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Kefauver’s Crowning Achievement: The Prescription Drug Hearings
Estes Kefauver’s decades-long fight against corporate power culminated in a bill to mandate prescription drug safety and efficacy. It was his signature legislative accomplishment – but in his mind, it was a half-measure at best.
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The People’s Champion: Kefauver vs. Corporate Monopoly
Perhaps no political was dearer to Estes Kefauver’s heart than antitrust and opposing corporate monopolies. To Kefauver, political power was tied to economic power… and the people couldn’t be truly free if big business had too much sway.
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Federation of the Free: Kefauver and Atlantic Union
Kefauver’s signature foreign policy idea was Atlantic Union… a concept that’s long since vanished into history. What was it, and why didn’t it work out?
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“The Great Land of the Free”: Kefauver and Civil Liberties
Estes Kefauver always took a strong stance on civil rights. Time and again, he stood up for suspected Communists and other unpopular groups. In the era of McCarthyism and the Red Scare, that was a lonely place to be.
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Look For the Union Label: Kefauver and Organized Labor
Estes Kefauver was one of the best friends that organized labor had in the Senate. How did a Southerner from a white-collar background become such a strong ally of unions? Because he was willing to listen.
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A Complicated but Courageous Legacy: Kefauver and Civil Rights
Estes Kefauver was one of the few Southern Senators who didn’t take the segregationist line on civil rights. A closer look at his record shows a man who evolved over time… but remained consistent in his belief in moderate progress and equal application of the law.
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Campaign 1956, Part 2: “He Just Can’t Stop”
Kefauver lost the nomination, but he won a consolation prize: Stevenson’s VP nomination. Their campaign started with a ray of hope… that turned out to be the headlight of Ike’s oncoming train.
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Campaign 1956, Part 1: If At First You Don’t Succeed…
Undaunted by his loss in 1952, Kefauver tried for the Presidency a second time. This time, though, he’d have company in the primaries. Adlai Stevenson was taking it to the streets.
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Campaign 1952: The Rise – and Fall – of “Senator Legend”
Riding a wave of popularity from the televised crime hearings, a young Kefauver – still in his first term as a Senator – decided to run for President. His popularity carried him a long way… but, as it turned out, not long enough.
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Facing “The Face of U.S. Gangland”: The Crime Hearings
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.
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Estes Kefauver for President 