Estes Kefauver

Carey Estes Kefauver (July 26, 1903 ? August 10, 1963) was an American politician from Tennessee.

Kefauver in Congress

As a member of the House during President Franklin D. Roosevelt's term in office, Kefauver distinguished himself from the other Democrats in Tennessee's congressional delegation, most of whom were conservatives, by becoming a staunch supporter of the President's New Deal legislation, particularly the controversial Tennessee Valley Authority.

Related Topics:
President - Franklin D. Roosevelt - Conservatives - New Deal - Tennessee Valley Authority

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His progressive stances on the issues put Kefauver in direct competition with E.H. Crump, the former mayor of Memphis and the "boss" of the state's Democratic Party, when he chose to seek the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate in 1948. During the primary, Crump and his allies accused Kefauver of being a "fellow traveler" and of working for the "pinkos and communists" with the stealth of a raccoon. In a televised speech given in Memphis, in which he responded to such charges, Kefauver put on a coonskin cap and proudly proclaimed, "I may be a pet coon, but I'm not Boss Crump's pet coon." After he went on to win both the primary and the election, he adopted the cap as his trademark and wore it in every successive campaign.

Related Topics:
Progressive - E.H. Crump - Memphis - Raccoon

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Once in the Senate, Kefauver began to make a name for himself as a crusader for consumer protection laws, antitrust legislation, and civil rights for African-Americans. These positions made him even more unpopular with his state party's machine than ever before, especially after he, fellow Tennessee Senator Albert Gore, Sr., and Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas became the only three southern Senators to refuse to sign the so-called "Southern Manifesto" in 1956. In fact, these unpopular positions, combined with his reputation as a maverick with a penchant for sanctimony, earned him so much enmity even from other Senators that one Democratic insider felt compelled to dub him "the most hated man in Congress."

Related Topics:
Consumer protection - Antitrust - Civil rights - African-Americans - Albert Gore, Sr. - Senate Majority Leader - Lyndon B. Johnson - Texas - Southern Manifesto - Maverick

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When he ran for reelection to a third term in 1960, his first and, it would turn out, last attempt at running for office after refusing to sign the Manifesto, he faced staunch opposition for renomination from his party's thriving pro-segregation wing and he only won the primary by a slim margin. During the general election itself, polls showed Kefauver's support to be near-nonexistent and it was later said that, on election day, no one outside of Kefauver's family could be found who would admit to having voted for him. Nevertheless, Kefauver swamped his opponent, winning an estimated 65% of the vote.

Related Topics:
1960 - Segregation - Polls

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In 1962, Kefauver, who had become known to the public at large as the chief enemy of crooked businessmen in the Senate, introduced legislation which would eventually pass into law as the Kefauver-Harris Drug Control Act. This bill, which Kefauver dubbed his "finest achievement" in consumer protection, imposed controls on the pharmaceutical industry which required that drug companies disclose to doctors the side-effects of their products, allow their products to be sold as generic drugs after having held the patent on them for a certain period of time, and be able to prove on demand that their products were, in fact, effective and safe.

Related Topics:
1962 - Kefauver-Harris Drug Control Act - Generic drugs - Patent

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On August 8, 1963, Kefauver suffered a massive heart attack on the floor of the Senate while attempting to place an antitrust amendment into a NASA appropriations bill which would have required that companies benefitting financially from the outcome of research subsidized by NASA reimburse NASA for the cost of the research. Two days after the attack, Kefauver passed away in his sleep.

Related Topics:
August 8 - Heart attack - NASA

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