View source for Jennings Randolph

{{Short description|American politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Jennings Randolph
| image = Jennings Randolph official portrait.jpg
| image_size = 
| caption = Official portrait, 1958
| jr/sr = United States Senator
| state = [[West Virginia]]
| party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| term_start = November 5, 1958
| term_end = January 3, 1985
| predecessor = [[John D. Hoblitzell Jr.]]
| successor = [[Jay Rockefeller]]
| district2 = [[West Virginia's 2nd congressional district|2nd]]
| state2 = [[West Virginia]]
| term_start2 = March 4, 1933
| term_end2 = January 3, 1947
| predecessor2 = [[Frank L. Bowman]]
| successor2 = [[Melvin C. Snyder]]
| birth_date = {{birth date|1902|3|8}}
| birth_place = [[Salem, West Virginia]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1998|5|8|1902|3|8}}
| death_place = [[St. Louis]], [[Missouri]], U.S.
| spouse = {{Marriage|Mary Katherine Babb|February 18, 1933|March 10, 1981|end=died}}
| education = [[Salem University|Salem College]]
}}

'''Jennings Randolph''' (March 8, 1902{{spaced ndash}}May 8, 1998) was an American politician from [[West Virginia]]. A [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]], he was most notable for his service in the [[United States House of Representatives]] from 1933 to 1947 and the [[United States Senate]] from 1958 to 1985. He was the last living member of the United States Congress to have served during the first 100 days of [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]'s administration. Randolph retired in 1985, and was succeeded by [[Jay Rockefeller]].<ref>See Christopher Price, "Peace and Progress: The Life and Political Contributions of Senator Jennings Randolph." ''West Virginia History'' 14.2 (2020): 1-27.</ref>

==Early life and career==
Randolph was born in [[Salem, West Virginia]], the son of Idell (Bingham) and Ernest Fitz Randolph.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mhY5AQAAMAAJ&q=%22Ernest+and+Idell+(Bingham)+Randolph%22|title=Official Congressional Directory|last=United States Congress|date=Aug 25, 1962|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|access-date=Aug 25, 2019|via=Google Books}}</ref> He was named after [[William Jennings Bryan]].<ref>{{cite book |date=1963 |title=Current Biography Yearbook |volume=23 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FQsaAAAAYAAJ&q=%22jennings+randolph%22+named+for+%22william+jennings+bryan%22 |location=New York, NY |publisher=H. W. Wilson Company |page=344}}</ref> Both his grandfather and father had been mayors of Salem.

He attended the public schools and graduated from the Salem Academy in 1920 and [[Salem University|Salem College]] in 1922. In 1924 he engaged in newspaper work in [[Clarksburg, West Virginia]]. He was the associate editor of the West Virginia Review at [[Charleston, West Virginia]] in 1925; head of the department of public speaking and journalism at Davis and Elkins College at [[Elkins, West Virginia]], 1926–1932; and a trustee of Salem College and [[Davis and Elkins College]].

In 1930 Randolph lost a bid for election to the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]], but he won the seat in 1932 and was re-elected six times, serving from March 4, 1933, to January 3, 1947. While a congressman, he was chairman of the [[U.S. House Committee on the District of Columbia]] (Seventy-sixth through Seventy-ninth Congresses) and the U.S. House Committee on Civil Service (Seventy-ninth Congress).
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Jennings Randolph.gif|left|thumb|Jennings Randolph and Jimmy Carter in the Oval Office. (National Archives)]] -->

Randolph was defeated for re-election in the Republican landslide of 1946. He had a longtime association with [[Southeastern University (Washington, D.C.)|Southeastern University]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], serving as a professor of public speaking there from 1935–1953, and dean of the School of Business Administration from 1952 to 1958. In February 1947 he became assistant to the president and director of public relations at Capital Airlines (later purchased by [[United Airlines]]) in Washington, giving up those positions in April 1958 to focus on his campaign for the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]].

==U.S. Senate==
Randolph was elected in a [[1958 United States Senate special election in West Virginia|special election]] on November 4, 1958 to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of [[Matthew M. Neely]].  He was re-elected to a full term in [[1960 United States Senate election in West Virginia|1960]], re-elected in [[1966 United States Senate election in West Virginia|1966]], [[1972 United States Senate election in West Virginia|1972]] and [[1978 United States Senate election in West Virginia|1978]], and served from November 5, 1958 to January 3, 1985. Randolph was chairman of the Committee on Public Works ([[89th United States Congress|89th]] through [[95th United States Congress|95th Congress]]es) and its successor, the Committee on Environment and Public Works (95th and [[96th United States Congress|96th Congress]]es).  He was not a candidate for reelection in [[1984 United States Senate election in West Virginia|1984]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Barone |first1=Michael |author-link1=Michael Barone (pundit) |last2=Ujifusa |first2=Grant |title=[[The Almanac of American Politics|The Almanac of American Politics 1988]] |work=[[National Journal]] |year=1987 |page=1271}}</ref>

==Legislation==
Randolph voted in favor of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1960|Civil Rights Acts of 1960]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/86-1960/s284|title=HR. 8601. PASSAGE OF AMENDED BILL.}}</ref> [[Civil Rights Act of 1964|1964]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/88-1964/s409|title=HR. 7152. PASSAGE.}}</ref> and [[Civil Rights Act of 1968|1968]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/90-1968/s346|title=TO PASS H.R. 2516, A BILL TO PROHIBIT DISCRIMINATION IN SALE OR RENTAL OF HOUSING, AND TO PROHIBIT RACIALLY MOTIVATED INTERFERENCE WITH A PERSON EXERCISING HIS CIVIL RIGHTS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.}}</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> the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/89-1965/s78|title=TO PASS S. 1564, THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965.}}</ref> and the confirmation of [[Thurgood Marshall]] to the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/90-1967/s176|title=CONFIRMATION OF NOMINATION OF THURGOOD MARSHALL, THE FIRST NEGRO APPOINTED TO THE SUPREME COURT.|work=GovTrack.us}}</ref> On November 4, 1977, President [[Jimmy Carter]] signed environmental bills H.R. 2817 and H.R. 4297, singling Randolph out as the sole senator he wanted to thank for their passage.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=6883|title=Bills Concerning the Environment Remarks on Signing H.R. 2817 and H.R. 4297 into Law.|date=November 4, 1977|publisher=American Presidency Project|first=Jimmy|last=Carter|author-link=Jimmy Carter}}</ref>

===Twenty-Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution===
{{main article|Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution}}
Randolph was best known for sponsoring eleven times an amendment to the [[Constitution]] that would grant citizens aged between 18 and 21 the right to vote. He first introduced the amendment in 1942, arguing that young soldiers fighting in [[World War II]] should be able to vote. In 1970 amendments to the [[Voting Rights Act]] lowered the voting age to 18 in both local and national elections. After the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] found in ''[[Oregon v. Mitchell]]'' that Congress only had the power to lower the voting age to 18 for national elections, and no power to lower it for state elections, Randolph was among the senators who re-introduced the amendment. It was ratified by three-fourths of the states in 1971 as the [[Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Twenty-sixth Amendment]], 107 days after it was approved by Congress.

Following a request from President [[Richard Nixon]], on February 11, 1972 Jennings personally escorted Ella Mae Thompson Haddix to [[Randolph County Courthouse and Jail|Randolph County Courthouse]] in [[Elkins, West Virginia]] to register to vote, becoming the first 18-year-old registered voter in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theintermountain.com/news/local-news/2022/02/late-sen-jennings-randolph-honored/ |title=Late Sen. Jennings Randolph honored |last=Johnson |first=Brad |last2=Kelly |first2=Edgar |date=February 14, 2022 |publisher=The Inter-Mountain |access-date=September 6, 2024}}</ref>

===Equal Rights Amendment===
On August 26, 1970, the fiftieth anniversary of the ratification of the [[Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution]] giving [[History of women's suffrage in the United States|women the right to vote]], Randolph attracted widespread media coverage for negative comments he made concerning the [[Second-wave feminism|Women's Liberation Movement]].<ref>{{YouTube|E9TlSiMSdPk|Women's Liberation circa 1970}}. Retrieved on 2013-07-24.</ref> Feminists had organized a nationwide [[Women's Strike for Equality]] that day, and presented the sympathetic Senate leadership with a petition for the [[Equal Rights Amendment]]. Randolph derided the protesters as "braless bubbleheads" and claimed that the equal rights activists did not speak for women, citing those more radical feminists that supported, as he put it, the "right to unabridged abortions". Randolph would later admit that his "bubbleheads" comment was "perhaps ill-chosen" and went on to support the Equal Rights Amendment. In 1972, when the amendment passed the Senate, Randolph was a co-sponsor.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/09/us/senator-jennings-randolph-of-west-virginia-dies-at-96.html?pagewanted=1 Senator Jennings Randolph of West Virginia Dies at 96 - New York Times]. Nytimes.com (1998-05-09). Retrieved on 2013-07-24.</ref>

===Randolph-Sheppard Act===
{{main article|Randolph-Sheppard Act}}
While a member of the House of Representatives, Randolph was the main sponsor of the [[Randolph-Sheppard Act]], which was passed by Congress in 1936. This act, which is still in force, gives [[blindness|blind people]] preference in federal contracts for food service stands on federal properties such as military bases, as well as some other jobs. Organizations for blind people such as the [[National Federation of the Blind]] cite this act as one of the first and most successful programs to give blind people secure jobs with less supervision and more independence than other previous programs such as sheltered workshops. This act became one of the first instances of [[affirmative action]] legislation.

===Aeronautics legislation===
{{main article|Civil Aeronautics Act}}
An aviation enthusiast, he often flew more than once a day to visit constituents in West Virginia and to commute to Washington. He was the founder and first president of the Congressional Flying Club. He was a strong advocate for programs to advance air travel and airport development. In 1938 he sponsored the [[Civil Aeronautics Act]], which transferred the federal civil aviation responsibilities from the [[Department of Commerce]] to a new independent agency, the [[Civil Aeronautics Authority]] (CAA). The legislation gave the CAA the power to regulate airline fares and to determine the routes that air carriers would serve. In subsequent years, Randolph co-authored the Federal Airport Act as well as legislation that created the [[Civil Air Patrol]], the [[National Air and Space Museum]], and [[National Aviation Day]]. During his tenure in the Senate, he sponsored the Airport-Airways Development Act that created the Airport Trust Fund. As a co-author of the Appalachian Regional Development Act, he included provisions for the development of rural airports.

===Synthetic Liquid Fuels Act===
{{main article|Synthetic Liquid Fuels Program}}
In 1942 Randolph proposed a [[Synthetic Liquid Fuels Act]], which would fund the transformation of coal and its products into other useful forms of energy. To promote the viability of [[synthetic fuel]]s, in November 1943 Randolph and a professional pilot flew in an aircraft powered by gasoline derived from coal. The small, single-engine airplane flew from [[Morgantown, West Virginia]] to National Airport in [[Washington, D.C.]] Aided by Interior Secretary [[Harold L. Ickes|Harold Ickes]] and Senator [[Joseph C. O'Mahoney]], the Synthetic Liquid Fuels Act was approved on April 5, 1944. The Act authorized $30 million for the construction and operation of [[Bergius process|demonstration plants]] to produce synthetic liquid fuels.

===Department of Peace===
{{main article|Department of Peace}}
He introduced legislation to establish a [[Department of Peace]] in 1946 with the goal of strengthening America's capacity to resolve and manage international conflicts by both military and nonmilitary means. In the 1970s and 1980s he joined senators [[Mark Hatfield]] and [[Spark Matsunaga]] and Congressman [[Dan Glickman]] in efforts to create a national institution dedicated to peace. After he had announced his retirement from Congress in 1984, Randolph played a key role in the passage and enactment of the [[United States Institute of Peace]] Act. To guarantee its passage and funding, the legislation was attached to the Department of Defense Authorization Act of 1985. Approval of the legislation was in part a tribute to Randolph's long career in public service. The Jennings Randolph Program, which awards fellowships to enable outstanding scholars, policymakers, journalists, and other professionals from around the world to conduct research at the U.S. Institute of Peace, has been named in his honor.

==Life outside Congress==
* Randolph's early career is recounted in [[Napoleon Hill]]'s self-help book, ''[[Think and Grow Rich]]''. Hill gave the commencement address at Randolph's graduation from Salem College; Randolph was deeply moved and inspired by the address. Later, when Randolph was elected to Congress, he wrote to Hill, urging him to turn the speech into a printed book. The text of this letter appears in the book.
* Randolph married Mary Katherine Babb on February 18, 1933. She died of cancer on March 10, 1981, and the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center at [[West Virginia University]] is named for her.<ref>[http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/Eve=3]{{dead link|date=July 2013}}</ref>
* Randolph wrote a book along with [[James A. Bell]] called ''"Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen... : A Practical Guide to Public Speaking,"'' which was published in 1939.
* Randolph's son, [[Jay Randolph]], is a longtime television [[sportscaster]] for [[NBC Sports|NBC]], and [[KSDK]] for [[St. Louis Cardinals|Cardinals]] games in [[St. Louis]].
* His grandson, Jay Randolph Jr., was the lead anchor of the [[PGA Tour Network]] on [[XM Satellite Radio]], and hosted a sports talk show on St. Louis radio station KFNS before passing in 2022.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.stltoday.com/sports/other/st-louis-sportscaster-golf-figure-jay-randolph-jr-dies-at-53-after-brief-illness/article_cfe0cf6f-0358-5a66-870c-341150b5f30e.html| title = St. Louis sportscaster, golf figure Jay Randolph Jr. dies at 53 after brief illness {{!}} stltoday.com}}</ref>
* [[Jennings Randolph Lake]], in [[Mineral County, West Virginia]] and [[Garrett County, Maryland]], is named in his honor. The [[Jennings Randolph Bridge]] that carries U.S. Route 30 across the Ohio River between Chester, West Virginia, and East Liverpool, Ohio, also is named for him. In West Virginia, [[Interstate 79]] is known as the ''Jennings Randolph Expressway''.
* Randolph was de facto chairman of [[Agri-Energy Roundtable|Agri-Energy Roundtable (AER)]], a nongovernmental organization (NGO) accredited by the United Nations, and led U.S. delegations to seven AER annual conferences in Geneva, Switzerland (1981–1987).
* Randolph was the winner of the George S. Bartlett Award for road transportation in 1971.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.trb.org/AboutTRB/BartlettAward.aspx|title = Bartlett Award &#124; About TRB}}</ref>

==Death==
Randolph died in [[St. Louis, Missouri]] in 1998. He was interred at [[Seventh Day Baptist]] Cemetery in [[Salem, West Virginia]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Price, Christopher. "Peace and Progress: The Life and Political Contributions of Senator Jennings Randolph." ''West Virginia History'' 14.2 (2020): 1-27.

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* {{Biographical Directory of Congress|R000046}}
* {{Find a Grave|8188526}}
* [https://www.agribusinesscouncil.org/randolph.htm Jennings Randolph Recognition Project (JRRP)]
* [https://archive.wvculture.org/history/collections/randolph/ms2017-016.html Jennings Randolph Collection]
* {{C-SPAN|31567}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Matthew M. Neely]]}}
{{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee for [[List of United States senators from West Virginia|U.S. Senator]] from [[West Virginia]]}}<br />([[Classes of United States senators|Class 2]])|years=[[1958 United States Senate special election in West Virginia|1958]], [[1960 United States Senate election in West Virginia|1960]], [[1966 United States Senate election in West Virginia|1966]], [[1972 United States Senate election in West Virginia|1972]], [[1978 United States Senate election in West Virginia|1978]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Jay Rockefeller]]}}
{{s-par|us-hs}}
{{US House succession box
| before = [[Frank L. Bowman]] 
| state=West Virginia 
| district=2
| years = March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1947 
| after = [[Melvin C. Snyder]]}}
|-
{{s-par|us-sen}}
{{U.S. Senator box
| before = [[John D. Hoblitzell, Jr.]] 
| class=2 
| state=West Virginia
| alongside = [[W. Chapman Revercomb]], [[Robert Byrd|Robert C. Byrd]]
| years = November 5, 1958 – January 3, 1985
| after = [[Jay Rockefeller]]}}
|-
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Patrick V. McNamara]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Chairman of [[United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works|Senate Public Works Committee]]|years=1966–1977}}
{{s-non|reason=Committee replaced by <br>[[United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works|Environment and Public Works Committee]]}}
|-
{{s-new|reason=Committee created to replace Public Works Committee}}
{{s-ttl|title=Chairman of [[United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works|Senate Environment and<br> Public Works Committee]]|years=1977–1981}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Robert Stafford]]}}
|-
{{s-hon}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Victor Christgau]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Most senior living U.S. representative<br />(Sitting or former)|years=October 10, 1991&nbsp;– May 8, 1998|alongside=[[Robert T. Secrest]] {{small|(until May 15, 1994)}}}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Carl Curtis]]}}
|-
{{succession box
| title=Oldest living United States senator<br/>(Sitting or former)
| before=[[Margaret Chase Smith]]
| after=[[Strom Thurmond]]
|years= May 29, 1995 – May 8, 1998}}
|-
{{succession box
| title=Oldest living United States representative<br/>(Sitting or former)
| before=[[Harry P. Jeffrey]]
| after=[[Ellis Yarnal Berry]]
|years= January 4, 1997 – May 8, 1998}}
{{s-end}}

{{USSenWV}}
{{SenPublic WorksCommitteeChairmen}}
{{US House District of Columbia chairs}}
{{US House Post Office and Civil Service chairs}}
{{WestVirginiaUSRepresentatives}}
{{United States presidential election, 1964}}
{{United States presidential election, 1976}}
{{USCongRep-start
| congresses= 73rd–79th and 85th–98th [[United States Congress]]
| state= [[United States congressional delegations from West Virginia|West Virginia]]}}
{{USCongRep/WV/73}}
{{USCongRep/WV/74}}
{{USCongRep/WV/75}}
{{USCongRep/WV/76}}
{{USCongRep/WV/77}}
{{USCongRep/WV/78}}
{{USCongRep/WV/79}}
{{USCongRep/WV/85}}
{{USCongRep/WV/86}}
{{USCongRep/WV/87}}
{{USCongRep/WV/88}}
{{USCongRep/WV/89}}
{{USCongRep/WV/90}}
{{USCongRep/WV/91}}
{{USCongRep/WV/92}}
{{USCongRep/WV/93}}
{{USCongRep/WV/94}}
{{USCongRep/WV/95}}
{{USCongRep/WV/96}}
{{USCongRep/WV/97}}
{{USCongRep/WV/98}}
{{USCongRep-end}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Randolph, Jennings}}
[[Category:1902 births]]
[[Category:1998 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American educators]]
[[Category:Baptists from West Virginia]]
[[Category:Candidates in the 1964 United States presidential election]]
[[Category:Candidates in the 1976 United States presidential election]]
[[Category:Candidates in the 1980 United States presidential election]]
[[Category:Davis & Elkins College faculty]]
[[Category:Davis & Elkins College trustees]]
[[Category:Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from West Virginia]]
[[Category:Democratic Party United States senators from West Virginia]]
[[Category:Editors of West Virginia newspapers]]
[[Category:People from Salem, West Virginia]]
[[Category:Randolph family (Virginia)|Jennings]]
[[Category:Salem International University alumni]]
[[Category:Salem University trustees]]
[[Category:Seventh Day Baptists]]
[[Category:Southeastern University (Washington, D.C.) faculty]]
[[Category:Writers from West Virginia]]
[[Category:20th-century West Virginia politicians]]
[[Category:20th-century United States senators]]
[[Category:20th-century United States representatives]]