STEVENSON, ADLAI EWING

Adlai Ewing Stevenson was a lawyer, statesman, and unsuccessful democratic party candidate for the presidency in 1952 and 1956. An eloquent and witty speaker, Stevenson served as chief U.S. delegate to the united nations during the Kennedy administration.

Stevenson was born on February 5, 1900, in Los Angeles, California, and moved with his family to Bloomington, Illinois, in 1906. He graduated from Princeton University in 1922 and studied law at Northwestern University. He was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1926 and established a successful law practice in Chicago.

By the early 1930s Stevenson had set his sights on public service, following the course of his grandfather, Adlai E. Stevenson, who was vice president of the United States during the administration of President grover cleveland (1893–1897). Stevenson joined the new deal administration of President franklin d. roosevelt in 1933, serving as special legal adviser to the Agricultural Adjustment Administration. In 1934 he became general counsel for the Federal Alcohol Bureau.

Though Stevenson returned to his Chicago law practice in 1934, he remained an active civic leader. He headed the Chicago Bar Association's Civil Rights Committee and became the chair of the Chicago chapter of the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies. This committee, composed of prominent business and civic leaders, worked to overcome U.S. isolationist foreign policy and provide aid to Great Britain and France at the beginning of world war ii.

Stevenson rejoined the Roosevelt administration in 1941 as special assistant to the secretary of the Navy, and in 1943 he led a mission to Italy to establish a U.S. relief program. In 1945 Stevenson moved to the state department, where he became a key participant in the establishment of the United Nations (U.N.). He was senior adviser to the U.S. delegation at the first meeting of the U.N. General Assembly in London in 1946 and was a U.S. delegate at meetings of the assembly in New York in 1946 and 1947.

In 1948 Stevenson returned to Illinois and ran as the Democratic candidate for governor. He was elected by the largest majority ever recorded in the state. He proved an effective chief executive, revitalizing the civil service, establishing a merit system for the hiring of state police, improving the care of patients in state mental hospitals, and increasing state aid to public education.

When President harry s. truman announced that he would not seek reelection in 1952, Democratic leaders urged Stevenson to seek the nomination. Although Stevenson declined to campaign for the nomination, the 1952 Democratic National Convention in Chicago drafted him as their presidential candidate. Stevenson ran a vigorous campaign but proved no match for the Republican candidate and popular war hero, General dwight d. eisenhower. Eisenhower easily defeated Stevenson in 1952 and again in 1956.

Stevenson spent the 1950s practicing law in Chicago and serving as a spokesperson for the Democratic Party. At the 1960 Democratic

National Convention in Los Angeles, a small group of liberals again sought to draft Stevenson for president. The effort failed and Senator john f. kennedy of Massachusetts was nominated.

Kennedy appointed Stevenson U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and gave him cabinet rank. Stevenson was deeply disappointed, however, believing he was the best-qualified person to serve as secretary of state. Despite his disappointment, Stevenson carried out his role at the United Nations with distinction. During the cuban missile crisis of October 1962, Stevenson had a dramatic confrontation with the Soviet Union's delegate, telling the delegate he was prepared to wait "until Hell freezes over" for an answer to his question about Soviet missiles in Cuba.

"The essence of a republican government is not command. It is consent."
—Adlai Stevenson

Stevenson died on July 14, 1965, in London, England.

further readings

Broadwater, Jeff. 1994. Adlai Stevenson and American Politics: The Odyssey of a Cold War Liberal. New York: Twayne.

Martin, John Bartlow. 1977. Adlai Stevenson and the World. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday.

——. 1976. Adlai Stevenson of Illinois: The Life of Adlai Stevenson. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday.

Stevenson, Adlai E. 1972–79. The Papers of Adlai E. Stevenson. Ed. by Walter Johnson. Boston: Little, Brown.

STEVENSON, ADLAI EWING 1900-1965

DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, 1952,1965

Democratic Presidential Hopeful

In the 1950s Adlai Stevenson came into the national limelight as a successful Illinois governor who battled the excesses of McCarthyism and as the Democratic heir apparent to President Harry S Truman.

Reluctant Candidate

The Democratic presidential candidate in 1952 and 1956, Stevenson ran campaigns that became famous for his eloquent stump speeches and for the candidate's emphasis on issue-oriented substance rather than on style and image. In early 1952 Truman asked Stevenson to run for the nomination, but Stevenson refused. Instead, he wanted to return to the governor's mansion in Illinois and finish the programs he had started. Despite his many statements that he did not want the presidential nomination, even with Truman's support, Stevenson was drafted on the third ballot.

Intellectual Campaigner

Often hailed as one of the most intellectual men ever to run for the presidency, Stevenson, according to one biographer, conducted a campaign that raised "American political thinking to a high plane." The majority of voters, however, seemed to find highbrow traits irrelevant in a candidate. Indeed, the more educated the voter, the less likely he was to have voted for Stevenson. High-school-educated voters favored Dwight D. Eisenhower 55 to 45 percent, while college-educated voters more overwhelmingly approved of the Republican candidate 66 to 34 percent. Part of Eisenhower's appeal may have been his war-hero reputation and folksy demeanor. The vote also indicated a partial rejection of Truman's foreign and domestic policies; Truman, in the eyes of the public, had gotten the United States into another war and did not appear to give the generals the authority to win it. When combined with a shaky domestic economic program, Stevenson's intellectual capabilities hardly mattered to the Middle American voter.

Working Toward Another Campaign

Undaunted, Stevenson concluded that he would get his turn in the White House in four more years, after Eisenhower discredited himself. Stevenson already had impressive foreign experience, having worked on the founding of the United Nations with the U.S. delegation under Edward Stettinius and having served as a troubleshooter for President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Gen. George C. Marshall from 1941 to 1947. Further enhancing his image as the world sophisticate, he embarked on a six-month trip to Asia and the Middle East in 1953 to bolster his foreign policy experience and to see firsthand the newly emerging nations. While on that trip, he recounted his experiences in articles written for Look magazine and in a book published in 1954, Call to Greatness. He then returned to America to build the party machinery that he thought would carry him to victory in 1956. During the 1954 congressional campaigns, he launched an attack on the Eisenhower administration, calling Vice-president Richard Nixon a "white-collar McCarthy." By 1955 Stevenson had announced his candidacy, and he won the 1956 Democratic nomination from Estes Kefauver. Stevenson called upon the convention to name the vice-presidential nominee. It gave him Kefauver.

The Rematch

In the rematch with Eisenhower, Stevenson tried to emphasize the importance of establishing nuclear-test bans—at times calling for a unilateral ban—and decreasing U.S.-Soviet tensions. He also campaigned for increased federal spending on poverty, education, and the elderly. After his defeat, he blamed the media for failing to cover the issues: but it had covered the issues that the public thought relevant, including a stronger defense against worldwide Soviet aggression and a tighter rein on federal government spending. Americans did not favor massive poverty relief programs; nor did most Americans see nuclear tests as a greater threat than Soviet expansionism.

Democratic Elder Statesman

Stevenson remained the voice of Democratic liberalism through most of the 1950s and, after the 1956 election, traveled and rejuvenated his legal work. Under the Kennedy administration, Stevenson served as ambassador to the United Nations. He would later advise President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Source:

Porter McKeever, Adlai Stevenson: His Life and Legacy (New York: Morrow, 1989).

Adlai Ewing Stevenson

Adlai Ewing Stevenson (1900-1965), American statesman and diplomat, was twice Democratic candidate for president.

Adlai Stevenson was born in Los Angeles, Calif., on Feb. 5, 1900, of a family prominent in Bloomington, Ill. He was the grandson of Adlai E. Stevenson, the vice president under Grover Cleveland. Graduating from the public schools, he attended Choate Academy, an eastern private school. He finished Princeton University in 1922 and graduated from Northwestern University Law School in 1926. Admitted that year to the Illinois bar, he began law practice in Chicago. He early showed studious tastes, especially for history and international affairs.

Stevenson became familiar with farm needs and policies around Bloomington. He combined intense faith in democracy with a strong desire to encourage thinking upon the issues of the time. His principles were also influenced by work in Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal administration. He worked for the Chicago Foreign Policy Association and the Chicago Bar Association and helped to promote the civil rights movement. In 1946-1947 he served as United States delegate to the General Assembly of the United Nations.

In 1948 Stevenson was elected governor of Illinois. His administration of the state, though ambitious and vigorous, was hampered by Republican legislative opposition and a division of sentiment between rural and industrial Illinois. Nevertheless, having attracted wide attention through speeches and articles, he was nominated for president on the Democratic ticket in 1952. Though defeated by Dwight Eisenhower, he maintained his place as leader of the Democratic party, representing its more studious, liberal element.

Stevenson ran against Eisenhower again in the presidential race of 1956. A lonely, thoughtful man, with a tinge of melancholia which made him seem unhappy despite his warm humor and flashing wit, he appeared colorless compared with Eisenhower. He later declared that one of his principal disappointments in 1956 was the failure to provoke a real debate on the issues. Stevenson's contribution to public discussion was, nevertheless, large and unique, for he appraised the importance of issues in the revolutionary new era.

After John F. Kennedy was elected president, Stevenson made no secret of his wish to be appointed secretary of state. Made ambassador to the United Nations instead, he was deeply disappointed. He felt humiliated when, as America's UN representative, he had to explain and defend policies and actions of other men, some of which, like the Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba in April 1961, he did not approve. But he was an immovable supporter of the United States against Soviet policies and threats and especially distinguished himself in refuting and denouncing the U.S.S.R.'s position in UN debate. On Oct. 25, 1962 he demanded that the Soviet ambassador to the UN state honestly whether the U.S.S.R. was placing missiles and sites in Cuba. When Soviet Ambassador Zorin replied evasively, "I am not in an American courtroom, sir," Stevenson thundered, "You are in the court of world opinion right now." While still ambassador to the United Nations, Stevenson died suddenly in London on July 14, 1965.

Further Reading

Bert Cochran, Adlai Stevenson: Patrician among the Politicians (1969), views Stevenson as a member of an American ruling upper class. Other biographical works include Kenneth Sydney Davis, The Politics of Honor: A Biography of Adlai E. Stevenson (1957; rev. ed. 1967); Stuart Gerry Brown, Conscience in Politics: Adlai Stevenson in the 1950's (1961) and Adlai E. Stevenson, a Short Biography: The Conscience of the Country (1965); Herbert J. Muller, Adlai Stevenson: A Study in Values (1967); and Richard J. Walton, The Remnants of Power: The Tragic Last Years of Adlai Stevenson (1968). Composite views of Stevenson are offered by Alden Whitman and the New York Times as Portrait: Adlai E. Stevenson: Politician, Diplomat, Friend (1965), and Edward P. Doyle, As We Knew Adlai: The Stevenson Story by Twenty-two Friends (1966). Also useful is Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Prospect for America: The Rockefeller Panel Reports (1961). □

Adlai Ewing Stevenson 1900–1965, American statesman, b. Los Angeles; grandson of Adlai Ewing Stevenson (1835–1914). A graduate (1922) of Princeton, he received his law degree from Northwestern Univ., was admitted (1926) to the bar, and practiced law in Chicago. He entered government service as special counsel to the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (1933–34) and later served as assistant general counsel to the Federal Alcohol Bureau (1934) and as an assistant to the U.S. Secretary of the Navy (1941–44). In 1945 he became special assistant to Secretary of State Stettinius and attended the San Francisco Conference that founded the United Nations. He was a member of the U.S. mission to the UN General Assembly in 1946 and 1947. In 1949, Stevenson was elected Democratic governor of Illinois by an unprecedented majority; his record of reforms in office brought him national prominence, and he was drafted (1952) to be the Democratic presidential candidate. Despite an eloquent campaign, he was decisively defeated by Dwight D. Eisenhower. In 1956, Stevenson campaigned actively and successfully for renomination but was defeated by Eisenhower by an even greater margin. In 1960 he was a more reluctant contender for the Democratic nomination, which he lost to John F. Kennedy. In 1961, President Kennedy appointed him U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, with cabinet rank. He held this position until his death. Despite his electoral defeats, Stevenson won enormous respect and admiration as an eloquent spokesman for liberal reform and for internationalism. Stevenson's works include A Call to Greatness (1954), Friends and Enemies (1959), and Putting First Things First (1960). His papers were edited by Walker Johnson (8 vol., 1972–79). His oldest son, Adlai Ewing Stevenson 3d, 1930–, b. Chicago, served as U.S. senator from Illinois (1970–81). He ran unsuccessfully for governor of Illinois in 1982 and 1986.

Bibliography: See biographies of the elder Stevenson by K. S. Davis (1957, repr. 1967), S. G. Brown (1961), H. J. Muller (1967), and B. Cochran (1969); J. H. Baker, The Stevensons (1996).

Stevenson, Adlai Ewing (b. 5 Feb. 1900, d. 14 July 1965). US politician The grandson of Vice-President Adlai E. Stevenson (1893–7), he received his law degree from Northwestern University. After qualifying in 1926 he became a lawyer in Chicago, doing much work for the city administration. In 1934–40 he was also on the board of directors at Hull House (see Addams). During World War II he held various government appointments and in 1948 he was elected Governor of Illinois with a landslide victory. His energetic administration attacked gambling and corruption and imposed greater efficiency on the bureaucracy. Chosen as the Democrat candidate for the Presidency in the elections of 1952 and 1956, on both occasions he suffered heavy defeats against Eisenhower. A highly intelligent liberal reformer and internationalist, his presidential campaigns were marked by brilliant and witty speeches. A chief US delegate at the UN founding conference in 1945, President Kennedy appointed him US ambassador to the UN (1961–5), with Cabinet rank. He died in office.

Adlai Ewing Stevenson 1835–1914, Vice President of the United States (1893–97), b. Christian co., Ky. He practiced law at Bloomington, Ill., and was twice (1874, 1878) elected to the U.S. Congress as a Democrat. He was First Assistant Postmaster General during Grover Cleveland's first term (1885–89) and Vice President during his second. In 1900, Stevenson again ran for Vice President on the Democratic ticket, this time with William Jennings Bryan. After losing this election he later ran (1908) for governor of Illinois but was defeated.

Bibliography: See studies by R. Sievers (1983) and P. McKeever (1989).

Stevenson, Adlai E(wing) (1900–65) US statesman. He served in various government posts and in 1948 he was elected governor of Illinois with the largest majority in the state's history. Chosen as the Democratic candidate for the Presidency in the elections of 1952 and 1956, he was badly beaten on both occasions by Dwight D. EISENHOWER. A liberal reformer and internationalist, his Presidential campaigns were marked by brilliant and witty speeches. President KENNEDY appointed him US ambassador to the United Nations (1961–65) with cabinet rank.

Stevenson, Adlai Ewing (1900–65) US politician, grandson of vice president Adlai Stevenson. Instrumental in setting up the United Nations, he remained as the US delegation's advisor (1946–47), before being elected governor of Illinois (1949). He was the unsucessful Democratic candidate in 1952 and 1956 against Eisenhower. He was appointed US ambassador to the United Nations in 1961.