View source for Alexander Wiley

{{Short description|American politician (1884–1967)}}
{{For|those of a similar name|Alexander Wylie (disambiguation)}}
{{redirect|Senator Wiley}}

{{Infobox officeholder
| name=Alexander Wiley
| image name=Senator Alexander Wiley (cropped, 4x5).jpg
| caption = Wiley in April 1939
| jr/sr=United States Senator
| state=[[Wisconsin]]
| party=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| term_start=January 3, 1939
| term_end=January 3, 1963
| preceded=[[F. Ryan Duffy]]
| succeeded=[[Gaylord Nelson]]
| birth_date={{birth date|1884|5|26|mf=y}}
| birth_place=[[Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin]], U.S.
| death_date={{death date and age|1967|10|26|1884|5|26|mf=y}}
| death_place=[[Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Germantown, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
| occupation=Attorney, Politician
| alma_mater=[[University of Michigan]]<br>[[University of Wisconsin Law School]]
}}
'''Alexander Wiley''' (May 26, 1884 – October 26, 1967) was an American politician who served four terms in the [[United States Senate]] for the state of [[Wisconsin]] from 1939 to 1963. When he left the Senate, he was its [[List of United States Senators in the 87th Congress by seniority|most senior]] [[United States Republican Party|Republican]] member.

==Biography==
[[File:Alexander Wiley.png|upright=0.85|thumb|left|Wiley in 1940]]
Wiley was born in [[Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin|Chippewa Falls]], Wisconsin. He received his undergraduate education at [[Augsburg College]] in [[Minnesota]] and the [[University of Michigan]] in [[Ann Arbor, Michigan]]. He received his law degree from the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison]] in 1907 and was also admitted to the bar the same year. He served as the [[Chippewa County, Wisconsin|Chippewa County]] district attorney from 1909 to 1915.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/index.asp?action=view&term_id=2962&keyword=wiley |title=Wisconsin Historical Society-Alexander Wiley |access-date=2008-03-15 |archive-date=2008-08-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080824125629/http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/index.asp?action=view |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Wiley was the Republican candidate for [[governor of Wisconsin]] in 1936, but his bid failed. [[Philip La Follette]] 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 [[United States Marine Corps]] Captain [[Joseph R. McCarthy]] in the Republican [[Partisan primary|primary]]. 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 U.S. presidential election|1944]] race over incumbent [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], and Dewey won Wisconsin's electoral votes but fell short nationally.<ref>David M. Jordan, ''FDR, Dewey, and the Election of 1944'' ([[Bloomington, Indiana|Bloomington]], [[Indiana]]: [[Indiana University Press]], 2011), p. 279, {{ISBN|978-0-253-35683-3}}</ref>

Wiley was re-elected two more times, in 1950 and 1956. He was challenged by [[U.S. Representative]] [[Glenn Robert Davis]] in the 1956 Republican primary, but again prevailed. Wiley voted in favor of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1957|Civil Rights Acts of 1957]] and [[Civil Rights Act of 1960|1960]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/85-1957/s75|title=HR. 6127. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1957.|work=GovTrack.us}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/86-1960/s284|title=HR. 8601. PASSAGE OF AMENDED BILL.}}</ref> as well as the [[Twenty-fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution|24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/87-1962/s226|title=S.J. RES. 29. APPROVAL OF RESOLUTION BANNING THE POLL TAX AS PREREQUISITE FOR VOTING IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS.|work=GovTrack.us}}</ref> In 1962, Wiley lost his bid for a fifth term to Governor [[Gaylord Nelson]], a [[Liberal (politics)|liberal]] [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]]. Wiley was the last Republican to serve as a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin until former [[Wisconsin's 9th congressional district|9th district]] congressman [[Bob Kasten]] 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, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Germantown, Pennsylvania]] at age 83.<ref>{{cite news|title=Former Sen. Wiley Is Dead at 83 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5094139/alexander_wiley_18841967/|newspaper=The La Crosse Tribune |date=October 27, 1967|page=1|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|access-date = April 29, 2016}} {{Open access}}</ref> He was interred at Forest Hill Cemetery in Chippewa Falls. During his lifetime he was a member of the [[Freemasons]], the [[Knights Templar (Freemasonry)|Knights Templar]], the [[Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks|Elks Club]], the [[Kiwanis]], the [[Knights of Pythias]], the [[Moose International]], the [[Sons of Norway]], and [[Sigma Phi Epsilon]].

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
{{CongBio|W000465}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=Howard Greene}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee for [[Governor of Wisconsin]]|years=[[1936 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1936]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Julius P. Heil]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[John B. Chapple]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee for [[List of United States Senators from Wisconsin|U.S. Senator]] from [[Wisconsin]]<br>([[Classes of United States Senators|Class 3]])|years=[[1938 United States Senate election in Wisconsin|1938]], [[1944 United States Senate election in Wisconsin|1944]], [[1950 United States Senate election in Wisconsin|1950]], [[1956 United States Senate election in Wisconsin|1956]], [[1962 United States Senate election in Wisconsin|1962]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Jerris Leonard]]}}
|-
{{s-par|us-sen}}
{{U.S. Senator box 
| before = [[F. Ryan Duffy]] 
| state = Wisconsin 
| class=3 
| years = 1939–1963 
| after = [[Gaylord A. Nelson]] 
| alongside=[[Robert M. La Follette, Jr.]], [[Joseph McCarthy]], [[William Proxmire]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|rows=2|before=[[Pat McCarran]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Chair of the [[United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary|Senate Judiciary Committee]]|years=1947–1949}}
{{s-aft|rows=2|after=Pat McCarran}}
|-
{{s-ttl|title=Ranking Member of the [[United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary|Senate Judiciary Committee]]|years=1949–1953}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Arthur Vandenberg]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Ranking Member of the [[United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations|Senate Foreign Relations Committee]]|years=1951–1953}}
{{s-aft|rows=2|after=[[Walter F. George]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Tom Connally]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Chair of the [[United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations|Senate Foreign Relations Committee]]|years=1953–1955}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=Walter F. George}}
{{s-ttl|title=Ranking Member of the [[United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations|Senate Foreign Relations Committee]]|years=1955–1963}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Bourke B. Hickenlooper]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=Pat McCarran}}
{{s-ttl|title=Ranking Member of the [[United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary|Senate Judiciary Committee]]|years=1955–1963}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Everett Dirksen]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Styles Bridges]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Ranking Member of the [[United States Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences|Senate Space Committee]]|years=1961–1963}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Margaret Chase Smith]]}}
|-
{{s-hon}}
{{s-bef|before=Styles Bridges}}
{{s-ttl|title=Most senior [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[United States senator]]|years=1961–1963}}
{{s-aft|after=[[George Aiken]]}}
{{s-end}}

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{{USCongRep-start|congresses=76th–87th [[United States Congress]]es|state=[[Wisconsin]]}}
{{USCongRep/WI/76}}
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{{USCongRep/WI/86}}
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{{USCongRep-end}}
{{Authority control}}

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