Editing Allen J. Ellender (section)

==U.S. Senator==
In 1937 he took his Senate seat, formerly held by the fallen Huey Long and slated for the Democratic nominee [[Oscar K. Allen|Oscar Kelly Allen, Sr.]], of [[Winnfield, Louisiana|Winnfield]], the seat of Long's home parish of [[Winn Parish|Winn]]. Allen had won the Democratic nomination by a plurality exceeding 200,000 votes, but he died shortly thereafter. His passing enabled Ellender's election. The Democrats had so dominated state politics since the [[Disfranchisement after Reconstruction era|disfranchisement]] of most blacks at the turn of the century, that the primary was the decisive election for offices.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}}

Ellender was one of twenty liberal Democratic senators in July 1937 who voted against killing the [[Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937]],<ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/75-1/s42 TO RECOMMIT TO THE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIAL BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT. S. 1392, A BILL TO REORGANIZE THE JUDICIARY BRANCH.]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved September 13, 2021.</ref> which was introduced by President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] in an effort to [[Court packing|pack the United States Supreme Court]] following several anti-New Deal decisions from the Court.

Ellender was repeatedly re-elected to the Senate and served until his death in 1972. He gained seniority and great influence. He was the leading sponsor of the federal free lunch program, which was enacted in 1945 and continues; it was a welfare program that helped poor students.<ref name="auto">Becnel, ''Senator Allen Ellender'' p 130</ref>

In 1946, Ellender defended fellow Southern demagogue [[Theodore Bilbo]], who incited violence against blacks in his re-election campaign.<ref>[https://www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations/electing-appointing-senators/contested-senate-elections/126Theodore_Bilbo.htm The Election Case of Theodore G. Bilbo of Mississippi (1947)]. ''United States Senate''. Retrieved September 13, 2021.</ref> When a petition was filed to the Senate, a committee chaired by Ellender investigated the voter suppression.<ref>Fleegler, Robert L. [http://www.mississippihistory.org/sites/default/files/bilbo.pdf Theodore G. Bilbo and the Decline of Public  Racism, 1938-1947] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210808213315/http://www.mississippihistory.org/sites/default/files/bilbo.pdf |date=August 8, 2021 }}. ''Mississippi Historical Society''. Retrieved September 13, 2021.</ref> Ellender defended the violent attacks on blacks trying to vote as the result of "tradition and custom" rather than Bilbo's incitements. The committee voted on party lines to clear Bilbo, with the three Democrats siding with the Mississippi [[demagogue]] while the two conservative Republicans, [[Bourke Hickenlooper]] of [[Iowa]] and [[Styles Bridges]] of [[New Hampshire]], dissented from the verdict. Bilbo, however, ultimately did not take his Senate seat due to medical issues and died a short time later.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}

Ellender served as the powerful chairman of the [[U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry|Senate Agriculture Committee]] from 1951 to 1953 and 1955 to 1971, through which capacity he was a strong defender of [[sugar cane]] interests. He chaired the even more powerful [[U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations|Senate Appropriations Committee]] from 1971 until his death. Denoting his seniority as a Democrat in the Senate, Ellender was [[President pro tempore of the United States Senate|President pro tempore]] of the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] from 1971 to 1972, an honorific position.

Ellender was an opponent of Republican Senator [[Joseph McCarthy]] of [[Wisconsin]], who had achieved national prominence through a series of well-publicized speeches and investigations attacking supposed [[Communism|communist]] infiltration in the US government, army and educational institutions during the 1950s.<ref>Becnel, ''Senator Allen Ellender'' pp 192-3</ref>

In March 1952, Ellender stated the possibility of the House of Representatives electing the president in that year's general election and added that the possibility could arise from the entry of Georgia Senator [[Richard Russell, Jr.]] into the general election as a third-party candidate and thereby see neither President Truman or Republican Senator [[Robert A. Taft]] able to secure enough votes from the Electoral College.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=A7-hzOuI2KQC&dat=19520303&printsec=frontpage&hl=en|title=Senator Thinks House May Pick Next President|date=March 3, 1952|newspaper=Sarasota Herald-Tribune}}</ref>

Ellender strongly opposed the federal civil rights legislation of the 1960s, which included the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]] to enforce blacks' constitutional rights in voting. Many, particularly in the Deep South, had been [[Disfranchisement after Reconstruction era|disfranchised]] since 1900. In the aftermath of the [[Lynching of Roosevelt Townes and Robert McDaniels|Duck Hill lynchings]], he also helped block a proposed anti-lynching bill which had previously been passed in the [[United States House of Representatives|House]], proclaiming, "We shall at all cost preserve the white supremacy of America."<ref name=":0" /> He did support some Louisiana state legislation sought by civil rights groups, such as repeal of the state [[Poll tax (United States)|poll tax]] (a disfranchisement mechanism).<ref name="auto"/>

In late 1962 he underwent a tour of East Africa. In [[Southern Rhodesia]] he spoke to the media and was reported by a newspaper to have said he did not believe African territories were ready for self-governance and "incapable of leadership" without the assistance of white people. He was further reported to have said [[apartheid]] in [[Union of South Africa|South Africa]] was a proper policy choice and should have been instituted sooner. Ellender later denied making these remarks, but [[Uganda]] and [[Tanganyika (1961–1964)|Tanganyika]] responded to the allegations by barring him from entering their countries.<ref>{{cite news| title = Ellender Denies Voicing Slurs Against Africans| newspaper = The New York Times| agency = Reuters| page = 9| date =  December 6, 1962}}</ref>

On August 31, 1964, during President Johnson's signing of the [[Food Stamp Act of 1964]], the president noted Ellender as one of the members of Congress he wanted to compliment for playing "a role in the passage of this legislation".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=26472|title=546. Remarks Upon Signing the Food Stamp Act.|first=Lyndon B.|last=Johnson|author-link=Lyndon B. Johnson|date=August 31, 1964|publisher=American Presidency Project}}</ref>