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{{short description|American politician (1892–1968)}}
{{redirect|Senator Lucas}}
{{redirect|Senator Lucas}}
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{{short description|American politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Scott Lucas
| name = Scott Lucas
|image = ScottWikeLucas.jpg
| image = ScottWikeLucas.jpg
|office = [[Party leaders of the United States Senate|Senate Majority Leader]]
| office = [[Party leaders of the United States Senate|Senate Majority Leader]]
|deputy = [[Francis J. Myers]]
| deputy = [[Francis J. Myers]]
|term_start = January 3, 1949
| term_start = January 3, 1949
|term_end = January 3, 1951
| term_end = January 3, 1951
|predecessor = [[Wallace H. White Jr.]]
| predecessor = [[Wallace H. White]]
|successor = [[Ernest McFarland]]
| successor = [[Ernest McFarland]]
|office1 = [[Party leaders of the United States Senate|Senate Minority Whip]]
| office1 = [[Senate Democratic Caucus#Chairs|Chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus]]
|leader1 = [[Alben W. Barkley]]
| term_start1 = January 3, 1949
|term_start1 = January 3, 1947
| term_end1 = January 3, 1951
|term_end1 = January 3, 1949
| predecessor1 = [[Alben W. Barkley]]
| successor1 = Ernest McFarland
|predecessor1 = [[Kenneth S. Wherry]]
| office2 = [[Party leaders of the United States Senate|Senate Minority Whip]]
|successor1 = [[Leverett Saltonstall]]
| leader2 = Alben W. Barkley
|office2 = [[Senate Democratic Caucus#Chairs|Chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus]]
|term_start2 = January 3, 1949
| term_start2 = January 3, 1947
|term_end2 = January 3, 1951
| term_end2 = January 3, 1949
|predecessor2 = [[Alben W. Barkley]]
| predecessor2 = [[Kenneth S. Wherry]]
|successor2 = [[Ernest McFarland]]
| successor2 = [[Leverett Saltonstall]]
|jr/sr3 = United States Senator
| jr/sr3 = United States Senator
|state3 = [[Illinois]]
| state3 = [[Illinois]]
|term_start3 = January 3, 1939
| term_start3 = January 3, 1939
|term_end3 = January 3, 1951
| term_end3 = January 3, 1951
|predecessor3 = [[William H. Dieterich]]
| predecessor3 = [[William H. Dieterich]]
|successor3 = [[Everett Dirksen]]
| successor3 = [[Everett Dirksen]]
|state4 = [[Illinois]]
| state4 = [[Illinois]]
|district4 = {{ushr|IL|20|20th}}
| district4 = {{ushr|IL|20|20th}}
|term_start4 = January 3, 1935
| term_start4 = January 3, 1935
|term_end4 = January 3, 1939
| term_end4 = January 3, 1939
|predecessor4 = [[Henry T. Rainey]]
| predecessor4 = [[Henry Thomas Rainey]]
|successor4 = [[James M. Barnes (congressman)|James Barnes]]
| successor4 = [[James M. Barnes (politician)|James M. Barnes]]
|birth_name = Scott Wike Lucas
| birth_name = Scott Wike Lucas
|birth_date = {{birth date|1892|2|19}}
| birth_date = {{birth date|1892|2|19}}
|birth_place = [[Chandlerville, Illinois]], U.S.
| birth_place = [[Chandlerville, Illinois]], U.S.
|death_date = {{death date and age|1968|2|22|1892|2|19}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|1968|2|22|1892|2|19}}
|death_place = [[Rocky Mount, North Carolina]], U.S.
| death_place = [[Rocky Mount, North Carolina]], U.S.
|party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|spouse = {{Marriage|Edith Biggs|1923|1967|end=died}}
| spouse = {{Marriage|Edith Biggs|1923|1967|end=died}}
| relatives = [[Allen T. Lucas]] (nephew)
|education = [[Illinois Wesleyan University]] ([[Bachelor of Laws|LLB]])
| education = [[Illinois Wesleyan University]] ([[Bachelor of Laws|LLB]])
⚫
|allegiance = {{flag|United States|1912}}
|branch = {{army|United States}}
| allegiance = {{flag|United States|1912}}
⚫
| branch = {{army|United States}}
|battles = [[World War I]]
| battles = [[World War I]]
| caption = Lucas, {{circa}} 1940s
}}
}}
'''Scott Wike Lucas''' (February 19, 1892 – February 22, 1968) was an American [[Lawyer|attorney]] and [[politician]]. A member of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]], he represented [[Illinois]] in the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] (1935–1939) and the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] (1939–1951). He was the [[Party leaders of the United States Senate|Senate Majority Leader]] from 1948 to 1950.
'''Scott Wike Lucas''' (February 19, 1892 – February 22, 1968) was an American [[Lawyer|attorney]] and [[politician]]. A member of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]], he represented [[Illinois]] in the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] (1935–1939) and the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] (1939–1951). He was the [[Party leaders of the United States Senate|Senate Majority Leader]] from 1949 to 1951.


==Early life==
==Early life==
Lucas was born on a tenant farm near [[Chandlerville, Illinois|Chandlerville]], in [[Cass County, Illinois]].<ref name=congress>{{cite news|work=[[Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]]|title=LUCAS, Scott Wike, (1892 - 1968)|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=L000493}}</ref> He was the youngest of six children of William Douglas and Sarah Catherine (née Underbrink) Lucas.<ref name=yearbook>{{cite book|title=Current Biography Yearbook|year=1948|publisher=H.W. Wilson Company|location=New York}}</ref> His parents named him after [[Scott Wike]], a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] who served a representative from Illinois (1875–1877, 1889–1893).<ref name=leaders>{{cite news|work=[[United States Senate]]|title=Senate Leaders: Scott Lucas, The "Paper Majority" Leader|url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/People_Leaders_Lucas.htm}}</ref> After attending public schools, he began his studies at [[Illinois Wesleyan University]].<ref name=congress/> During college, he was active in athletics. He lettered in [[American football|football]], [[basketball]], and [[baseball]] and played semiprofessional baseball in the [[Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League|Three-I League]] during his summer breaks.<ref name=leaders/>
Lucas was born on a tenant farm near [[Chandlerville, Illinois|Chandlerville]], in [[Cass County, Illinois]].<ref name=congress>{{cite news|work=[[Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]]|title=LUCAS, Scott Wike, (1892 - 1968)|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=L000493}}</ref> He was the youngest of six children of William Douglas and Sarah Catherine (née Underbrink) Lucas.<ref name=yearbook>{{cite book|title=Current Biography Yearbook|year=1948|publisher=H.W. Wilson Company|location=New York}}</ref> His parents named him after [[Scott Wike]], a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] who served as a representative from Illinois (1875–1877, 1889–1893).<ref name=leaders>{{cite news|work=[[United States Senate]]|title=Senate Leaders: Scott Lucas, The "Paper Majority" Leader|url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/People_Leaders_Lucas.htm}}</ref> His nephew was [[Allen T. Lucas]] who practiced law with Lucas and who served in the [[Illinois General Assembly]].<ref>'Illinois Blue Book 1967-1968,' Biographical Sketch of Allen T. Lucas, pg. 292-293</ref> After attending public schools, he began his studies at [[Illinois Wesleyan University]].<ref name=congress/> During college, he was active in athletics. He lettered in [[American football|football]], [[basketball]], and [[baseball]] and played semiprofessional baseball in the [[Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League|Three-I League]] during his summer breaks.<ref name=leaders/>


Lucas graduated from Wesleyan with a law degree in 1914 and was admitted to the bar the following year.<ref name=congress/> He served as a schoolteacher before entering private practice in [[Havana, Illinois|Havana]].<ref name=leaders/> During [[World War I]], he served in the [[US Army]] and rose to become a [[lieutenant]].<ref name=congress/>
Lucas graduated from Wesleyan with a law degree in 1914 and was admitted to the bar the following year.<ref name=congress/> He served as a schoolteacher before entering private practice in [[Havana, Illinois|Havana]].<ref name=leaders/> During [[World War I]], he served in the [[US Army]] and rose to become a [[lieutenant]].<ref name=congress/>


Lucas returned to his law practice following his military service and served as a [[state's attorney]] for [[Mason County, Illinois|Mason County]] from 1920 to 1925.<ref name=historical>{{cite book |title=Historical Dictionary of the 1940s|last=Ryan |first=James G.|author2=Leonard Schlup |year=2006 |publisher=M.E. Sharpe, Inc.|location=Armonk, NY}}</ref> He also worked as a commander of the Illinois Department of the [[American Legion]].<ref name=election>{{cite news|title=Scott Wike Lucas, Everett Dirksen, and the 1950 Senate Election in Illinois|url=http://dig.lib.niu.edu/ISHS/ishs-2002spring/ishs-2002spring033.pdf|last=Deason|first=Brian}}</ref> In 1932, he was defeated by [[William H. Dieterich]] for the Democratic nomination to challenge [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] incumbent [[Otis F. Glenn]] for a [[United States Senate]] seat from Illinois.
Lucas returned to his law practice following his military service and served as a [[state's attorney]] for [[Mason County, Illinois|Mason County]] from 1920 to 1925.<ref name=historical>{{cite book |title=Historical Dictionary of the 1940s|last=Ryan |first=James G.|author2=Leonard Schlup |year=2006 |publisher=M.E. Sharpe, Inc.|location=Armonk, NY}}</ref> He also worked as a commander of the Illinois Department of the [[American Legion]].<ref name=election>{{cite news|title=Scott Wike Lucas, Everett Dirksen, and the 1950 Senate Election in Illinois|url=http://dig.lib.niu.edu/ISHS/ishs-2002spring/ishs-2002spring033.pdf|last=Deason|first=Brian}}</ref> In [[1932 United States Senate election in Illinois|1932]], he was defeated by [[William H. Dieterich]] for the Democratic nomination to challenge [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] incumbent [[Otis F. Glenn]] for a [[United States Senate]] seat from Illinois.


Lucas was later appointed chairman of State Tax Commission by [[Governor of Illinois|Governor]] [[Henry Horner]], serving from 1933 to 1935.<ref name=congress/>
Lucas was later appointed chairman of State Tax Commission by [[Governor of Illinois|Governor]] [[Henry Horner]], serving from 1933 to 1935.<ref name=congress/>
Line 60: Line 62:


==Senate==
==Senate==
In 1938, after William Dieterich declined to run for re-election, Lucas was elected to the U.S. Senate over Republican [[Richard J. Lyons]], with a 51%&ndash;48% victory. He was re-elected in 1944.{{citation needed|date=October 2017}} Lucas was a [[favorite son]] candidate and among twelve nominated at the [[1944 Democratic National Convention]] to serve as [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|Franklin D. Roosevelt's]] [[1944 Democratic Party vice presidential candidate selection|running mate]] in the [[1944 United States presidential election|presidential election that year]].<ref name="catledge19440722">{{Cite news |url=http://partners.nytimes.com/library/politics/camp/440722convention-dem-ra.html |title=Truman Nominated for Vice Presidency |last=Catledge |first=Turner |date=1944-07-22 |work=The New York Times |access-date=2017-10-25}}</ref> With support from [[Harry S. Truman]], he was elected party whip in 1946. Lucas, a moderate, drew support from both conservative and liberal wings of the party. He took over the [[Midwest]] campaign for Truman and was credited with assisting [[1948 United States presidential election|Truman's 1948 re-election]] and bringing nine Democrats into the Senate. When [[Alben Barkley]] became vice-president and resigned his seat, Lucas became majority leader. However, he was unable to build a consensus as Senate Majority Leader with the onset of the anticommunist era, and lost in 1950, to Republican [[Everett Dirksen]]. Lucas had become a target of Republican wrath with loss of political power in the Senate and the White House. His 1950 reelection campaign featured the active intervention into Illinois politics of Wisconsin Senator [[Joseph McCarthy]], who traveled the state with Dirksen saying that Senator Lucas was "soft on communism." Dirksen would go on to decisively defeat Lucas with a 54% to 46% victory. Privately, in later years, Dirksen attributed his victory to Lucas's responsibilities as Senate Majority Leader, at the apparent expense of his state; Dirksen was free to campaign locally, often debating Lucas's Illinois Democratic Party proxies and calling attention to Lucas's prolonged absence from the state.
[[1938 United States Senate election in Illinois|In 1938]], after William Dieterich declined to run for re-election, Lucas was elected to the U.S. Senate over Republican [[Richard J. Lyons]], with a 51%&ndash;48% victory. He was re-elected [[1944 United States Senate election in Illinois|in 1944]].{{citation needed|date=October 2017}} Lucas was a [[favorite son]] candidate and among twelve nominated at the [[1944 Democratic National Convention]] to serve as [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|Franklin D. Roosevelt's]] [[1944 Democratic Party vice presidential candidate selection|running mate]] in the [[1944 United States presidential election|presidential election that year]].<ref name="catledge19440722">{{Cite news |url=http://partners.nytimes.com/library/politics/camp/440722convention-dem-ra.html |title=Truman Nominated for Vice Presidency |last=Catledge |first=Turner |date=1944-07-22 |work=The New York Times |access-date=2017-10-25}}</ref> With support from [[Harry S. Truman]], he was elected party whip in 1946. Lucas, a moderate, drew support from both conservative and liberal wings of the party. He took over the [[Midwest]] campaign for Truman and was credited with assisting [[1948 United States presidential election|Truman's 1948 re-election]] and bringing nine Democrats into the Senate. When [[Alben Barkley]] became vice-president and resigned his seat, Lucas became majority leader. However, he was unable to build a consensus as Senate Majority Leader with the onset of the anticommunist era, and lost in 1950, to Republican [[Everett Dirksen]]. Lucas had become a target of Republican wrath with loss of political power in the Senate and the White House. His [[1950 United States Senate election in Illinois|1950]] reelection campaign featured the active intervention into Illinois politics of Wisconsin Senator [[Joseph McCarthy]], who traveled the state with Dirksen saying that Senator Lucas was "soft on communism." Dirksen would go on to decisively defeat Lucas with a 54% to 46% victory. Privately, in later years, Dirksen attributed his victory to Lucas's responsibilities as Senate Majority Leader, at the apparent expense of his state; Dirksen was free to campaign locally, often debating Lucas's Illinois Democratic Party proxies and calling attention to Lucas's prolonged absence from the state.

==Policy positions==
Overall, as Congressman and Senator Lucas focused on civil rights, labor unions, foreign policy, and agriculture. He supported anti-lynching legislation, opposed the poll tax, and was a vocal advocate for desegregation. Lucas played a major role in the passage of the [[Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938]]. It established a federal minimum wage and maximum hours, and required overtime pay under specified conditions. He supported Franklin Roosevelt's main foreign policy initiatives, including [[Lend-Lease]] in 1941 for military aid to the Allies, and the creation of the [[United Nations]]. Lucas supported the [[New Deal]] farm programs, which were popular in rural Illinois, especially the [[Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938]]. As Majority Leader of the Senate in 1949-1950 he supported Harry Truman's domestic and foreign agenda.<ref>Deason, 2001. pp 281-290.</ref>


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==

* Deason, Brian. "Scott Lucas, Everett Dirksen, and the 1950 Senate Election in Illinois." ''Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society'' 95.1 (2002): 33–51. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/40193486 online]
* Deason, Brian Scot.   "Eye of the storm: A political biography of United States Senator Scott W. Lucas of Illinois" (PhD dissertation, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale; ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2001. 3021509).
* Schapsmeier, Edward L., and Frederick H. Schapsmeier. "Scott W. Lucas of Havana: His Rise and Fall as Majority Leader in the United States Senate." ''Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society'' 70.4 (1977): 302–320. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/40191247 online]


==External links==
==External links==
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{{s-ttl|title=[[United States Senate|United States Senator]] [[List of United States Senators from Illinois|from Illinois]] ([[Classes of United States Senators|Class 3]])|years=1939&ndash;1951|alongside=[[J. Hamilton Lewis]], [[James M. Slattery]], [[Charles W. Brooks]], [[Paul Douglas]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[United States Senate|United States Senator]] [[List of United States Senators from Illinois|from Illinois]] ([[Classes of United States Senators|Class 3]])|years=1939&ndash;1951|alongside=[[J. Hamilton Lewis]], [[James M. Slattery]], [[Charles W. Brooks]], [[Paul Douglas (Illinois politician)|Paul Douglas]]}}
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{{s-bef|before=[[Wallace H. White Jr.|Wallace H. White, Jr.]] <br> [[List of United States Senators from Maine|Maine]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Wallace H. White]] <br> [[List of United States Senators from Maine|Maine]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Party leaders of the United States Senate|Senate Majority Leader]]|years=1949&ndash;1951}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Party leaders of the United States Senate|Senate Majority Leader]]|years=1949&ndash;1951}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Ernest McFarland]] <br> [[List of United States Senators from Arizona|Arizona]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Ernest McFarland]] <br> [[List of United States Senators from Arizona|Arizona]]}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucas, Scott Wike}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucas, Scott W.}}
[[Category:1892 births]]
[[Category:1892 births]]
[[Category:1968 deaths]]
[[Category:1968 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American politicians]]
[[Category:20th-century American legislators]]
[[Category:Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives]]
[[Category:Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois]]
[[Category:Democratic Party United States senators]]
[[Category:Democratic Party United States senators from Illinois]]
[[Category:Illinois Democrats]]
[[Category:Illinois Wesleyan Titans baseball players]]
[[Category:Illinois Wesleyan Titans baseball players]]
[[Category:Illinois Wesleyan Titans football players]]
[[Category:Illinois Wesleyan Titans football players]]
[[Category:Illinois Wesleyan Titans men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Illinois Wesleyan Titans men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois]]
[[Category:People from Cass County, Illinois]]
[[Category:People from Cass County, Illinois]]
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[[Category:United States senators from Illinois]]
[[Category:1944 United States vice-presidential candidates]]
[[Category:1944 United States vice-presidential candidates]]
[[Category:American men's basketball players]]
[[Category:American men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Illinois]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Illinois]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Illinois]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Cass County, Illinois]]
[[Category:Basketball players from Illinois]]
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[[Category:Schoolteachers from Illinois]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of World War I]]

Latest revision as of 02:41, 11 May 2024

"Senator Lucas" redirects here. For other uses, see Senator Lucas (disambiguation).
Scott Lucas
Lucas, c. 1940s
Senate Majority Leader
In office
January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1951
DeputyFrancis J. Myers
Preceded byWallace H. White
Succeeded byErnest McFarland
Chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus
In office
January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1951
Preceded byAlben W. Barkley
Succeeded byErnest McFarland
Senate Minority Whip
In office
January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1949
LeaderAlben W. Barkley
Preceded byKenneth S. Wherry
Succeeded byLeverett Saltonstall
United States Senator
from Illinois
In office
January 3, 1939 – January 3, 1951
Preceded byWilliam H. Dieterich
Succeeded byEverett Dirksen
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Illinois's 20th district
In office
January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1939
Preceded byHenry Thomas Rainey
Succeeded byJames M. Barnes
Personal details
Born
Scott Wike Lucas

(1892-02-19)February 19, 1892
Chandlerville, Illinois, U.S.
DiedFebruary 22, 1968(1968-02-22) (aged 76)
Rocky Mount, North Carolina, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Edith Biggs
​
​
(m. 1923; died 1967)​
RelativesAllen T. Lucas (nephew)
EducationIllinois Wesleyan University (LLB)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
Battles/warsWorld War I

Scott Wike Lucas (February 19, 1892 – February 22, 1968) was an American attorney and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented Illinois in the U.S. House of Representatives (1935–1939) and the U.S. Senate (1939–1951). He was the Senate Majority Leader from 1949 to 1951.

Early life[edit]

Lucas was born on a tenant farm near Chandlerville, in Cass County, Illinois.[1] He was the youngest of six children of William Douglas and Sarah Catherine (née Underbrink) Lucas.[2] His parents named him after Scott Wike, a Democrat who served as a representative from Illinois (1875–1877, 1889–1893).[3] His nephew was Allen T. Lucas who practiced law with Lucas and who served in the Illinois General Assembly.[4] After attending public schools, he began his studies at Illinois Wesleyan University.[1] During college, he was active in athletics. He lettered in football, basketball, and baseball and played semiprofessional baseball in the Three-I League during his summer breaks.[3]

Lucas graduated from Wesleyan with a law degree in 1914 and was admitted to the bar the following year.[1] He served as a schoolteacher before entering private practice in Havana.[3] During World War I, he served in the US Army and rose to become a lieutenant.[1]

Lucas returned to his law practice following his military service and served as a state's attorney for Mason County from 1920 to 1925.[5] He also worked as a commander of the Illinois Department of the American Legion.[6] In 1932, he was defeated by William H. Dieterich for the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican incumbent Otis F. Glenn for a United States Senate seat from Illinois.

Lucas was later appointed chairman of State Tax Commission by Governor Henry Horner, serving from 1933 to 1935.[1]

House[edit]

In 1934, following the death of Speaker of the House Henry Thomas Rainey, Lucas was elected to the House of Representatives from Illinois's 20th congressional district.[1] He established himself as a strong supporter of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, working to pass the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act of 1936 and the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938.[5] However, Lucas disagreed with Roosevelt over the president's court-packing plan, which Lucas denounced as "useless, selfish, and futile."[3]

Senate[edit]

In 1938, after William Dieterich declined to run for re-election, Lucas was elected to the U.S. Senate over Republican Richard J. Lyons, with a 51%–48% victory. He was re-elected in 1944.[citation needed] Lucas was a favorite son candidate and among twelve nominated at the 1944 Democratic National Convention to serve as Franklin D. Roosevelt's running mate in the presidential election that year.[7] With support from Harry S. Truman, he was elected party whip in 1946. Lucas, a moderate, drew support from both conservative and liberal wings of the party. He took over the Midwest campaign for Truman and was credited with assisting Truman's 1948 re-election and bringing nine Democrats into the Senate. When Alben Barkley became vice-president and resigned his seat, Lucas became majority leader. However, he was unable to build a consensus as Senate Majority Leader with the onset of the anticommunist era, and lost in 1950, to Republican Everett Dirksen. Lucas had become a target of Republican wrath with loss of political power in the Senate and the White House. His 1950 reelection campaign featured the active intervention into Illinois politics of Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy, who traveled the state with Dirksen saying that Senator Lucas was "soft on communism." Dirksen would go on to decisively defeat Lucas with a 54% to 46% victory. Privately, in later years, Dirksen attributed his victory to Lucas's responsibilities as Senate Majority Leader, at the apparent expense of his state; Dirksen was free to campaign locally, often debating Lucas's Illinois Democratic Party proxies and calling attention to Lucas's prolonged absence from the state.

Policy positions[edit]

Overall, as Congressman and Senator Lucas focused on civil rights, labor unions, foreign policy, and agriculture. He supported anti-lynching legislation, opposed the poll tax, and was a vocal advocate for desegregation. Lucas played a major role in the passage of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. It established a federal minimum wage and maximum hours, and required overtime pay under specified conditions. He supported Franklin Roosevelt's main foreign policy initiatives, including Lend-Lease in 1941 for military aid to the Allies, and the creation of the United Nations. Lucas supported the New Deal farm programs, which were popular in rural Illinois, especially the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938. As Majority Leader of the Senate in 1949-1950 he supported Harry Truman's domestic and foreign agenda.[8]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f "LUCAS, Scott Wike, (1892 - 1968)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
  2. ^ Current Biography Yearbook. New York: H.W. Wilson Company. 1948.
  3. ^ a b c d "Senate Leaders: Scott Lucas, The "Paper Majority" Leader". United States Senate.
  4. ^ 'Illinois Blue Book 1967-1968,' Biographical Sketch of Allen T. Lucas, pg. 292-293
  5. ^ a b Ryan, James G.; Leonard Schlup (2006). Historical Dictionary of the 1940s. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, Inc.
  6. ^ Deason, Brian. "Scott Wike Lucas, Everett Dirksen, and the 1950 Senate Election in Illinois" (PDF).
  7. ^ Catledge, Turner (1944-07-22). "Truman Nominated for Vice Presidency". The New York Times. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
  8. ^ Deason, 2001. pp 281-290.

Further reading[edit]

  • Deason, Brian. "Scott Lucas, Everett Dirksen, and the 1950 Senate Election in Illinois." Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society 95.1 (2002): 33–51. online
  • Deason, Brian Scot.   "Eye of the storm: A political biography of United States Senator Scott W. Lucas of Illinois" (PhD dissertation, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale; ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2001. 3021509).
  • Schapsmeier, Edward L., and Frederick H. Schapsmeier. "Scott W. Lucas of Havana: His Rise and Fall as Majority Leader in the United States Senate." Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society 70.4 (1977): 302–320. online

External links[edit]

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Illinois's 20th congressional district
1935–1939 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic nominee for
U.S. Senator from Illinois (Class 3)
1938, 1944, 1950 		Succeeded by
Richard Stengel
Preceded by Senate Democratic Whip
1947–1949 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Senate Democratic Leader
1949–1951 		Succeeded by
U.S. Senate
Preceded by United States Senator from Illinois (Class 3)
1939–1951
Served alongside: J. Hamilton Lewis, James M. Slattery, Charles W. Brooks, Paul Douglas 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chair of the Senate Contingent Expenses Committee
1941–1947 		Position abolished
Preceded by Senate Minority Whip
1947–1949 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Senate Majority Leader
1949–1951 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scott_W._Lucas&oldid=1223286985"