Dirksen, Everett McKinley

Dirksen, Everett McKinley (dûrk`sən), 1896–1969, American politician, b. Pekin, Ill. A veteran of World War I, he held minor offices in Pekin before serving in the U.S. House of Representatives (1933–49). As a Republican member of the House, Dirksen was critical of New Deal monetary and fiscal policies but supported President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's foreign policy. Elected to the Senate in 1950 and reelected in 1956, 1962, and 1968, he maintained a generally conservative position on domestic legislation. Elected Republican whip of the Senate in 1957, he became minority leader in 1959. With House minority leader Charles A. Halleck, Dirksen began (1961) to hold weekly televised news conferences to voice Republican opposition to President Kennedy's administration; these came to be known as the Ev and Charlie Shows. In 1964–65, however, he worked to secure passage of the Johnson administration's Civil Rights Bill and Voting Rights Act.

Bibliography

See Ev: the Man and his Words, ed. by F. Bauer (1969); biographies by N. McNeil (1970), by his wife, Louella Dirksen, N. L. Browning (1972), and E. L. and F. H. Schapsmeier (1985).

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Dirksen, Everett McKinley

(born Jan. 4, 1896, Pekin, Ill., U.S.—died Sept. 7, 1969, Washington, D.C.) U.S. politician. After serving in World War I, he returned to Illinois to pursue business interests. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives (1932–48), where he voted against most New Deal measures and remained an isolationist until the U.S. entered World War II. He later served in the U.S. Senate (1950–69), becoming minority leader in 1959. He was noted for his oratorical style. Though a conservative, he helped secure passage of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the Civil Rights Act, and the Voting Rights Act.