Alexander Wiley
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Alexander Wiley (May 26, 1884 – October 26, 1967) was an American politician who served four terms in the
United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
for the state of
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from 1939 to 1963. When he left the Senate, he was its most senior Republican member.


Biography

Wiley was born in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. He received his undergraduate education at Augsburg College in
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and the
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in
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. He received his law degree from the
University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...
in 1907 and was also admitted to the bar the same year. He served as the Chippewa County district attorney from 1909 to 1915. Wiley was the Republican candidate for
governor of Wisconsin The governor of Wisconsin is the head of government of Wisconsin and the commander-in-chief of the state's Wisconsin Army National Guard, army and Wisconsin Air National Guard, air forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the ...
in 1936, but his bid failed.
Philip La Follette Philip Fox La Follette (May 8, 1897August 18, 1965) was an American politician who served during the 1930s as the 27th and 29th governor of Wisconsin. La Follette first served as a Republican from 1931 until 1933, where he lost renomination in ...
and the new Wisconsin Progressive Party, which split from the Republicans in 1934, won the election. In 1938, Wiley was elected to the U.S. Senate, first defeating Tax Court judge Stephen J. McMahon to win the Republican nomination, and then defeating Democratic incumbent F. Ryan Duffy to win the seat. In 1944, Wiley was challenged by
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Captain Joseph R. McCarthy in the Republican
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. He defeated McCarthy and won the general election. Wiley, then an isolationist in foreign policy, and Governor Walter S. Goodland supported Republican presidential nominee Thomas E. Dewey in the
1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...
race over incumbent
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
, and Dewey won Wisconsin's electoral votes but fell short nationally. Wiley was re-elected two more times, in 1950 and 1956. He was challenged by
U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
Glenn Robert Davis in the 1956 Republican primary, but again prevailed. Wiley voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and
1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...
, as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In 1962, Wiley lost his bid for a fifth term to Governor
Gaylord Nelson Gaylord Anton Nelson (June 4, 1916July 3, 2005) was an American politician from Wisconsin who served as a United States senator and governor. He was a member of the Democratic Party and the founder of Earth Day, which launched a new wave of en ...
, a liberal Democrat. Wiley was the last Republican to serve as a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin until former 9th district congressman
Bob Kasten Robert Walter Kasten Jr. (born June 19, 1942) is an American Republican politician from the state of Wisconsin who served as a U.S. Representative from 1975 to 1979 and as a United States Senator from 1981 to 1993. Background Kasten was born ...
took office in 1981. Wiley had a distinguished Senate career that included the chairmanship of both the Foreign Relations and Judiciary committees. Wiley died in Germantown, Pennsylvania at age 83. He was interred at Forest Hill Cemetery in Chippewa Falls. During his lifetime he was a member of the
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, the
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, the Elks Club, the
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, the
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, the
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, the
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, and
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.


Notes


External links

, - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Wiley, Alexander 1884 births 1967 deaths District attorneys in Wisconsin Augsburg University alumni University of Michigan alumni University of Wisconsin Law School alumni Republican Party United States senators from Wisconsin Wisconsin Republicans Politicians from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations 20th-century Wisconsin politicians 20th-century United States senators