Category: Political Reform
-
Better Living Through Chemistry: Kefauver and the Department of Science
The Soviet launch of Sputnik in 1957 set off a panic that America was losing the race for space. Kefauver thought that a federal Department of Science would help America catch up. Why wasn’t the idea adopted?
-
Read a Book, Write a Bill: Kefauver and Judicial Corruption
Estes Kefauver frequently wrote articles and books urging people to support bills he created. But on at least one occasion, Kefauver was inspired to propose a bill based on a book he read.
-
Nothing Succeeds Like Succession: Kefauver and the 25th Amendment
For 180 years after the Constitution, we had no idea what happened when the President was too sick to do the job. Kefauver tried to fix the problem… but it took a tragedy to get his colleagues to listen.
-
Turbulence Ahead: Humphrey’s Airline Harangue
In 1960, Hubert Humphrey held a hearing of Kefauver’s Department of Consumers proposal. He used the hearing to…. complain about cramped airline seats and and the lack of radar of planes.
-
Attention, Shoppers: Kefauver’s Department of Consumers
In 1960, Kefauver introduced a bill to create a federal Department of Consumers. The bill never passed, but the idea of protecting consumers – and giving them a voice – would outlive his proposal.
-
Electoral College Dropout, Part 3: Song of the South
In 1950, Kefauver suggested that reforming the Electoral College might fix the political problems facing the South. Why did he think so? And did his predictions for the future come to pass?
-
Kefauver’s Magical History Tour of Political Ethics
In 1952, Kefauver wrote a scholarly article surveying the history of political ethics in America. How would he feel about where we are today?
-
Shaking Up Politics, One Hand at a Time
Estes Kefauver’s campaigning failed to win the Presidency. But even as he lost, he pioneered a new form of Presidential campaigning… and he started the momentum to let the voters decide the nominee.
-
Electoral College Dropout, Part 2: How to Steal an Election
The forgotten story of how an Alabama attorney and an Oklahoma elected tried to throw the 1960 election to someone who wasn’t a candidate… and how it could happen again.
-
Electoral College Dropout: Kefauver and Election Reform
In 1962, Kefauver wrote an article calling for electoral college reform. His call went unheeded… and we’re still paying the price for it today.
Estes Kefauver for President 