By all appearances, Paul Douglas seems an odd choice to have represented moderate-to-conservative Illinois in the U.S. Senate during the post-World War II era, a time when equal rights for blacks was still an open public question, a time when political demagogues were claiming to find traitors in every nook and cranny.
For that matter, Douglas seems an odd choice to have served on the Chicago City Council, his first official post, during the reign of a Democratic Machine that brooked little or no dissent on its less-than-progressive turf.
Douglas seems to have been ill- suited for the rough play of Illinois and national politics, an unlikely pick by this state’s voters.
His passionately held views lay on the progressive-to-radical end of the spectrum, at least in the early years. He was an intellectual, an economics professor at the University of Chicago, who built a reputation fighting against corporate monopolies and for better employee wages and benefits. He was a convinced Quaker. Though not an attender at meeting in later years, he continued to hold to most views of that sect, which likely seemed quaint to many Illinoisans, and continued to follow its practices, which likely appeared moralistic to congressional colleagues. And, as if that weren’t enough, he supported socialist Norman Thomas for president, making him an easy, though false, target for the red-baiters of his time.
His was a public service that required persistence and patience.
In a new biography, Crusading Liberal: Paul H. Douglas of Illinois, just published by Northern Illinois University Press, historian Roger Biles reminds us that any idea of Douglas’ “commonly became a law only after his unrelenting effort for a period of six to ten years.”
Why would Illinoisans send this man to the U.S. Senate for three terms, a period spanning 18 years? Because, Biles argues, Douglas practiced “a liberalism that made sense to the voters.”
As one example, consider the taxpayer-funded budget, something that, as we see in this month’s edition of the magazine, the new governor and General Assembly will have to wrestle with this spring (see pages 16-31). Douglas fought against wasteful pork-barrel spending nearly as hard as he fought for civil rights.
“To be a liberal,” he advised, “one does not have to be a wastrel. We must, in fact, be thrifty if we are to be really humane.”
And, to the end, Douglas fought for political ethics reforms, a stance that irritated his fellow public officials, but was met by appreciation from Illinois voters.
So, at a time when this state was sending a number of conservative Republicans to Washington, D.C., Douglas appealed to many Illinoisans“as a paragon of integrity who could be trusted to represent the state’s interests in the national government,” Biles writes.
“Without a doubt, Illinois voters saw him as an unabashed liberal; they also saw him as an honest and diligent public servant. Douglas’ status as a straight-talking, issues oriented politician served him well in an era before personal celebrity, pithy sound bites, and lavish campaign chests became the prerequisites for political office-seeking.”
And his enduring legacy is the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964.
But Douglas’ conscience led to his defeat in an altogether unexpected way during his fourth run for the Senate. As a defender of America’s interests abroad, he ran afoul of anti-war protesters during the Vietnam era. The aging Douglas was outflanked on his left by a young corporate Republican named Charles Percy.
Still, Illinoisans of whatever party label, whatever partisan stripe, can look to Paul Douglas, who died in 1976, as a model of personal and political integrity.
Reader Advice
A balanced state budget was the top concern among readers who responded to our request to suggest a top priority for the new governor.
Most of this unscientific sample of folks, who returned survey cards inserted in the November issue, urged Gov. Rod Blagojevich to focus on fiscal matters.
One reader suggested the governor should push for a graduated income tax as a way to increase revenue, but most called for less spending. One suggestion for economy: “Stop landbanking for a south suburban airport.”
At the same time, many readers proposed ways to spend state taxpayer dollars: “Make a real commitment to education”; fund “reasonable” health insurance for teachers; and implement universal health care.
One reader urged the new administration to honor the rights of all Illinoisans. Another recommended pushing government ethics reform. But the shortest answer came from one who wrote: “Honesty.”
Peggy Boyer Long can be reached at Peggyboy@aol.com.
Illinois Issues, January 2003
