Brent Spence (December 24, 1874 – September 18, 1967), a native of

Newport, Kentucky Newport is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city at the confluence of the Ohio River, Ohio and Licking River (Kentucky), Licking rivers in Campbell County, Kentucky, Campbell County, Kentucky. The population was 15,273 at the 2010 United ...

, was a long time Democratic

Congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

, attorney, and

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

from

Northern Kentucky Northern Kentucky is the third-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky after Louisville and Lexington, and its cities and towns serve as the de facto "south side" communities of Cincinnati, Ohio. The three main counties ...

. Spence was born in

to Philip and Virginia (Berry) Spence. He was graduated from the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

in 1894 with a degree in law and was admitted to the bar that same year. He married Ida Bitterman on September 6, 1919. He was very active in local and state politics, serving first in the

Kentucky Senate The Kentucky Senate is the upper house of the Kentucky General Assembly. The Kentucky Senate is composed of 38 members elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. There are no term limits for Kentucky Senators. The Kentu ...

, 1904–1908, then as city solicitor of Newport, 1916-1924. In 1930 he was elected to the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from the 5th District; he held this position from March 4, 1931 until January 3, 1963 when most of his district was merged with the neighboring 4th District of fellow Democrat Frank Chelf. He lost the ensuring primary to Chelf. At the time of his retirement, Spence was one of the oldest members to serve in the House; he was 88 years old at the end of his career. Spence chaired the U.S. House Banking and Currency Committee (1943–1963, except for four years when Republicans controlled Congress). He was a delegate to the 44-nation

Bretton Woods Conference The Bretton Woods Conference, formally known as the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference, was the gathering of 730 delegates from all 44 Allied nations at the Mount Washington Hotel, situated in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, Unite ...

in 1944, to promote fair commerce. This led to creating the International Monetary Fund and Bank, and Spence's sponsoring legislation in Congress. Spence was a strong supporter of the

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...

and the

Fair Deal The Fair Deal was a set of proposals put forward by U.S. President Harry S. Truman to Congress in 1945 and in his January 1949 State of the Union address. More generally. the term characterizes the entire domestic agenda of the Truman administra ...

. During President Roosevelt's administration, he supported the

Agricultural Adjustment Act The Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) was a United States federal law of the New Deal era designed to boost agricultural prices by reducing surpluses. The government bought livestock for slaughter and paid farmers subsidies not to plant on part ...

, the

National Industrial Recovery Act The National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 (NIRA) was a US labor law and consumer law passed by the 73rd US Congress to authorize the president to regulate industry for fair wages and prices that would stimulate economic recovery. It also e ...

, the

Social Security Act The Social Security Act of 1935 is a law enacted by the 74th United States Congress and signed into law by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The law created the Social Security program as well as insurance against unemployment. The law was pa ...

, and the

Reconstruction Finance Corporation The Reconstruction Finance Corporation was a government corporation administered by the United States Federal Government between 1932 and 1957 that provided financial support to state and local governments and made loans to banks, railroads, mortgag ...

. While Spence did not sign the 1956

Southern Manifesto The Declaration of Constitutional Principles (known informally as the Southern Manifesto) was a document written in February and March 1956, during the 84th United States Congress, in opposition to racial integration of public places. The manife ...

and voted in favor of the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, he voted against passage of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

Group of Legislators ask president for flood control dollars

Altogether, Spence was a quiet man, and not a good public speaker. However, he was known for his impartial leadership and could get critical legislation passed. His background in banking is credited for leading him to sponsor the Export-Import Federal Deposit Insurance Act, which doubled insured savings accounts from $5,000 to $10,000. The

Brent Spence Bridge The Brent Spence Bridge is a double decker, cantilevered truss bridge that carries Interstates 71 and 75 across the Ohio River between Covington, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio. The top deck carries Kentucky-bound traffic while the bottom de ...

I-75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from St ...

I-71 Interstate 71 (I-71) is a north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes/Midwestern and Southeastern region of the United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with I-64 and I-65 (the Kennedy Interchange) in Louisville, ...

which crosses the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

Covington, Kentucky Covington is a list of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, Kenton County, Kentucky, United States, located at the confluence of the Ohio River, Ohio and Licking River (Kentucky), Licking Rivers. Cincinnati, Ohio, ...

is named for him. He resided in

Fort Thomas, Kentucky Fort Thomas is a home rule-class city in Campbell County, Kentucky, United States, on the southern bank of the Ohio River and the site of an 1890 US Army post. The population was 16,325 at the 2010 census, making it the largest city in Campb ...

at the time of his death. His funeral service was at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Newport, where he was a lifetime member, then buried in

Evergreen Cemetery (Southgate, Kentucky) Evergreen Cemetery (Southgate, Kentucky) is the largest cemetery in Campbell County, Kentucky. It is still in operation and is located at 25 Alexandria Pike in Southgate, Kentucky. The Cemetery was begun in the 1840s, to replace the Newport, Cemete ...

. To date, he is the last Democrat to serve as representative from Kentucky’s 5th congressional district.

References

"Brent Spence" in ''The Kentucky Encyclopedia'', John E. Kleber, ed. (Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky), 1993. Hedlund, Richard. "Brent Spence and the Bretton Woods Legislation", ''The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society'' 79 (Winter 1981).

External links

Kentucky Historical Markers
*
Guide to the Brent Spence papers, 1861-1967
housed at the University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center {{DEFAULTSORT:Spence, Brent 1874 births 1967 deaths American Episcopalians Bretton Woods Conference delegates Kentucky lawyers Democratic Party Kentucky state senators People from Fort Thomas, Kentucky People from Newport, Kentucky Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky