Josiah Bailey

Josiah William Bailey (September 14, 1873 – December 15, 1946) was an American politician who served as a U.S. senator from the state of North Carolina from 1931 to 1946.

Josiah Bailey
United States Senator
from North Carolina
In office
March 4, 1931 – December 15, 1946
Preceded byF.M. Simmons
Succeeded byWilliam B. Umstead
Personal details
Born
Josiah William Bailey

(1873-09-14)September 14, 1873
Warrenton, North Carolina, U.S.
DiedDecember 15, 1946(1946-12-15) (aged 73)
Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materWake Forest College

Early life and education

Born in Warrenton, North Carolina, he grew up in Raleigh and graduated from Wake Forest College (now Wake Forest University).

Career

Before turning to a career in law, Bailey was editor of the Biblical Recorder, a newspaper for North Carolina Baptists. He was a presidential elector in 1908.[1]

Elected to the United States Senate in 1930, defeating longtime incumbent Furnifold McLendel Simmons, Bailey earned a reputation as a conservative while in office. In 1937, he coauthored the bipartisan Conservative Manifesto, a document criticizing President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal and proposing more conservative alternatives. Among other things, the Manifesto called for lower taxes and less spending.[2]

That same year, Bailey gave a rousing floor speech against President Roosevelt's court-packing bill, which convinced at least three freshman Republicans, thought by Majority Leader Joe Robinson to be definite supporters, to oppose the measure.[3]

A segregationist and white supremacist, Bailey filibustered anti-lynching legislation in 1938.[4]

During his time in office, he served as chairman of the Committee on Claims and Committee on Commerce.

Death

Bailey died in office in 1946.

See also

References
  1. The National Cyclopædia of American Biography. Vol. D. New York, N.Y.: James T. White & Company. 1934. p. 440 – via HathiTrust.
  2. Kickler, Troy L. The Conservative Manifesto. The North Carolina History Project.
  3. Caro, Robert. Master of the Senate. p. 62.
  4. Beauchamp, Zack (October 9, 2013). How Racism Caused The Shutdown. ThinkProgress. Retrieved September 4, 2021.

Sources
  • Finley, Keith M. Delaying the Dream: Southern Senators and the Fight Against Civil Rights, 1938–1965 (Baton Rouge, LSU Press, 2008).

Further reading
  • Moore, John Robert. Senator Josiah William Bailey of North Carolina: A Political Biography. Durham: Duke University Press, 1968.
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