Scott Wike Lucas (February 19, 1892 – February 22, 1968) was an American

attorney Attorney may refer to: * Lawyer ** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions * Attorney, one who has power of attorney * ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film See also * Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gove ...

and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented Illinois in the U.S. House of Representatives (1935–1939) and the U.S. Senate (1939–1951). He was the Senate Majority Leader from 1949 to 1951.

Early life

Lucas was born on a tenant farm near Chandlerville, in Cass County, Illinois. He was the youngest of six children of William Douglas and Sarah Catherine (née Underbrink) Lucas. His parents named him after Scott Wike, a Democrat who served as a representative from Illinois (1875–1877, 1889–1893). His nephew was Allen T. Lucas who practiced law with Lucas and who served in the

Illinois General Assembly The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in 181 ...

. After attending public schools, he began his studies at Illinois Wesleyan University. During college, he was active in athletics. He lettered in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, basketball, and baseball and played semiprofessional baseball in the Three-I League during his summer breaks. Lucas graduated from Wesleyan with a law degree in 1914 and was admitted to the bar the following year. He served as a schoolteacher before entering private practice in Havana. During World War I, he served in the US Army and rose to become a lieutenant. Lucas returned to his law practice following his military service and served as a

state's attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...

for Mason County from 1920 to 1925. He also worked as a commander of the Illinois Department of the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

. In

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

, he was defeated by

William H. Dieterich William Henry Dieterich (March 31, 1876October 12, 1940) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician from Illinois. He was a state legislator, U.S. Representative, and U.S. Senator Biography He was born near Cooperstown, Illinois. Aft ...

for the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican incumbent Otis F. Glenn for a United States Senate seat from Illinois. Lucas was later appointed chairman of State Tax Commission by Governor Henry Horner, serving from 1933 to 1935.

House

In 1934, following the death of

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hunger ...

Henry Thomas Rainey, Lucas was elected to the House of Representatives from Illinois's 20th congressional district. He established himself as a strong supporter of Franklin D. Roosevelt's

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 ...

, working to pass the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act of 1936 and the

Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 :''This is an article about the "Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938". For the act by the same name in 1933, see Agricultural Adjustment Act.'' The Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 () was legislation in the United States that was enacted as an ...

. However, Lucas disagreed with Roosevelt over the president's court-packing plan, which Lucas denounced as "useless, selfish, and futile."

Senate

In 1938, after William Dieterich declined to run for re-election, Lucas was elected to the U.S. Senate over Republican

Richard J. Lyons Richard J. Lyons (May 9, 1895 – March 13, 1959) was an American politician and lawyer. Lyons was born in Chicago, Illinois. He went to the Chicago public schools and then received his law degree from John Marshall Law School (Chicago), John ...

, with a 51%–48% victory. He was re-elected in 1944. Lucas was a favorite son candidate and among twelve nominated at the

1944 Democratic National Convention The 1944 Democratic National Convention was held at the Chicago Stadium in Chicago, Illinois from July 19 to July 21, 1944. The convention resulted in the nomination of President Franklin D. Roosevelt for an unprecedented fourth term. Senator Ha ...

to serve as Franklin D. Roosevelt's running mate in the presidential election that year. With support from Harry S. Truman, he was elected party whip in 1946. Lucas, a moderate, drew support from both conservative and liberal wings of the party. He took over the

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 ...

campaign for Truman and was credited with assisting Truman's 1948 re-election and bringing nine Democrats into the Senate. When Alben Barkley became vice-president and resigned his seat, Lucas became majority leader. However, he was unable to build a consensus as Senate Majority Leader with the onset of the anticommunist era, and lost in 1950, to Republican Everett Dirksen. Lucas had become a target of Republican wrath with loss of political power in the Senate and the White House. His

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...

reelection campaign featured the active intervention into Illinois politics of Wisconsin Senator

Joseph McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most visi ...

, who traveled the state with Dirksen saying that Senator Lucas was "soft on communism." Dirksen would go on to decisively defeat Lucas with a 54% to 46% victory. Privately, in later years, Dirksen attributed his victory to Lucas's responsibilities as Senate Majority Leader, at the apparent expense of his state; Dirksen was free to campaign locally, often debating Lucas's Illinois Democratic Party proxies and calling attention to Lucas's prolonged absence from the state.

Policy positions

Overall, as Congressman and Senator Scott Lucas focused on civil rights, labor unions, foreign policy, and agriculture. He supported anti-lynching legislation, opposed the poll tax, and was a vocal advocate for desegregation. He played a major role in the passage of the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938. It established a federal minimum wage and maximum hours, and required overtime pay under specified conditions. He supported Franklin Roosevelt's main foreign policy initiatives, including Lend-Lease in 1941 for military aid to the Allies, and the creation of the United Nations. He supported the New Deal farm programs, which were popular in rural Illinois, especially the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938. As As Majority Leader of the Senate in 1949-1950 he supported Harry Truman's domestic and foreign agenda. Deason, 2001. pp 281-290.

References

External links