Editing Alben W. Barkley (section)

==Vice presidency (1949–1953)==
In an upset victory, Truman and Barkley were elected over the Republican ticket by over 2&nbsp;million votes, and Democrats regained majorities in both houses of Congress.<ref name=libbey98>Libbey in ''Dear Alben'', p. 98</ref> Aged 71 years old at the time of his inauguration, he was (and still is) the oldest man ever elected vice president, breaking [[Charles Curtis]]' record at 69.<ref name=kye53 /><ref name=hatfield1>Hatfield, p. 1</ref> His grandson, [[Stephen M. Truitt]], suggested the nickname "[[wikt:Veep|Veep]]" as an alternative to "Mr. Vice President".<ref name=davis115>Davis, p. 115</ref> The nickname was used by the press, but Barkley's successor, [[Richard Nixon]], discontinued using it, saying it belonged to Barkley.<ref name=hatfield1 />

[[File:Barkley showing Vice Presidents seal to Ali Khan.jpg|thumb|left|Barkley showing the [[Seal of the Vice President of the United States|vice presidential seal]] to [[Prime Minister of Pakistan]] [[Liaquat Ali Khan]] and his wife]]
Despite their personal differences, Truman and Barkley agreed on most issues.<ref name=hatfield4 /> Because of Barkley's legislative experience, Truman insisted his vice president attend cabinet meetings.<ref name=kye53 /> Barkley chaired the [[Senate Democratic Policy Committee]] and attended Truman's weekly legislative conferences.<ref name=davis121>Davis, p. 121</ref> When Congress created the [[United States National Security Council|National Security Council]], it included the vice president as a member.<ref name=libbey100>Libbey in ''Dear Alben'', p. 100</ref> Barkley acted as the administration's primary spokesperson, making 40 major speeches in his first eight months in office.<ref name=libbey100 /> Truman commissioned the [[United States Army Institute of Heraldry]] to create a [[Seal of the Vice President of the United States|seal]] and [[Flag of the Vice President of the United States|flag]] for the vice president, advocated raising his salary, and increased his expense budget.<ref name=kye53 /><ref name=hatfield6>Hatfield, p. 6</ref> [[Mark Hatfield]]'s biographical sketch of Barkley noted that he was "the last [vice president] to preside regularly over the Senate, the last not to have an office in or near the [[White House]], [and] the last to identify more with the legislative than the [[Federal government of the United States#Executive branch|executive branch]]".<ref name=hatfield1 />

Despite the Democrats' advantage in the Senate, conservative Democrats united with the Republican minority to oppose much of Truman's agenda, most notably, civil rights legislation.<ref name=hatfield5>Hatfield, p. 5</ref> In March 1949, Democratic floor leader [[Scott W. Lucas]] introduced an amendment to [[Standing Rules of the United States Senate, Rule XXII|Senate Rule XXII]] to make [[cloture]] easier to achieve, hoping to end a ten-day filibuster against a civil rights bill.<ref name=davis116>Davis, p. 116</ref> Conservative Republicans and Southern Democrats opposed the rule change and tried to obstruct it.<ref name=davis116 /> Lucas asked for a cloture vote on the rule change, but opponents contended that the motion was out of order.<ref name=davis116 /> Barkley studied the original debate on Rule XXII, which governed both cloture motions, before ruling in Lucas' favor.<ref name=davis117>Davis, p. 117</ref> [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] senator [[Richard Russell Jr.]] [[Appeal (motion)|appealed]] Barkley's decision, and the chamber voted 46–41 to overrule.<ref name=davis117 /> Sixteen Republicans, mostly from Northeast and West Coast states, voted to sustain the ruling; most Southern Democrats voted with the remaining Republicans to overrule it.<ref name=davis117 />

On July 8, 1949, Barkley met [[Jane Hadley Barkley|Jane Rucker Hadley]], a St. Louis widow approximately half his age, at a party thrown by Clark Clifford.<ref name=hatfield1 /><ref name=libbey101>Libbey in ''Dear Alben'', p. 101</ref> After Hadley's return to St. Louis, Barkley kept in touch with her via letters and plane trips.<ref name=libbey101 /> Their courtship received national attention, and on November 18, they married in the Singleton Memorial Chapel of St. John's Methodist Church in St. Louis, the event televised nationally.<ref name=davis119>Davis, p. 119</ref> Barkley is the only U.S. vice president to marry while in office.<ref name=kye53 />

Barkley's most notable tie-breaking vote as vice president was cast on October 4, 1949, to save the Young–Russell Amendment that set a 90% parity on the price of cotton, wheat, corn, rice, and peanuts.<ref name=davis118>Davis, p. 118</ref> His friends, Scott Lucas and [[Clinton Presba Anderson|Clinton Anderson]], opposed the amendment, but Barkley had promised support during the 1948 campaign.<ref name=davis118 />

In 1949, Emory University chose Barkley to deliver its commencement address and awarded him an [[honorary degree|honorary]] [[Doctor of Laws]].<ref name=emory>"A History of Commencement at Emory". Emory University</ref> The following year, the university's debating society renamed itself the [[Barkley Forum]].<ref name=uva>"Alben William Barkley". University of Virginia</ref> The university also created the Alben W. Barkley Distinguished Chair in its Department of Political Science.<ref name=uva />

[[File:Photograph of President Truman in the Oval Office, shaking hands with Vice President Alben Barkley as he presents him... - NARA - 200220.jpg|thumb|right|President Truman presents the Congressional Gold Medal to Vice President Barkley honoring his years of legislative service.]]
Barkley tried to mentor Scott Lucas and [[Ernest McFarland]], his immediate successors as floor leader, by teaching them to work with the vice president as he had during Truman's vice presidency, but Truman's unpopularity made cooperation between the executive branch and the legislature difficult.<ref name=hatfield5 /> After the U.S. entered the [[Korean War]], Truman focused on foreign affairs, leaving Barkley to campaign for Democratic candidates in the [[1950 United States elections|1950 midterm elections]].<ref name=hatfield6 /> He traveled over {{convert|19000|mi}} and spoke in almost half of the states during the campaign.<ref name=davis122>Davis, p. 122</ref> He felt ill when he arrived in Paducah on election day, and a doctor diagnosed him with a "tired heart".<ref name=davis123>Davis, p. 123</ref> Returning to Washington, D.C., he spent several days in the [[Walter Reed National Military Medical Center|Bethesda Naval Hospital]], but was able to preside when the Senate opened its session on November 28.<ref name=davis123 /> Democrats lost seats in both houses but maintained majorities in each.<ref name=hatfield6 />

On March 1, 1951 – exactly 38 years from his first day in Congress – Barkley's fellow congressmen presented him with the [[Congressional Gold Medal]] in honor of his legislative service.<ref name=libbey102>Libbey in ''Dear Alben'', p. 102</ref> Truman surprised Barkley, appearing on the Senate floor to present the medallion and a gavel made of timbers used to [[White House#Early use, the 1814 fire, and rebuilding|renovate the White House]] after the [[burning of Washington]] in 1814.<ref name=davis123 />

In November 1951, Barkley and his wife ate [[Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving]] dinner with U.S. troops at [[Gimpo International Airport|Kimpo Air Base]] in [[Seoul]].<ref name=davis125>Davis, p. 125</ref> On his 74th birthday, Barkley traveled to the front lines on a fact-finding mission for the president.<ref name=davis125 /> On June 4, 1952, he cast another notable tie-breaking vote to save the [[Wage Stabilization Board]].<ref name=davis126>Davis, p. 126</ref>

===Campaign for president===
At the March 29, 1952 [[Jefferson–Jackson Day]] fundraiser, Truman announced that he would not seek re-election, although he was exempt from the Twenty-second Amendment's [[Term limits in the United States|term limits]].<ref name=libbey104>Libbey in ''Dear Alben'', p. 104</ref> After the announcement, the District of Columbia Democratic Club formed a Barkley for President Club with [[Iowa]] senator [[Guy Gillette]] as chairman.<ref name=davis126 /> Prominent Kentuckians – including senator [[Earle C. Clements]], governor [[Lawrence Wetherby]], and lieutenant governor [[Emerson Beauchamp|Emerson "Doc" Beauchamp]] – supported the candidacy.<ref name=davis126 /> Exactly two months after Truman's announcement, Barkley declared his availability to run for president while maintaining he was not actively seeking the office.<ref name=libbey105>Libbey in ''Dear Alben'', p. 105</ref>

[[File:AdlaiEStevenson1900-1965.jpg|thumb|left|upright|alt=A man with receding dark hair wearing a black jacket, white shirt, and striped tie|Adlai Stevenson II received the Democratic presidential nomination in 1952 instead of Barkley.]]
Barkley's distant cousin, [[Governor of Illinois|Illinois Governor]] [[Adlai Stevenson II]] (grandson of Adlai Stevenson I), was considered his primary competition for the presidential nomination, but had not committed before the convention.<ref name=libbey105 /> Richard Russell Jr. and [[Tennessee]] senator [[Estes Kefauver]] were also interested in the nomination.<ref name=libbey106>Libbey in ''Dear Alben'', p. 106</ref> Kentucky's delegation to the [[1952 Democratic National Convention]] announced that they would support Barkley, and Truman encouraged Missouri's delegates to do so.<ref name=libbey105 /> Democratic National Committee chairman [[Frank E. McKinney]], former chairman [[James Farley]], and [[Secretary of the United States Senate|Senate Secretary]] Leslie Biffle also supported him.<ref name=davis127 /> Two weeks before the convention, Stevenson advisor [[Jacob Arvey]] told Barkley that Stevenson was not going to be nominated and favored nominating Barkley.<ref name=davis127>Davis, p. 127</ref> Barkley's advisors believed that Kefauver and Russell would knock each other out of the early balloting, allowing Barkley to capture the nomination.<ref name=libbey106 />

To dispel concerns about his age (74), failing eyesight, and heart problems, Barkley arrived in Chicago for the convention and briskly walked seven blocks from the bus station to his campaign headquarters.<ref name=libbey106 /><ref name=davis127 /> The attempt was rendered moot on July 20 when a group of labor leaders, including [[United Automobile Workers]] president [[Walter Reuther]], issued a statement calling Barkley too old and requesting that Democrats nominate someone younger like Stevenson.<ref name=libbey107>Libbey in ''Dear Alben'', p. 107</ref> At a meeting with labor leaders the next morning, Barkley failed to persuade them to retract the statement, which caused delegations from large industrial states like Illinois, [[Indiana]], and Pennsylvania to waver on their commitments to Barkley.<ref name=libbey107 /><ref name=davis128>Davis, p. 128</ref> On July 21, he announced his withdrawal from the race.<ref name=libbey107 /> Invited to make a farewell address on July 22, he received a 35-minute ovation when he took the podium and a 45-minute one at the speech's end.<ref name=hatfield6 /><ref name=libbey108>Libbey in ''Dear Alben'', p. 108</ref> In a show of respect, a Missouri delegate nominated Barkley for president and House Majority Leader McCormack seconded it, but Stevenson was easily nominated.<ref>Libbey in ''Dear Alben'', pp. 109–110</ref> A month after the convention, Barkley hosted a Stevenson picnic and campaign rally at his home in Paducah and later introduced him at a rally in Louisville.<ref name=davis130>Davis, p. 130</ref> Despite Barkley's predictions of a Democratic victory, Stevenson [[1952 United States presidential election|lost in overwhelming fashion]] to Republican Dwight Eisenhower.<ref name="libbey111">Libbey in ''Dear Alben'', p. 110</ref>