Burton K. Wheeler

Burton K. Wheeler was a prominent and often controversial United States Senator from Montana whose career spanned the Great Depression and World War II. A member of the Democratic Party, he was a leading progressive figure and a fierce isolationist, most notably opposing American entry into World War II and President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Lend-Lease program. His political journey included a House term, a vice-presidential nomination on the Progressive ticket, and a pivotal role in Senate investigations before his isolationist stance led to his electoral defeat in 1946.

Early life and education

Burton Kendall Wheeler was born in Hudson, Massachusetts, and attended the public schools there before moving west. He worked his way through the University of Michigan Law School, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1905. Admitted to the bar that same year, he moved to Butte, Montana, a major center for the copper mining industry, to establish his legal practice. His early career in Montana involved defending labor organizers and political radicals, which shaped his progressive and anti-corporate views and built a base of support among working-class voters in the state.

Early political career

Wheeler entered politics as a Democrat, winning election to the Montana House of Representatives in 1910. His reputation as a reformer led to his appointment as United States Attorney for the District of Montana by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913, a position he held until 1918. In 1920, he won a single term in the U.S. House of Representatives. His national profile rose dramatically in 1924 when he was selected as the vice-presidential running mate for Robert M. La Follette on the Progressive Party ticket in the 1924 presidential election; the ticket carried only Wisconsin but demonstrated Wheeler's appeal to the party's left wing.

U.S. Senate career

Elected to the United States Senate in 1922, Wheeler quickly became a influential figure. He was an early supporter of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 and a staunch advocate for New Deal legislation, including the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935. He gained further prominence as the chairman of a Senate committee investigating the Teapot Dome scandal, which damaged the administration of President Warren G. Harding. Throughout the 1930s, Wheeler was a reliable New Deal vote, supporting measures like the Securities Act of 1933 and the Social Security Act, while also championing causes such as the Bonus Army and opposing the growing power of the Supreme Court.

Opposition to World War II and the Lend-Lease Act

Wheeler's political trajectory shifted dramatically in the late 1930s as he emerged as one of the Senate's most vocal isolationists. He was a founding member and a leading spokesman for the America First Committee, which opposed American intervention in the war in Europe. His most famous confrontation with the Roosevelt administration came over the Lend-Lease Act in 1941, which he denounced as "the New Deal's triple A foreign policy—it will plow under every fourth American boy." He collaborated with other prominent isolationist senators like Gerald Nye and Robert A. Taft, and his fierce opposition to the draft and Lend-Lease permanently fractured his relationship with President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Later political career and retirement

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Wheeler supported the war effort but his political influence had waned. His longstanding isolationism made him a target in the 1946 Senate election, where he was defeated by Republican Zales Ecton. After leaving the Senate, he briefly joined the Progressive Party in 1948, serving as its chairman and supporting the presidential campaign of former Vice President Henry A. Wallace. He later returned to the practice of law in Washington, D.C., and published his autobiography, *Yankee from the West*, in 1962. Wheeler died in Washington, D.C. in 1975. Category:1882 births Category:1975 deaths Category:American anti–World War II activists Category:Democratic Party United States senators from Montana Category:Montana Democrats Category:People from Hudson, Massachusetts Category:University of Michigan Law School alumni