896–1969
Overview
Explanation and Analysis of Documents
Impact and Legacy
Key Sources
Document Text

  Your institution does not have access to this content. For questions, please ask your librarian.

Abstract

Everett McKinley Dirksen was born in Pekin, Illinois, in 1896. He fought in World War I, participated in a series of business ventures upon his return from Europe, and won a place on the Pekin City Council in 1926. After losing his first bid for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1930, Dirksen won the first of eight consecutive elections to Congress as a Republican in 1932. Forced by illness to retire from the House in 1948, Dirksen successfully challenged the incumbent Democratic senator from Illinois in 1950 to win a seat in the U.S. Senate. Dirksen’s Republican colleagues elected him minority leader of the Senate in 1959, a post he held until his death on September 7, 1969.

Book contents