Defender of the Old Guard: John Bricker and American Politics

by Richard O. Davies

This first biography of one of the leading conservative figures of the twentieth century traces the roots of John Bricker's ideology in his formative years as a boy growing up on an Ohio farm and examines his political career as governor, vice presidential candidate, and senator.

271 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1993

About the author

Richard O. Davies is Distinguished Professor of History, Emeritus, at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Reviews

[Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Defeated Vice Presidential candidates seldom get books written about them. John W. Bricker a most
conservative Republican from Ohio was Tom Dewey's Vice Presidential running mate in 1944. This is
his story and the story of the constitutional amendment he wanted as a legacy.

Bricker was born in 1893 in Ohio and had a rural background as a farm kid. After war service he opened up a law office in Columbus, but soon went into politics and served as city solicitor for his
hometown of Grandview, a member of the Ohio Public Service Commission, Assistant Attorney General and then elected Attorney General of Ohio as a Republican in the real bad GOP year of 1932.

He ran and lost for Governor in 1936 but came back and became Ohio's Governor in 1938 the first
of three two year terms. He was ambitious, but a Senator named Bob Taft was in his way in Ohio.

Bricker gave Ohio a cost cutting conservative government which was generally popular. He almost
ended his career when a financial shortfall left Cleveland short of relief money. There were actual
bread riots there for a brief period before money was found.

Bricker thought of himself as presidential material and started a run in 1944. But a devastating
article by William Allen White labeled him in White's phrase 'an honest Harding'. Bricker looked
a bit like the scandal ridden president from Ohio and the results were bad. He never got back on
track with his candidacy. But for Tom Dewey when he couldn't get Governor Earl Warren as a
running mate in 1944 settled on Bricker as a gesture to the GOP right wing. Of course they lost to
FDR running for his 4th term and Bricker was unemployed.

Dewey didn't think much of Bricker and neither did Bob Taft who came through a tough re-election
of his own in 1944. Bricker's fortunes turned up in 1946 when he was elected to the US Senate and
allied himself with the right wing of the GOP. Bricker was also the target of an assassination attempt in 1947 by a deranged former Capitol hill policeman who fired several shots at him but
missed. He blamed Bricker for his financial reverses.

Bricker's big crusade was a Constitutional Amendment that would limit the president's treaty making powers and ban executive agreements. Several versions of this were introduced by Bricker
and in a long fight over a few years President Eisenhower and his Secretary of State John Foster
Dulles managed to beat it back.

In 1958 Bricker was a heavy favorite for re-election, so much so that the Democrats practically conceded the seat nominating a 70 year old former Representative named Stephen M. Young as their candidate. But in that year there was an effort to pass right to work legislation in a lot of
states including Ohio. It was a disaster for the GOP and Young beat Bricker for a third term.

By the way Young himself is an interesting character and worthy of a biography.

Bricker lived in a biter exile and died in 1986 almost forgotten by all but students of the period.
He's a great example of the conservative mentality of the time.