I recently covered Prescott Bush, grandfather and father of Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush respectively, and he had a rather moderate approach to politics. Today I cover another figure whose son moved far ahead of him in the realm of politics: Howard Baker Sr. (1902-1964).
Baker started young in politics, winning election to the Tennessee General Assembly in 1928. His son, Baker Jr., was three years old at the time. In 1928, Republicans were a distinct minority in Tennessee, although not a hopeless one; from 1911 to 1915 Republican Ben Hooper was governor, and in 1920 Warren G. Harding had won the state and Republicans five of ten House seats. In 1928, Hoover had won Tennessee, but the state party continued to elect their only two usual Republicans to Congress: in the 1st (based in Johnson City) and the 2nd (based in Knoxville) districts. These were both in East Tennessee, a region that had been staunchly unionist during the War of the Rebellion. Baker’s activity in politics translated him rising to be head of the Scott County GOP in 1932, holding the post for sixteen years. He was also elected district attorney general of the 19th judicial circuit in 1934, a post held until 1938, when he was seeking higher office.
Running for Office
In 1938, Baker ran for governor against Democrat Prentice Cooper, who was overwhelmingly favored to win, and indeed Cooper won with 71.7% of the vote. We should bear in mind that Cooper was strongly backed by Memphis political powerhouse Edward Hull Crump, whose machine determined statewide elections at the time. In 1940, he tried yet again to run against the Crump machine by running for Senate against Kenneth McKellar, a senator who chaired the Appropriations Committee, funneling a lot of federal funds to Tennessee. Baker might have run for Congress back in the thirties had Knoxville’s representative not been the popular J. Will Taylor, known affectionately by his constituents as “Hillbilly Bill” who had completely and utterly dominated in patronage in the 1920s, with all federal money dispensed to Tennessee by Republican administrations going through him (Hill). However, in 1939 Taylor died and was succeeded by John Jennings Jr. Jennings was considerably more conservative, never had the following or power that Taylor wielded, and was vulnerable to primary challenges. Between 1941 and 1950 he was involved with the First National Bank of Oneida among the board of directors and as vice president and general counsel for the Western and Oneida Railroad.
Although 1950 was as an election an undoubtable shift to the right, and this is the way it was in Tennessee’s 1st based in Johnson City, this was not how it was in the Knoxville district, with Howard Baker Sr., his campaign being managed by his son Baker Jr., defeating Jennings 2-1 in the Republican primary (Hill, Baker). That year, perhaps the Democrat having a better chance as there was no incumbent to fight, held Baker to 52.2% of the vote. This would easily be his closest contest, and he would be a popular representative, often winning reelection with around 2/3’s of the vote and Democrats not even bothering to field a candidate against him in 1956 and 1960.
A Moderate Republican
Baker represented a bit of a different Republicanism than the Goldwater conservatism that was gaining in popularity in the party. Although on some questions he was fiscally conservative and was indeed socially conservative, including supporting a school prayer amendment to the Constitution, he was willing to on numerous occasions vote for legislation he regarded as helping the people of his district. This included the Area Redevelopment Act, an anti-poverty measure targeted at rural areas which was opposed by many Republicans, including his Republican colleagues in the 88th Congress Jimmy Quillen and Bill Brock. Both Americans for Constitutional Action and Americans for Democratic Action regarded Baker as moderate in his record based on average scores. Baker Sr.’s philosophy he told to his son, “You should always go through life working on the assumption that the other guy might be right” (Hunt). His middling Americans for Constitutional Action and Americans for Democratic Action scores reflect this approach:
| Years | ACA | ADA |
| 1951 | n/a | 17% |
| 1952 | n/a | 25% |
| 1953 | n/a | 36% |
| 1954 | n/a | 33% |
| 1955 | n/a | 78% |
| 1956 | n/a | 100% |
| 1957 | 29% | 43% |
| 1958 | 67% | 42% |
| 1959 | 63% | 56% |
| 1960 | 50% | 44% |
| 1961 | 55% | 20% |
| 1962 | 55% | 25% |
| 1963 | 72% | 27% |
| Average | 56% | 42% |
Baker’s advice to his son we seldom publicly see followed today in terms of attitudes (what goes on behind closed doors is probably a bit different). Baker Jr. would often heed his father’s words.
Baker and Civil Rights
Howard Baker maintained connections with black leaders in Tennessee such as George W. Lee, but his civil rights record was a bit mixed. While he didn’t sign the Southern Manifesto, voted for the Eisenhower-backed civil rights bill in 1956, the Civil Rights Act of 1960, and the 24th Amendment banning the poll tax in federal elections, he voted against all efforts at attaching anti-discrimination amendments to bills (most notably Powell Amendments directed at education funding) and voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1957. President Eisenhower also was against Powell Amendments as they undermined Southern support for education bills. The Powell Amendment would eventually become Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which cuts off federal funding for segregated schools.
Legacy
Baker did not live to see his son rise to even greater heights in politics, as he died suddenly and unexpectedly of a heart attack on January 7, 1964. Howard Baker Jr. would be elected to the Senate in 1966. He rose up in leadership and by 1977, he was Senate Minority Leader, and in 1981, he was Senate Majority Leader, being the father of the modern Tennessee GOP. Baker is a bit of an interesting figure as we don’t often associate Southern Republicanism, particularly that from Tennessee, as being the purview of political moderates, but Baker was one, and represented an older tradition of politicians from poor rural regions being willing to accept certain federal assistance, much like the more conservative Bible-thumping Eugene Siler of Kentucky. Baker’s district today is represented by Tim Burchett, whose current American Conservative Union score is a 91%, a stark contrast to Baker Sr.’s middling scores from ACA. I’m not necessarily saying that one must become less ideological, but I think we could see a lot less stridency nowadays.
References
Hill, R. Hillbilly Bill. The Knoxville Focus.
Retrieved from
https://www.knoxfocus.com/archives/hillbilly-bill-congressman-j-will-taylor/
Hill, R. Senator Howard Baker, Part One. The Knoxville Focus.
Retrieved from
https://www.knoxfocus.com/archives/this-weeks-focus/senator-howard-baker-part-one/
Hunt, K. (2014, June 28). Howard Baker’s legacy: ‘The other guy might be right’. The Tennesseean.
Retrieved from
Rep. Tim Burchett. American Conservative Union.
Retrieved from
http://ratings.conservative.org/people/B001309
Rogers, M. (2017, October 8). Howard H. Baker Sr. Tennessee Encyclopedia.
Retrieved from
Baker Sr., Howard H. Baker
Mad Politics: The Bizarre, Fascinating, and Unknown of American Political History 
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