Everett Dirksen

Everett Dirksen – Life, Career, and Memorable Legacy

: A full look at Everett McKinley Dirksen (1896–1969), an influential American Republican senator and orator who shaped civil rights, partisan politics, and legislative strategy in mid-20th century America.

Introduction

Everett McKinley Dirksen (January 4, 1896 – September 7, 1969) was a towering figure in the United States Senate during the 1950s and 1960s. Known for his deep, resonant voice, rhetorical flair, and strategic skill, Dirksen served as Senate Minority Leader and played a pivotal role in the passage of landmark civil rights legislation. Though often overshadowed by presidents and majority leaders, his influence in shaping bipartisan compromise and legislative tactics remains significant.

Early Life and Background

Everett Dirksen was born in Pekin, Illinois on January 4, 1896. Johann Friedrich Dirksen and Antje Conrady, were immigrants from East Frisia (a region in Germany). Thomas Reed Dirksen; their names were chosen to echo prominent American political figures (Everett named for William McKinley, Thomas for Speaker Reed).

Dirksen’s father suffered a debilitating stroke when Everett was young and died when Everett was about nine; the family struggled thereafter, and his mother tried to manage a modest farm and household.

He attended public schools in Pekin and graduated from Pekin High School in 1913, serving as salutatorian of his class. University of Minnesota (1914–1917, pre-law), working various jobs to support himself (advertising, sales, clerical work) while attending school.

Military Service & Early Career

With the onset of World War I, Dirksen left college to enlist in the U.S. Army. Second Lieutenant by 1918, performing observations and intelligence duties in the European theater.

After his service, Dirksen experimented with business ventures (including an electric washing machine enterprise that failed) and then joined his brothers in running a bakery.

Political Rise: House of Representatives

Dirksen’s formal political career began at the municipal level: in 1926, he was elected to the Pekin city council (or city commission) and served as commissioner of accounts and finance from 1927 to 1931.

In 1932 he ran for the U.S. House and won, defeating the incumbent William E. Hull. eight terms (1933–1949).

In the House, Dirksen was initially seen as a moderate Republican and supported parts of the New Deal (especially Social Security), although he was critical of expansion of executive power and some of Roosevelt’s policies.

Health concerns—specifically a serious eye condition (chorioretinitis)—led him not to run for re-election in 1948.

Senate Career & Leadership

Election to the Senate

In 1950, Dirksen ran for U.S. Senate from Illinois, defeating incumbent Senate Majority Leader Scott W. Lucas.

Rise to Minority Leader

Dirksen served as Senate Republican Whip from 1957 to 1959, then became Senate Minority Leader in January 1959, a position he held until his death in 1969.

He established several innovations as minority leader: joint Senate–House press conferences with House Republican leader Charles Halleck (the “Ev & Charlie Show”), and an organized response to the President’s State of the Union.

Dirksen was known for bridging internal party divisions, giving younger Republicans more influence, and cultivating relationships with majority leaders (especially Democrat Mike Mansfield).

Key Political Impact & Legislation

Civil Rights Legislation

Perhaps Dirksen’s most lasting legacy lies in his role in advancing civil rights in the 1960s.

• The Civil Rights Act of 1964: During a lengthy filibuster by Southern senators, Dirksen helped forge compromise amendments (the “Mansfield-Dirksen Amendment”) that enabled cloture (ending debate) and passage.

• He also supported the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Fair Housing Act) and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

• His leadership and ability to bring Republican votes were credited as essential in securing bipartisan support for those measures.

Foreign Policy & Vietnam

Initially an isolationist, Dirksen’s views evolved. He supported U.S. engagement abroad and became one of the Senate’s strong backers of the Vietnam War.

Other Positions

• Dirksen supported prayer in public schools, proposing a constitutional amendment in reaction to the Supreme Court’s decisions against school-sponsored prayer.

• He opposed the doctrine of “one person, one vote” for fear that rapidly growing cities would dominate smaller rural districts, and he led efforts (though unsuccessful) to convene an Article V constitutional amendment to protect legislative districts of unequal population.

Oratory, Style & Public Persona

Dirksen was renowned for his oral style—powerful, florid, full of anecdotes, and delivered in a deep, resonant bass voice. “The Wizard of Ooze” (a pun on his slow, mellifluous delivery).

Dirksen recorded several spoken-word albums. One notable example is his poem “Gallant Men,” which charted on the Billboard Hot 100, making him one of the older artists to reach the pop charts (age 71).

Some memorable quoted lines include:

• “A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon, you're talking real money.” (Though attribution is disputed.)

• “The mind is no match with the heart in persuasion; constitutionality is no match with compassion.”

Personal Life & Death

Dirksen married Louella Carver Dirksen, and they had one daughter, Joy Baker, who later married Senator Howard Baker of Tennessee.

He was a member of the Second Reformed Church (a Dutch Reformed tradition) and a Freemason (achieving the 33rd degree) in Illinois.

In August 1969, a mass was found in Dirksen’s lung. He underwent surgery (right upper lobectomy) at Walter Reed Hospital, but complications (bronchopneumonia) led to his death on September 7, 1969, at age 73.

Dirksen lay in honor in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, and was then buried in Glendale Memorial Gardens, Pekin, Illinois.

Legacy & Honors

• The Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C. is named in his honor.

• In Chicago, the Everett McKinley Dirksen United States Courthouse is named for him (part of the Chicago Federal Center).

• He is honored by the Everett McKinley Dirksen Award for Distinguished Reporting of Congress, awarded annually by the National Press Foundation since 1980.

• In his hometown, Pekin holds an annual Marigold Festival in his memory (he was fond of the marigold and campaigned (humorously) to make it the national flower).

Lessons & Reflections

1. Leadership through persuasion and compromise
   Dirksen showed that a minority leader, if skilled and credible, can significantly influence legislation — especially by crafting compromise and brokering coalitions.

2. Evolving viewpoints
   His journey from moderate and sometimes isolationist stances to active support for civil rights and foreign policy engagement illustrates intellectual flexibility in political life.

3. The power of rhetoric
   Dirksen’s oratory was not mere performance; it shaped public and legislative moods, demonstrating that tone, style, and voice can be strategic tools in politics.

4. Importance of bipartisanship in momentous legislation
   His willingness to cross partisan divides (on civil rights, for example) underscores that lasting change often requires political courage beyond strict party lines.

5. Legacy beyond tenure
   Though his time in leadership ended with his death, the physical and institutional memorials (buildings, awards) reflect a recognition that influence in governance can outlast service.