Name Josiah Bailey Succeeded by William B. Umstead Religion Baptist Party Democratic Party | Political party Democratic Education Wake Forest University Nationality American Role U.S. senator | |
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Born September 14, 1873
Warrenton, North Carolina ( 1873-09-14 ) Died December 15, 1946, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States | ||
Preceded by Furnifold McL. Simmons | ||
Josiah William Bailey (September 14, 1873 – December 15, 1946) was a Democratic U.S. senator from the state of North Carolina between 1931 and 1946. 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.
Elected to the U.S. Senate in 1930 by defeating longtime Democratic Senator 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.
During his time in office, he served as chairman of two different committees: the Committee on Claims and later the Committee on Commerce.
Bailey died in office in 1946.
He was well known for his quotes, especially for these two:
"They who forgive most shall be most forgiven."
"Since we humans have the better brain, isn't it our responsibility to protect our fellow creatures from, oddly enough, ourselves?"