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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
Kefauver’s hearings on organized crime exposed just how little the FBI was doing to combat the problem. So they learned their lesson from that, right? Yeah… not so much.
Kefauver was a principled politician, which cause stumbling blocks for his ambitions. In particular, his refusal to build a political organization made his campaigns harder than they had to be… and may have been hazardous to his health.
“The Racket” was a remake of a ’20s movie about Al Capone. With the Kefauver crime hearings captivating America, the producers tried to tweak it in order to ride that popular wave… to the point of offering a role to Kefauver himself.
A Humphrey Bogart movie about the mob came out while the Kefauver organized crime hearings were sweeping the nation. So why not…. get Kefauver to put in an appearance?
Estes Kefauver’s probe of organized crime turned him into a national hero, and inspired movies, TV shows… and even songs. Here’s a song that speaks to Kefauver’s crime-busting reputation.
Estes Kefauver and Lyndon Johnson had a number of things in common: two liberal-leaning, ambitious Southern Democrats who joined the Senate in the same year. But their approach to politics – and the pursuit of power – couldn’t have been more different.
The song most associated with Kefauver was “The Tennessee Waltz,” for better or for worse (and definitely for worse after a long campaign). But there’s a long-forgotten campaign song that captures his folk-hero appeal.
The transcripts of the organized crime hearings include a reference to a then-current pop song. Check out the song here, but beware: it’s a real earworm.
Think Estes Kefauver only faced off with organized crime once? Think again. A decade after the hearings that made him famous, Kefauver took on the mob again… and tried to clean up boxing.
In the early 1950s, Kefauver chaired a series of hearings into organized crime. The hearings made Kefauver a household name, a Presidential contender… and Public Enemy Number One to Democratic leaders.
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?
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
Kefauver’s hearings on organized crime exposed just how little the FBI was doing to combat the problem. So they learned their lesson from that, right? Yeah… not so much.
Kefauver was a principled politician, which cause stumbling blocks for his ambitions. In particular, his refusal to build a political organization made his campaigns harder than they had to be… and may have been hazardous to his health.
“The Racket” was a remake of a ’20s movie about Al Capone. With the Kefauver crime hearings captivating America, the producers tried to tweak it in order to ride that popular wave… to the point of offering a role to Kefauver himself.
A Humphrey Bogart movie about the mob came out while the Kefauver organized crime hearings were sweeping the nation. So why not…. get Kefauver to put in an appearance?
Estes Kefauver’s probe of organized crime turned him into a national hero, and inspired movies, TV shows… and even songs. Here’s a song that speaks to Kefauver’s crime-busting reputation.
Estes Kefauver and Lyndon Johnson had a number of things in common: two liberal-leaning, ambitious Southern Democrats who joined the Senate in the same year. But their approach to politics – and the pursuit of power – couldn’t have been more different.
The song most associated with Kefauver was “The Tennessee Waltz,” for better or for worse (and definitely for worse after a long campaign). But there’s a long-forgotten campaign song that captures his folk-hero appeal.
The transcripts of the organized crime hearings include a reference to a then-current pop song. Check out the song here, but beware: it’s a real earworm.
Think Estes Kefauver only faced off with organized crime once? Think again. A decade after the hearings that made him famous, Kefauver took on the mob again… and tried to clean up boxing.
A look at a 1952 movie inspired by the Kefauver Committee organized crime hearings… featuring an appearance from the Senator himself.
Kefauver’s crime hearings briefly made him a national celebrity… enough of one to be the mystery celebrity on an episode of “What’s My Line?”
In the early 1950s, Kefauver chaired a series of hearings into organized crime. The hearings made Kefauver a household name, a Presidential contender… and Public Enemy Number One to Democratic leaders.
Estes Kefauver for President 