Category: Crime
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Commissioner Kefauver?
In 1951, Kefauver wrote an article offering suggestions for improving baseball – by applying his political philosophy to the national pastime.
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Support Your Local Sheriff!
The crime hearings earned Kefauver a reputation as a racket-buster. But that reputation obscured what he really tried to accomplish.
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Portrait of a Lady
Lady Bird Johnson wasn’t just Lyndon’s wife – she was a key political adviser and an astute observer. Her comments about Kefauver show that she understood his immense political gifts – and what held him back.
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He Never Fixed the Washing Machine
In Kefauver’s home life and his political life, he often started projects he couldn’t finish. Why was that?
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What You Can Do For Your Country: Kefauver on Responsible Citizenship
At the height of his fame from the organized crime hearings, Kefauver gave a speech laying out a rigorous vision of active citizenship. Was America up to the challenge? Are we still?
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All’s (Not) Fair in Politics and War: Kefauver Proposes a Congressional Code of Conduct
Kefauver used congressional investigations as a route to fame. But he also understood how they could be abused. And he tried to do something about it. But as usual, Congress couldn’t be bothered to act.
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A Friendly Bet, A Big Game, Lasting Effects: Kefauver and the 1952 Sugar Bowl
When two Senators made a friendly wager on the outcome of this game, they felt they had a lot at stake. As it turns out, the real stakes of the game were about the future of college football.
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Kefauver at the Movies: “Turning Point”
For once, a take on the Kefauver crime hearings from a major studio with a star-studded cast. But did they make the hero a bit too heroic?
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Just the Facts: A Brochure from Kefauver’s Last Campaign
During Kefauver’s final re-election campaign in 1960, he bet that voters would opt for reason and honest facts instead of race-baiting and segregation. See how he made the case in an important campaign brochure.
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Kefauver At the Movies: “Hoodlum Empire”
In 1952, a reporter who covered Kefauver’s organized crime hearings penned a movie script. People who watched the hearings might have found it a bit… familiar.
Estes Kefauver for President 