Carl Trumbull Hayden (October 2, 1877 – January 25, 1972) was an American politician. Representing
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
in the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
from 1927 to 1969, he was the first U.S. Senator to serve seven terms. Serving as the state's first
Representative
Representative may refer to:
Politics
* Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people
* House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities
* Legislator, som ...
for eight terms before entering the Senate, Hayden set the record as the
longest-serving member of the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
more than a decade before his retirement from politics. He was
Dean of the United States Senate
The dean of the United States Senate is an informal term for the senator with the longest continuous service, regardless of party affiliation. This is not an official position within the Senate, although customarily (since 1945) the longest-servi ...
and served as its
president pro tempore
A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase ''pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being". ...
and chairman of both its
Rules and Administration and
Appropriations committees. He was a member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
.
Having earned a reputation as a reclamation expert early in his congressional career,
[August p. 45] Hayden consistently backed legislation dealing with public lands, mining,
reclamation
Reclaim, reclaimed, reclaimer, reclaiming or reclamation means "to get something back".
It may refer to:
* Land reclamation, creating new land from oceans, riverbeds, or lake beds
* Dedesertification, reversing of the land degradation in arid ...
, and other projects affecting the Western United States. In addition, he played a key role in creating the funding formula for the
federal highway system.
President
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
said of Hayden, "Every Federal program which has contributed to the development of the West—irrigation, power, reclamation—bears his mark, and the great Federal highway program which binds this country together, which permits this State to be competitive east and west, north and south, this in large measure is his creation."
Known as the "Silent Senator", Hayden rarely spoke on the Senate floor. Instead his influence came from
committee
A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...
meetings and
Senate cloakroom
A cloakroom, or sometimes coatroom, is a room for people to hang their coats, cloaks or other outerwear when they enter a building. Cloakrooms are typically found inside large buildings, such as gymnasiums, schools, churches or meeting halls.
...
discussions where his comments were "given a respect comparable to
canon law
Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...
". A colleague said of him, "No man in Senate history has wielded more influence with less oratory,"
[Phillips, Cabell. "Cannon vs. Hayden: A Clash of Elderly Power Personalities in Congress", '']The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', June 25, 1962, p. 17. while the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' wrote that Hayden had "assisted so many projects for so many senators that when old Carl wants something for his beloved Arizona, his fellow senators fall all over themselves giving him a hand. They'd probably vote landlocked Arizona a navy if he asked for it."
[Cohen, Jerry. "Carl Hayden – Man of History and Few Words", '']Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'', April 18, 1971, pp. A1, 4–5.
Background
Hayden was born to
Charles Trumbull Hayden and
Sallie Calvert Davis on October 2, 1877, in
Hayden's Ferry,
Arizona Territory
The Territory of Arizona (also known as Arizona Territory) was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of ...
(renamed Tempe in 1878). Charles Hayden was a
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
-born merchant and freight operator who had moved west due to a lung ailment and homesteaded a claim on the south bank of the
Salt River. Charles Hayden had also served as a probate judge and, following
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...
's 1884 election, had been considered for the territorial governorship. Sallie Davis was an
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
-born schoolteacher who served as vice president of the Arizona Territorial Suffrage Association during the 1890s.
Following the birth of their son, Charles and Sallie Hayden had three daughters: Sarah (called Sallie), Anna, and Mary (called Mapes). Anna died unexpectedly at two-and-one-half years of age. The Hayden family operated a variety of business interests including a ferry service, a
gristmill
A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...
, a
general store, and agricultural interests.
While he was growing up, Hayden's family took several trips, including journeys to Washington, D.C., and the
1893 Chicago World's Fair
The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, hel ...
. To these, Hayden added several solo trips, including a horseback trip to the
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon (, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kaʼi:la, , Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi, ) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a m ...
and a trip to
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
when he was fourteen.
![Hayden's Ferry](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Hayden%27s_Ferry.jpg)
Hayden attended Tempe's Eighth Street School and
Arizona Territorial Normal School
The history of Arizona State University began March 12, 1885 with the founding of the establishment originally named the Territorial Normal School at Tempe. The school was founded after John Samuel Armstrong first introduced House Bill 164, “A ...
(now Arizona State University). After his graduation from normal school in June 1896 he was enrolled at
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
where he studied economics, history, language, and philosophy with an interest in attending law school after graduation. While at Stanford, he was sophomore class president and participated in debate, fiction writing, football, and track. During his junior year, Hayden suffered his only election defeat when he narrowly lost the race for student body president. He attributed his loss to overconfidence and learned to "always run scared" in future elections.
[August pp. 24–25] Hayden met his future wife, Nan Downing, while at Stanford. The couple married on February 14, 1908, and produced no children.
[Johnson p. 152]
One semester from graduation, in December 1899, Hayden was forced to drop out of school when his father became ill. Charles Hayden died on February 5, 1900, leaving his son with responsibility for the family and control of the family business interests. Hayden sold the mercantile business to pay off outstanding debts and then rented most of the family's properties to provide an income that allowed him to move his mother and sisters to
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto (; Spanish language, Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree kno ...
, where his sisters could attend college. In the fall of 1903, he enlisted in the Arizona Territorial National Guard and was elected
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
within two months.
Early political career
![Young Carl hayden-2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Young_Carl_hayden-2.jpg)
Soon after his return from Stanford, Hayden became active in
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
politics. In September 1900 he represented Tempe as a delegate at a county level convention and became chairman of the
Maricopa County
Maricopa County is in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,420,568, making it the state's most populous county, and the fourth-most populous in the United States. It contains about 6 ...
Democratic Central Committee in 1902.
[Rice p. 33] Hayden was also elected to a two-year term on the Tempe town council. Following passage of the
National Reclamation Act of 1902
The Reclamation Act (also known as the Lowlands Reclamation Act or National Reclamation Act) of 1902 () is a United States federal law that funded irrigation projects for the arid lands of 20 states in the American West.
The act at first covere ...
he was sent to Washington, D.C. by interests in Tempe to lobby for funding of the
Salt River Project
The Salt River Project (SRP) is the umbrella name for two separate entities: the Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District, an agency of the state of Arizona that serves as an electrical utility for the Phoenix metropolitan a ...
.
[August p. 28]
Hayden led the Arizona Territory delegation to the
1904 Democratic National Convention
The 1904 Democratic National Convention was an American presidential nominating convention that ran from July 6 through 10 in the Coliseum of the St. Louis Exposition and Music Hall in St. Louis, Missouri. Breaking with eight years of control by ...
in St. Louis. Later in 1904 he was elected Maricopa County treasurer. Hayden's two years as treasurer provided him practical experience with public finance and budgetary processes. After one term as county treasurer, he chose to pursue the more lucrative office of sheriff—the position providing a travel budget and a percentage of collected fees. The November 1906 election saw Hayden defeat his Republican and Prohibition party challengers by the largest margin of victory in any of the county races.
[August p. 30]
By the time Hayden became sheriff, Maricopa County had transformed from a
Wild West
The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...
frontier into a quiet agricultural settlement.
[Rice p. 35] Based in Phoenix, which had grown to a population of 10,000 people, he performed duties such as maintaining order, collecting fees from saloons and gambling halls, transportation of prisoners to other parts of the territory, and enforcing local ordinances such as a Phoenix law requiring local Indians to wear pants instead of a
breechcloth
A loincloth is a one-piece garment, either wrapped around itself or kept in place by a belt. It covers the genitals and, at least partially, the buttocks. Loincloths which are held up by belts or strings are specifically known as breechcloth or ...
when visiting town.
[(February 9, 1962)]
Old Frontiersman
''Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' 79 (6): 15. During his time as sheriff, Hayden did not have to fire his firearm, although he did use an
Apperson
The Apperson was a brand of American automobile manufactured from 1901 to 1926 in Kokomo, Indiana.
Company history
The company was founded by the brothers Edgar and Elmer Apperson shortly after they left Haynes-Apperson; for a time they con ...
Jack Rabbit to pursue and capture two
train robber
Train robbery is a type of robbery, in which the goal is to steal money or other valuables being carried aboard trains.
History
Train robberies were more common in the past when trains were slower, and often occurred in the American Old West. Tr ...
s.
House of Representatives
![Carl Hayden 1912](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Carl_Hayden_1912.png)
Hayden's first run for Congress came during a 1911 special election called in anticipation of Arizona statehood. With the Democratic Party's influence in territorial politics, winning the party
primary
Primary or primaries may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Primary (band), from Australia
* Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea
* Primary Music, Israeli record label
Works
* ...
was tantamount to winning the general election. Hayden was considered an underdog to two other Democratic challengers and received an endorsement from only one Arizona newspaper. Due to his duties as sheriff along with his Arizona Territorial National Guard service, Hayden had become known to political leaders throughout the territory. These acquaintances, combined with the influence of his father's good reputation, allowed Hayden a surprise win in the Democratic primary which was followed by his election to the
United States 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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
.
[August pp. 35–39]
![Carl Hayden c1916](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Carl_Hayden_c1916.jpg)
The 1911 election set a number of precedents that would characterize Hayden's later political campaigns. The first was his tradition of never mentioning his opponent's name in public.
[August p. 42] He also began a practice of caravaning around the state with other members of his party, a pattern that continued until war-time rationing of the 1940s ended the custom. He also kept a lookout for candidates with a potential to run against him, occasionally sending letters encouraging the rumored candidates to run. With good home service of his constituents, Hayden rarely faced a strong challenge for his office.
[Rice p. 225]
Hayden gave the jail house keys to Deputy Jeff Adams and, with his wife, began the trip to Washington, D.C. the same day President
William H. Taft
William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...
signed the legislation granting Arizona statehood.
Bearing credentials from Territorial Governor
Richard Elihu Sloan
Richard Elihu Sloan (June 22, 1857 – December 13, 1933) was an American jurist and politician, who served as Associate Justice of the Arizona Territorial Supreme Court, a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the ...
, Hayden was sworn into the
62nd United States Congress
The 62nd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1911, to M ...
on February 19, 1912. His goal while in Congress was to help his fledgling state develop its natural resources and infrastructure while growing the state's population. Due to the federal government controlling the majority of the state's land, Hayden also wished to involve the federal government in this process.
[Rice pp. 39–40] Hayden's first
bill
Bill(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
* Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States)
* Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature
* Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer
* Bill, a bird or animal's beak
Plac ...
, authorizing a railroad
right-of-way
Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another.
A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...
to
Fort Huachuca
Fort Huachuca is a United States Army installation, established on 3 March 1877 as Camp Huachuca. The garrison is now under the command of the United States Army Installation Management Command. It is in Cochise County in southeast Arizona, appr ...
, was introduced on March 1, 1912.
With the 1913 start to his first full term, Hayden supported
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
's policies by voting for the
Clayton Anti-Trust Act,
Federal Reserve Act
The Federal Reserve Act was passed by the 63rd United States Congress and signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson on December 23, 1913. The law created the Federal Reserve System, the central banking system of the United States.
The Panic ...
,
Underwood Tariff Act, and creation of the
Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction ov ...
. He sponsored the
Grand Canyon National Park Act, and, in honor of his mother, he introduced a joint resolution calling for
women's suffrage
Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...
.
In 1914, Hayden secured an extension of repayment times for loans made under the National Reclamation Act of 1902 from ten to twenty years. The extension included greater flexibility in the payment amounts during the early repayment period.
[August p. 48] An additional change in the way that reclamation projects were funded came in 1922 with passage of Hayden's legislation authorizing revenues from sale of hydroelectric power to be credited to repayment of project debts.
[Rice p. 90] Favoring local control of reclamation projects, in 1917 Hayden wrote legislation transferring financial obligations and operations of the
Salt River Project
The Salt River Project (SRP) is the umbrella name for two separate entities: the Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District, an agency of the state of Arizona that serves as an electrical utility for the Phoenix metropolitan a ...
from the
Bureau of Reclamation
The Bureau of Reclamation, and formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and opera ...
to a local government entity. The Bureau transferring control to local government agencies would become the model for future reclamation projects in
The West
West is a cardinal direction or compass point.
West or The West may also refer to:
Geography and locations
Global context
* The Western world
* Western culture and Western civilization in general
* The Western Bloc, countries allied with NATO ...
.
[August pp. 49–50] Other early efforts by Hayden included sponsoring the creation of the
Grand Canyon National Park
Grand Canyon National Park, located in northwestern Arizona, is the 15th site in the United States to have been named as a national park. The park's central feature is the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, which is often consider ...
and the 1919 legislation resulting in the
Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
[Johnson p. 154]
![Ashurst-Hayden dam](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Ashurst-Hayden_dam.jpg)
Beginning with an appropriation during his first term for the
to perform a study accessing the feasibility of building a flood control dam, Hayden sought to bring a reclamation project to the
Gila River
The Gila River (; O'odham ima Keli Akimel or simply Akimel, Quechan: Haa Siʼil, Maricopa language: Xiil) is a tributary of the Colorado River flowing through New Mexico and Arizona in the United States. The river drains an arid watershed of n ...
.
[August pp. 50–51] Following a favorable feasibility report on the project, Hayden introduced legislation authorizing the San Carlos Project in 1914. Bill opponents claimed that Arizona had already received an overly large share of federal reclamation funds and the legislation was defeated.
[August p. 55]
Using the fact that the
Pima Indians
Pima or PIMA may refer to:
People
* Pima people, the Akimel O'odham, Indigenous peoples in Arizona (U.S.) and Sonora (Mexico)
Places
* Pima, Arizona, a town in Graham County
* Pima County, Arizona
* Pima Canyon, in the Santa Catalina Mountains ...
would be one of the primary beneficiaries of the project, Hayden switched tactics and, in 1916, began inserting a series of appropriations into the annual Indian Appropriations Act that paid for the construction of a diversion dam downstream of the planned reservoir. By 1922, the diversion dam was completed and named after Hayden and Arizona Senator
Henry Fountain Ashurst
Henry Fountain Ashurst (September 13, 1874 – May 31, 1962) was an American Democratic politician and one of the first two Senators from Arizona. Largely self-educated, he served as a district attorney and member of the Arizona Territorial le ...
.
[August pp. 59–60] Final passage of the San Carlos project came in 1924 when Senator
Ralph H. Cameron, Arizona's sole Republican in the Republican-controlled
68th Congress, reintroduced the San Carlos bill.
Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...
signed the bill into law after the name "
Coolidge Dam
The Coolidge Dam is a reinforced concrete multiple dome and buttress dam southeast of Globe, Arizona on the Gila River. Built between 1924 and 1928, the Coolidge Dam was part of the San Carlos Irrigation Project. Coolidge Dam was named after th ...
" was selected for the primary dam.
[August pp. 62, 66]
Hayden voted for
American entry into World War I
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry
...
and then successfully added an amendment to a military manpower bill that prohibited
conscripted
Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
personnel from avoiding military service by buying their way out and requiring all draftees to remain in the military until the end of the war. He also favored humane treatment of
conscientious objector
A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...
s. In the summer of 1917 Hayden proposed to President Wilson that the Industrial Workers of the World labor union be declared an outlaw organization so that vigilantes could take care of them. As an officer in the
Arizona National Guard
The Arizona National Guard is the National Guard of the American state of Arizona. It consists of the Arizona Army National Guard and the Arizona Air National Guard.
Both components are part of the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military ...
prior to the war,
Major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
Hayden volunteered to join his unit and served as commander of the 9th battalion, 166th Depot Brigade at
Camp Lewis, Washington helping prepare his
division
Division or divider may refer to:
Mathematics
*Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication
*Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division
Military
*Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...
for active duty. The war ended before his unit was transferred to Europe.
[Rice pp. 170–71]
While still in the House of Representatives, Hayden became involved in a decades-long dispute over
water right
Water right in water law refers to the right of a user to use water from a water source, e.g., a river, stream, pond or source of groundwater. In areas with plentiful water and few users, such systems are generally not complicated or contentious ...
s for the
Colorado River
The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...
. California interests at the time wanted to construct a water storage dam along with an
All-American Canal
The All-American Canal is an long aqueduct, located in southeastern California. It conveys water from the Colorado River into the Imperial Valley and to nine cities. It is the Imperial Valley's only water source, and replaced the Alamo Canal, w ...
to allow irrigation of the
Imperial Valley
, photo = Salton Sea from Space.jpg
, photo_caption = The Imperial Valley below the Salton Sea. The US-Mexican border runs diagonally across the lower left of the image.
, map_image = Newriverwatershed-1-.jpg
, map_caption = Map of Imperial ...
without routing the water through Mexico. Apportionment of the river's waters was a contentious issue and Arizona refused to approve the
Colorado River Compact
The Colorado River Compact is a 1922 agreement among the seven southwest U.S. states that fall within the Colorado River drainage basin. The pact governs the allocation of the river's water rights. The agreement, originally proposed by attorney ...
designed to determine allocation of water to each of the states in Colorado's watershed.
As a result of this disagreement when Representative
Phil Swing
Philip David Swing (November 30, 1884 – August 8, 1963) was an American Republican politician from Imperial County, California. He served six terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1921 to 1933.
__TOC__
Biography
Swing ...
and Senator
Hiram Johnson
Hiram Warren Johnson (September 2, 1866August 6, 1945) was an American attorney and politician who served as the Governor of California, 23rd governor of California from 1911 to 1917. Johnson achieved national prominence in the early 20th century ...
, both from California, introduced legislation authorizing the
Boulder Canyon Project
Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado, Black Canyon of the Colorado River (U.S.), Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 ...
, Hayden became a leader of the opposition.
[Speers, L.C.. "Seven States Dispute Over Boulder Dam", '']The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', February 13, 1927, pp. xx5. To this end, Hayden engaged in a variety of
parliamentary procedure
Parliamentary procedure is the accepted rules, ethics, and customs governing meetings of an assembly or organization. Its object is to allow orderly deliberation upon questions of interest to the organization and thus to arrive at the sense or t ...
s that prevented the Swing-Johnston bill reaching the House floor for a vote until after he had left the House of Representatives for the Senate.
Senate
During Hayden's first run for the Senate in 1926, he based his campaign on his record of defending Arizona's interests in the water rights dispute with California. To this effort his campaign poster was composed of editorial headlines from California newspapers decrying Hayden's effectiveness at preventing passage of the Swing-Johnson Bill authorizing construction of Boulder Dam.
[August pp. 128–130] The campaign saw allegations of misconduct raised with incumbent
Ralph H. Cameron claiming Hayden had used a slush fund received from out-of-state interests. An inquiry led by Senator
William H. King was begun several days before the election and found no evidence of wrongdoing.
["Arizona Inquiry Ordered", '']The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', October 29, 1926, p. 5.[Rice pp. 231–234] "Senator Cameron's 'slush fund' charges proved to be a boomerang which added considerably to my majority" observed Hayden after the election.
Upon Hayden's election to the Senate, he received what Senator
Thomas J. Walsh
Thomas James Walsh (June 12, 1859March 2, 1933) was an American lawyer and Democratic Party politician from Helena, Montana who represented Montana in the US Senate from 1913 to 1933. He was initially elected by the state legislature, and from 1 ...
called "choice committee assignments", including a seat on the
Appropriations Committee.
[August p. 130] As a result of his seat on the Appropriations Committee, much of Hayden's efforts in the Senate were shifted away from policy making functions and toward control, allocation, and oversight of the financial funds used to implement legislated policy. Other committee assignments that would help shape his Senate career included
Interior and Insular Affairs,
Post Office and Post Roads,
Rules and Administration, and the
United States Congress Joint Committee on Printing
The Joint Committee on Printing is a joint committee of the United States Congress devoted to overseeing the functions of the Government Publishing Office and general printing procedures of the federal government of the United States. The authorit ...
.
[Rice p. 190]
1920s
![Carl Trumbell Hayden](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Carl_Trumbell_Hayden.jpg)
Upon moving to the Senate in March 1927, Hayden continued his opposition to the Boulder Canyon Project. With growing national support for the project, however, it became obvious to Hayden that passage of the bill was inevitable. Seeking time to gain terms more favorable to Arizona, he continued his opposition with the aid of two
filibuster
A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking out ...
s from Arizona's other Senator,
Henry F. Ashurst
Henry Fountain Ashurst (September 13, 1874 – May 31, 1962) was an American Democratic politician and one of the first two Senators from Arizona. Largely self-educated, he served as a district attorney and member of the Arizona Territorial l ...
, and was able to delay a vote of the full Senate on the measure until the end of the
70th Congress' first session. When the Swing-Johnston bill came up for a vote on May 28, 1928, Hayden made his first speech from the floor of the Senate, a filibuster in which he spoke for nine hours during an all-night session before allowing Ashurst to take over for another twelve hours.
[August pp. 133–135][Rice pp. 113–117]
Passage of the Boulder Canyon Project came shortly after Congress reconvened in December 1928. Politically unpopular in Arizona, the final bill did contain several important concessions for Arizona. An amendment by Nevada Senator
Key Pittman
Key Denson Pittman (September 19, 1872 – November 10, 1940) was a United States senator from Nevada and a member of the Democratic Party, serving eventually as president pro tempore as well as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.
B ...
was added to the bill and set water allotments from the Colorado to per year to Nevada, per year to California and per year to Arizona with exclusive rights to all waters from the Gila River also going to Arizona. The final bill also included authorization to pay both Arizona and Nevada an amount comparable to the tax revenues that would be generated if the dam had been built by private enterprise.
[August pp. 135–136] Following passage of the bill, Hayden switched his form of opposition by working to deny funds for the Boulder Canyon Project.
[August p. 140]
1930s
Hayden's 1932 campaign saw him coming close to defeat. Votes against early payment of the World War I
veterans' bonus and for
prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...
, the Senate vote for repeal of prohibition not coming until 1933, caused him to lose support from his
Depression-era
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The Financial contagion, ...
constituents and he only won a
plurality during the primary. Hayden later speculated that if he had faced only one opponent, he might not have won.
[Rice pp. 234–235]
With President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
1932 election and the start 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 ...
, Hayden dropped opposition of the Boulder Canyon Project and began lobbying for additional irrigation and hydroelectric projects. He actively supported the
Central Valley Project
The Central Valley Project (CVP) is a federal power and water management project in the U.S. state of California under the supervision of the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR). It was devised in 1933 in order to provide irrigation and m ...
and acted as floor manager for the
Grand Coulee Dam
Grand Coulee Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, built to produce hydroelectric power and provide irrigation water. Constructed between 1933 and 1942, Grand Coulee originally had two powerhous ...
's appropriation legislation. Due to Hayden's efforts, Senator
Warren Magnuson
Warren Grant "Maggie" Magnuson (April 12, 1905May 20, 1989) was an American lawyer and politician who represented the state of Washington in Congress for 44 years, first as a Representative from 1937 to 1944, and then as a senator from 1944 to 19 ...
of
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
would later call him "the father of the Grand Coulee Dam".
[Rice p. 96] When demands for new projects during the 1930s drained the Reclamation Fund faster than repayments could replenish it, Hayden worked with Senator
Joseph C. O'Mahoney
Joseph Christopher O'Mahoney (November 5, 1884December 1, 1962) was an American journalist, lawyer, and politician. A Democrat, he served four complete terms as a U.S. Senator from Wyoming on two occasions, first from 1934-1953 and then again fro ...
of
Wyoming
Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...
to secure new funding by allocating revenue from offshore oil reserves to the Reclamation Fund.
[Rice p. 98][August p. 143]
![Grand Coulee Dam no forebay](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Grand_Coulee_Dam_no_forebay.jpg)
Due to Hayden's seat on the Senate Committee on Post Office and Post Roads, he worked on a number of legislative initiatives promoting highway transportation. His interest in the subject was such that President Roosevelt asked why he always wished to talk about roads, to which Hayden replied, "Because Arizona has two things people will drive thousands of miles to see—
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon (, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kaʼi:la, , Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi, ) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a m ...
and the
Petrified Forest
Petrified wood, also known as petrified tree (from Ancient Greek meaning 'rock' or 'stone'; literally 'wood turned into stone'), is the name given to a special type of ''fossilized wood'', the fossilized remains of terrestrial vegetation. ''P ...
. They can't get there without roads."
The first piece of legislation came in 1933 with US$400 million in federal
matching funds
Matching funds are funds that are set to be paid in proportion to funds available from other sources. Matching fund payments usually arise in situations of charity or public good. The terms cost sharing, in-kind, and matching can be used interc ...
targeted at highway construction included in 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 ...
. This was followed the next year when Hayden and
Oklahoma Representative Wilburn Cartwright
Wilburn Cartwright (January 12, 1892 – March 14, 1979) was a lawyer, educator, U.S. Representative from Oklahoma, and United States Army officer in World War II. The town of Cartwright, Oklahoma is named after him.
Early life
Born on a fa ...
introduced the
Hayden-Cartwright Act.
This act was the first that allowed for funds to be used for advanced planning of future roads. It also allowed federal funds to be used for roads in urban areas, instead of just rural routes, and created disincentives to prevent states from diverting highway funds to other projects. A
second Hayden-Cartwright Act authorized use of federal funds to build roads on
Indian reservation
An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a federally recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the state government in which it ...
s and
national parks
A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...
and
forests
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
. In addition to road construction, Hayden also had an interest in promoting
highway safety
Road traffic safety refers to the methods and measures used to prevent road users from being killed or seriously injured. Typical road users include pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, vehicle passengers, horse riders, and passengers of on-road ...
, joining with first-term
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
Senator
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
in 1939 to propose legislation cutting federal funds by a third for states that failed to enact
licensing requirements along with other portions of the
Uniform Vehicle Code
For driving in the United States, each state and territory has its own traffic code or rules of the road, although most of the rules of the road are similar for the purpose of uniformity, given that all states grant reciprocal driving privileges ( ...
.
In addition to his support of reclamation and highway projects, Hayden was also involved in other efforts to promote economic growth during the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. A proposal made in 1932 would have allowed repayment of
war debt
War reparations are compensation payments made after a war by one side to the other. They are intended to cover damage or injury inflicted during a war.
History
Making one party pay a war indemnity is a common practice with a long history.
R ...
s to the United States to be made in silver at a discounted rate. The plan was intended to raise the price of silver, increasing the value of US silver holdings and silver coinage worldwide. Effects of the depression however prevented repayment of most war debts and rendered the plan moot.
["New Impetus Given to Reviving Silver", '']The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', May 7, 1932, p. 23.[Rice p. 69] Hayden also sponsored legislation creating the Farmers Home Administration, authorizing government-insured loans to farmers.
1940s
With the 1940s and the coming of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Hayden's focus shifted from public works to war-time needs. He lobbied a variety of Arizona groups to make land available and touting the favorable year-round flying weather, he assisted with the creation of a number of military bases throughout his home state, including the
Luke
People
*Luke (given name), a masculine given name (including a list of people and characters with the name)
*Luke (surname) (including a list of people and characters with the name)
*Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luke. Also known as ...
and
Williams training bases. An Army Desert Training Center built in southwestern Arizona and southeastern California was also used by American troops preparing for the
North African campaign.
[Rice p. 173] As the United States prepared for possible war, Hayden in August 1940 advocated the use of volunteers instead of conscription to obtain needed manpower. He also introduced amendments prohibiting payment of money to avoid military service, draftees procuring substitutes, and securing of enlistments by the paying of bounties.
[Rice p. 171]
In 1945, Hayden suffered a personal tragedy when his wife, Nan, had a stroke. As a result, she was able to stand but could no longer walk and required the assistance of a nurse.
[Rice pp. 53–54] Her need for assistance would continue until her death on June 25, 1961.
["Mrs. Carl Hayden", '']The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', June 26, 1961, p. 31.
![Arizona cap canal](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Arizona_cap_canal.jpg)
Following a 1944 treaty with Mexico granting the nation per year of Colorado River water, Hayden began direct efforts to bring water from the river to
Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
,
Tucson
, "(at the) base of the black ill
, nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town"
, image_map =
, mapsize = 260px
, map_caption = Interactive map ...
, and the irrigable Arizona farmlands between the cities. To this end, he and Arizona's other senator,
Ernest McFarland
Ernest William McFarland (October 9, 1894 – June 8, 1984) was an American politician, jurist and, with Warren Atherton, one of the "Fathers of the G.I. Bill." He is the only Arizonan to serve in the highest office in all three branches of Ariz ...
, introduced legislation in 1946 to build the
Central Arizona Project
The Central Arizona Project (CAP) is a 336 mi (541 km) diversion canal in Arizona in the southern United States.
The aqueduct diverts water from the Colorado River to the Bill Williams Wildlife Refuge south portion of Lake Havasu ne ...
. Unsuccessful in their first attempt, they reintroduced the legislation in 1947 where it passed the Senate but was defeated in the House by opposition from the California delegation.
[August pp. 150, 157–158, 166]
The 1940s started an era of key committee chairmanships for Hayden. Due to the declining health of
Kenneth McKellar, Hayden periodically served as acting chairman of the Appropriations committee during the 1940s and the 1950s. This activity included a significant amount of behind the scenes work with the committee's ranking Republican, Senator
Styles Bridges
Henry Styles Bridges (September 9, 1898November 26, 1961) was an American teacher, editor, and Republican Party politician from Concord, New Hampshire. He served one term as the 63rd governor of New Hampshire before a twenty-four-year career ...
, and enhanced Hayden's reputation for operating in Senate cloakrooms.
[Rice p. 195] Starting with the
81st Congress, Hayden became chairman of the
Senate Rules Committee
The Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, also called the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, is responsible for the rules of the United States Senate, administration of congressional buildings, and with credentials and qualificat ...
.
1950s
Hayden's efforts to gain approval for the Central Arizona Project continued into the 1950s. Hayden and McFarland reintroduced their previous legislation in 1951 but it was again defeated in the House, this time due to concerns that full appropriation of Colorado waters had not occurred.
[August pp. 168–174] The legislative setback prompted Arizona to file suit in the
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
seeking adjudication of the water rights issue. The case, ''
Arizona v. California
''Arizona v. California'' is a set of United States Supreme Court cases, all dealing with disputes over water distribution from the Colorado River between the states of Arizona and California. It also covers the amount of water that the State of ...
'', was accepted by the court on January 19, 1953, and would take over a decade to decide.
[August pp. 175–176] In other reclamation efforts Hayden cosponsored the Colorado River Storage Act of 1956, authorizing construction of the
Glen Canyon Dam
Glen Canyon Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam on the Colorado River in northern Arizona, United States, near the town of Page, Arizona, Page. The high dam was built by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) from 1956 to 1966 and forms Lake Powe ...
and three other water storage dams.
[Rice p. 99]
The stable political environment in Arizona that Hayden had enjoyed during most of his career began to change by the 1950s. Following World War II, large numbers of
Midwest
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...
ern expatriates moved to Arizona and bolstered the growth of the Republican Party within the state. While he was still popular with long-term Arizona residents, many of the new arrivals were unfamiliar with Hayden's congressional record. As a result, during the 1956 election Hayden's campaign produced a number of television and radio appearances designed to inform voters of the Senator's accomplishments and dispel rumors of failing health and senility.
The campaign also took advantage of a ''New York Times Magazine'' article that provided a complimentary portrait of Hayden's service in the Senate.
[August pp. 178–179]
In 1956, Hayden was involved in a legal dispute when a
United States district court
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...
judge issued a
restraining order
A restraining order or protective order, is an order used by a court to protect a person in a situation involving alleged domestic violence, child abuse, assault, harassment, stalking, or sexual assault.
Restraining and personal protection or ...
blocking the publication of a Senate pamphlet. Hayden, who was then the chairman of the
Joint Committee on Printing
The Joint Committee on Printing is a Joint committee (legislative), joint committee of the United States Congress devoted to overseeing the functions of the United States Government Publishing Office, Government Publishing Office and general printi ...
, charged the order was unconstitutional and stated, "If a court can enjoin Congress from issuing a report it will only be a matter of time before our remarks on the floor of the Senate or the House of Representatives would be subject to a judicial review and a complete breakdown of the constitutional principal of
separation of powers
Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typic ...
would ensue."
["Ban on Pamphlet Defied by Hayden", '']The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', May 4, 1956, p. 12.
Following a Printing Committee vote to ignore the order, Hayden directed the
Government Printing Office
The United States Government Publishing Office (USGPO or GPO; formerly the United States Government Printing Office) is an agency of the legislative branch of the United States Federal government. The office produces and distributes information ...
to "disregard as unconstitutional the processes of any court in this case." The court ruling was later set aside by another federal judge stating the order had "constituted an unwarranted and unauthorized action by the judiciary" that interfered with the government's legislative function.
[2d Judge Upsets Ban on Pamphlet", '']The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', May 5, 1956, p. 19.
At the beginning of the
84th Congress, Hayden gave up his chairmanship of the Senate Rules Committee in order to become chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
[Rice p. 196] The year 1955 saw him become a member of the newly formed Senate Democratic Policy Committee.
[Rice p. 214] Hayden also set several records for length of service, breaking
Adolph Sabath's record for continuous service in Congress on October 21, 1957, and
Joseph G. Cannon
Joseph Gurney Cannon (May 7, 1836 – November 12, 1926) was an American politician from Illinois and leader of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party. Cannon served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives ...
's record for total length of service in Congress on February 19, 1958.
["Hayden, 46 Years in Congress, Gets Bipartisan Tribute", '']The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', February 20, 1958, p. 1. Hayden's record for longest service was not broken until November 18, 2009, by
Robert Byrd
Robert Carlyle Byrd (born Cornelius Calvin Sale Jr.; November 20, 1917 – June 28, 2010) was an American politician and musician who served as a United States senator from West Virginia for over 51 years, from 1959 until his death in 2010. A ...
.
[Nowicki, Dan.]
End of a record for state's 'Silent Senator'
, ''The Arizona Republic'', November 16, 2009.
1960s
![LBJ McCormack Hayden](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/LBJ_McCormack_Hayden.jpg)
During 1962, Hayden came to national attention due to a dispute over procedural issues between the Senate Appropriations Committee and House Appropriations Committee. Billed in the press as a feud between two octogenarian chairmen, Hayden and Representative
Clarence Cannon
Clarence Andrew Cannon (April 11, 1879 – May 12, 1964) was a Democratic Congressman from Missouri serving from 1923 until his death in Washington, D.C. in 1964. He was a notable parliamentarian and chaired the U.S. House Committee on Appropri ...
, the dispute began over the issue of where
conference committees to resolve appropriation issues would meet. The Constitution required that all appropriations bills must originate in the House while long-standing tradition of the time held that conference committee meetings occurred on the Senate side of the
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill ...
with a senator chairing the committee. The dispute began in January 1962 when members of the House appropriations committee passed a resolution calling for the meeting location of the conference committee to be evenly split between the House and Senate side of the Capitol building. In response to this, the Senate appropriations committee passed a resolution calling for half of all appropriations bills to originate in the Senate. By April, Hayden had arranged for a meeting room located midway between the two chambers but House members refused to discuss the issue face-to-face until July, when US$55 billion in unapproved appropriations threatened to force a
government shutdown
A government shutdown occurs when the Legislature, legislative branch does not pass key bills which fund or authorize the operations of the executive branch, resulting in the cessation of some or all operations of a government.
Government shutdo ...
.
[Rice p. 206]
During Hayden's final campaign in 1962, the Central Arizona Project was the central issue. State leaders saw his seniority as being key in gaining approval for the project. To aid his re-election, campaign staff arranged for a series of events to celebrate Hayden's fiftieth anniversary in Congress and raise awareness of his achievements. A series of viral infections suffered by the senator over the course of the year prompted rumors that the 85-year-old senator had died. To refute these rumors, Hayden held a press conference at
Bethesda Naval Hospital
The Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC), formerly known as the National Naval Medical Center and colloquially referred to as the Bethesda Naval Hospital, Walter Reed, or Navy Med, is a United States' tri-service military medi ...
three days before the election.
[August 179–181][(November 16, 1962)]
Arizona: Message Received
. ''Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' 80 (20): 25. Despite a growing Republican trend in Arizona, Hayden's Republican challenger, state representative and future governor
Evan Mecham
Evan Mecham ( ; May 12, 1924 – February 21, 2008) was an American businessman and the 17th governor of Arizona, serving from January 5, 1987, until his impeachment conviction on April 4, 1988. A decorated veteran of World War II, Mecham was a ...
, only got lukewarm support from the state party. Arizona's Republican establishment felt Hayden's seniority was crucial for ensuring the project would pass. Ultimately, Hayden won a record seventh term, but only tallied 54.9 percent of the vote—easily the closest race of his Senate career, and his closest since his first bid for a full term in the House half a century earlier.
The events of the decade resulted in Hayden twice advancing to second place on the
presidential line of succession. The first occurrence came on November 16, 1961, with the death of
House Speaker Sam Rayburn
Samuel Taliaferro Rayburn (January 6, 1882 – November 16, 1961) was an American politician who served as the 43rd speaker of the United States House of Representatives. He was a three-time House speaker, former House majority leader, two-time ...
when Hayden followed Vice President
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
and lasted until a new Speaker was elected. The second occurrence began with the November 22, 1963 assassination of President
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
and continued until
Hubert Humphrey
Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American pharmacist and politician who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Mi ...
became vice president on January 20, 1965. When asked of his plans if he had succeeded to the presidency, Hayden replied "I'd call Congress together, have the House elect a new speaker, and then I'd resign and let him become president."
[Johnson p. 156]
Hayden's final legislative success was authorization of the Central Arizona Project. On June 4, 1963, one day after the Supreme Court issued a decision in ''Arizona v. California'' favorable to Arizona, Hayden joined with the rest of his state's congressional delegation in reintroducing legislation authorizing the water project. As in the bill's previous efforts, Hayden's influence was able to secure passage of the legislation in the Senate while passage in the House proved difficult. Initial opposition from the California delegation subsided by early 1965 after Governor
Pat Brown
Edmund Gerald "Pat" Brown (April 21, 1905 – February 16, 1996) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 32nd governor of California from 1959 to 1967. His first elected office was as district attorney for San Francisco, and he w ...
declared, "California will not attempt to win by obstruction what it has not won by litigation", only to be replaced by opposition from Colorado Representative
Wayne Aspinall
Wayne Norviel Aspinall (April 3, 1896 – October 9, 1983) was an American lawyer and politician from Colorado. He is largely known for his tenure in the United States House of Representatives, serving as a Democrat from 1949–1973 fro ...
.
[Rice p. 144] Aspinall, chairman of the
House Interior Committee, refused to hold hearings on Hayden's bill. In response to the delays, Hayden waited until Aspinall returned home for vacation and then added his proposed bill as a rider to
pork barrel
''Pork barrel'', or simply ''pork'', is a metaphor for the appropriation of government spending for localized projects secured solely or primarily to bring money to a representative's district.
The usage originated in American English, and i ...
bill containing patronage for a large number of Congressmen. In response to Hayden's maneuver, Aspinall returned from vacation to hold hearings on the Central Arizona Project.
[(October 20, 1967)]
Hayden's Rough Rider
.
Final approval for the Central Arizona Project came on September 30, 1968, a day declared by President Johnson as "Carl Hayden Day".
["Carl Hayden Day", '']The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', October 1, 1968, p. 42. Hayden remarked on the occasion, "My efforts in behalf of the Central Arizona Project, began while I was still a Congressman and I consider it ... the most significant accomplishment of my career."
[August p. 69]
Professional disposition
Hayden kept a considerably lower national profile than conventional wisdom would suggest for someone who spent more than half a century in Washington, including 42 years in the Senate. This came in part due to a conversation he had with
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
Congressman
Fred Talbott soon after he arrived in Washington in 1912. Talbott told him, "Son, there are two kinds of Congressmen—show horses and work horses. If you want to get your name in the papers, be a show horse. But if you want to gain the respect of your colleagues, don't do it. Be a work horse."
Hayden quickly earned a reputation as a "service congressman" who faithfully responded to constituent mail, inserting vegetable or flower seed packets in his replies.
[Johnson p. 153] Hayden believed that partisanship should end on election day, and his constituent service was performed in a nonpartisan manner.
[Rice p. 41]
During his time in office, Hayden avoided publicity and speech making. Following his filibuster of Boulder Dam, Hayden did not make another speech from the Senate floor for 20 years. By his later years, many of his congressional colleagues had not heard him make a full speech.
["The Silent Senator", '']The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', November 18, 1961, p. 12.[Baker, Russell. "Senator Hayden, 84, Will Mark Half-Century in Congress Today", '']The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', February 19, 1962, p. 1. His avoidance of public speaking did not impair Hayden in his duties, with then Senator Lyndon B. Johnson saying "He is living proof that effectiveness and statesmanship are not necessarily coupled with talkativeness"
and Arthur Edson of the Associated Press writing, "He has kept his mouth shut while astutely pushing out invisible tentacles of power".
[
]
After office
Hayden announced his retirement on May 6, 1968, saying "Among other things that fifty-six years in Congress have taught me is that contemporary events need contemporary men. Time actually makes specialists of us all. When a house is built there is a moment for the foundation, another for the walls, the roof and so on. Arizona's foundation includes fast highways, adequate electric power, and abundant water, and these foundations have been laid. It is time for a new building crew to report, so I have decided to retire from office at the close of my term this year."[August p. 201] Hayden recommended long-term aide Roy Elson to succeed him.[(May 20, 1968) "Hayden's Era: The Senator Who Changed the Face of The West". '' U.S. News & World Report'' 64 (21): 22.] Elson lost his election bid to former Senator Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and United States Air Force officer who was a five-term U.S. Senator from Arizona (1953–1965, 1969–1987) and the Republican Party nominee for presiden ...
.
Following his retirement from Congress, Hayden returned to Tempe and set up an office in Arizona State University's Charles Trumbull Hayden library. In addition to organizing the papers he collected during his career, he also wrote a biography of his father and worked on a project documenting the lives of Arizona's pioneers.[August pp. 206–207] He became ill in the middle of January 1972 and died on January 25, 1972. He was buried in Tempe's Double Butte Cemetery
The Double Butte Cemetery is the official name given to a historic cemetery in Tempe, Arizona. The cemetery was founded in 1888 on the baseline of the Double Butte Mountain for which it is named. It is the final resting place of various notable pi ...
. Speakers at Hayden's memorial service included Goldwater and former President Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
.[August p. 207]
In response to his long tenure in Congress, multiple projects have been named after him. On September 29, 1957, Phoenix Union High School District
The Phoenix Union High School District is a high school-only school district in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. It is one of five high school-only districts in the Phoenix area.
Overview
The school district serves students within a area of Ph ...
dedicated Carl Hayden High School
Carl T. Hayden Community High School is part of the Phoenix Union High School District. The campus is located at 3333 W. Roosevelt Street just west of downtown Phoenix, Arizona, United States. Carl Hayden's enrollment is 2,209 students, over 93 p ...
.[Rice p. 180] This was followed by the Maricopa County Democratic Committee lobbying for Glen Canyon Dam to be named Hayden Dam, a move that Hayden personally opposed. In 1969, the visitor center overlooking Glen Canyon Dam was named after the long-term senator.[Rice pp. 101–102] Naming efforts even continued after Hayden's death with the US Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, ...
'
Carl Hayden Bee Research Center
being named in 1978 followed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers an ...
' Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center in 1987.["Name for Bee Center Approved", '']The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', August 9, 1978, p. A9. A bust of Hayden was added to the Senate sculpture collection and placed in the Russell Senate Office Building
The Russell Senate Office Building is the oldest of the United States Senate office buildings. Designed in the Beaux-Arts architectural style, it was built from 1903 to 1908 and opened in 1909. It was named for former Senator Richard Russell ...
in 1986.Carl Hayden
''Art & History: Sculptures''. United States Senate. Retrieved on 2007-08-15.
Congressional elections results
References
Works cited
* August, Jack L., Jr. (1999). ''Vision in the Desert: Carl Hayden and Hydropolitics in the American Southwest'', introduction by Bruce Babbitt, Fort Worth: Texas Christian University Press. .
* Johnson, James W. (2002). ''Arizona Politicians: The Noble and the Notorious'', illustrations by David 'Fitz' Fitzsimmons, Tucson: University of Arizona Press. .
* Rice, Ross R. (1994). ''Carl Hayden: Builder of the American West''. Lanham, MD: University Press of America. .
Further reading
*
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayden, Carl T.
1877 births
1972 deaths
20th-century American politicians
American people of English descent
Arizona State University alumni
Arizona pioneers
Arizona sheriffs
Democratic Party United States senators from Arizona
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Arizona
Politicians from Tempe, Arizona
Presidents pro tempore of the United States Senate
Stanford University alumni
United States Army officers
United States Army personnel of World War I