Vandenberg, Arthur H

Vandenberg, Arthur H(endrick)

(born March 22, 1884, Grand Rapids, Mich., U.S.—died April 18, 1951, Grand Rapids) U.S. politician. Editor of the Grand Rapids Herald (1906–28), he was elected as a Republican to the U.S. Senate (1928–51). He was a critic of Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt's foreign policy but revised his isolationist position after the attack on Pearl Harbor. In a 1945 Senate speech he advocated U.S. participation in international alliances, and he was a delegate to the UN organizing conference. He led Republican congressional support for legislative measures introduced by Pres. Harry Truman, including the Marshall Plan, the Truman Doctrine, and NATO.