Josiah Bailey

Born in Warrenton, North Carolina, he grew up in Raleigh and graduated from Wake Forest College (now Wake Forest University).

Before turning to a career in law, Bailey was editor of the Biblical Recorder, a newspaper for North Carolina Baptists. He was a presidential electorin1908.^[1]

Elected to the United States Senate in 1930, defeating longtime incumbent Furnifold McLendel Simmons, Bailey earned a reputation as a conservative while in office. In 1937, he coauthored the bipartisan Conservative Manifesto, a document criticizing President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal and proposing more conservative alternatives. Among other things, the Manifesto called for lower taxes and less spending.^[2]

That same year, Bailey gave a rousing floor speech against President Roosevelt's court-packing bill, which convinced at least three freshman Republicans, thought by Majority Leader Joe Robinson to be definite supporters, to oppose the measure.^[3]

A segregationist and white supremacist, Bailey filibustered anti-lynching legislation in 1938.^[4]

During his time in office, he served as chairman of the Committee on Claims and Committee on Commerce.

Bailey died in office in 1946.

• List of United States Congress members who died in office (1900–49)

• Finley, Keith M. Delaying the Dream: Southern Senators and the Fight Against Civil Rights, 1938–1965 (Baton Rouge, LSU Press, 2008).

• Moore, John Robert. Senator Josiah William Bailey of North Carolina: A Political Biography. Durham: Duke University Press, 1968.

• United States Congress. "Josiah Bailey (id: B000046)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• The "Conservative Manifesto" from the North Carolina History Project
• Biblical Recorder Column on Bailey at the Wayback Machine (archived September 28, 2007)
• "Taking on FDR: Senator Josiah Bailey and the 1937 Conservative Manifesto" by Troy Kickler, December 13, 2006
• Raleigh News & Observer Column on Bailey's Friendship with Huey Long ^{[dead link]}
• Josiah William Bailey at Find-A-Grave
• Josiah Bailey papers. 1773–1867. 2" linear. At the University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections.