Leslie C. Arends | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Arends in July 1973 | |
| House Minority Whip | |
| In office January 3, 1955 – December 31, 1974 | |
| Leader | Joseph W. Martin Jr. Charles A. Halleck Gerald Ford John J. Rhodes |
| Preceded by | John W. McCormack |
| Succeeded by | Robert H. Michel |
| In office January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1953 | |
| Leader | Joseph W. Martin Jr. |
| Preceded by | John W. McCormack |
| Succeeded by | John W. McCormack |
| In office May 13, 1943 – January 3, 1947 | |
| Leader | Joseph W. Martin Jr. |
| Preceded by | Harry L. Englebright |
| Succeeded by | John W. McCormack |
| House Majority Whip | |
| In office January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1955 | |
| Leader | Charles A. Halleck |
| Preceded by | Percy Priest |
| Succeeded by | Carl Albert |
| In office January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1949 | |
| Leader | Charles A. Halleck |
| Preceded by | John Sparkman |
| Succeeded by | Percy Priest |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromIllinois | |
| In office January 3, 1935 – December 31, 1974 | |
| Preceded by | Frank Gillespie |
| Succeeded by | Tim Lee Hall |
| Constituency | 17th district (1935–1973) 15th district (1973–1974) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Leslie Cornelius Arends (1895-09-27)September 27, 1895 Melvin, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | July 17, 1985(1985-07-17) (aged 89) Naples, Florida, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Betty Tychon |
| Children | 1 |
| Profession | Farmer Banker |
Leslie Cornelius Arends (September 27, 1895 – July 17, 1985) was aRepublican politician fromIllinois who served in theUnited States House of Representatives from 1935 until 1974.
A native and lifelong resident ofMelvin, Illinois, Arends attendedOberlin College and served in theUnited States Navy during World War I. He was involved in farming and banking; in addition to renting out several farms he owned, he eventually became president of the local bank his father had started.
Arends was elected to the U.S. House in 1934. He served from 1935 until resigning on December 31, 1974. From 1943 until his retirement, Arends served as the RepublicanWhip, holding the post during periods of Republican majority (1947-1949, 1953–1955) and minority (1943-1947, 1949–1953, 1955–1974). In addition, Arends rose by seniority to become the ranking minority member of theHouse Armed Services Committee.
A party loyalist, Arends opposed much government spending, and provided strong support to the party's presidential candidates. He remained loyal toRichard M. Nixon during theWatergate scandal, and indicated that he would not vote to impeach Nixon.
After resigning from the House, Arends served on thePresident's Intelligence Advisory Board, and lived in retirement in Melvin,Washington, DC, andNaples, Florida. He died in Naples, and was buried in Melvin.
Born inMelvin, Illinois, on September 27, 1895,[1] Arends was the youngest of ten children (only seven lived to adulthood) born to George Teis Arends and Talea (née Weiss) Arends.[2] His father was born in Peoria to parents who were both natives of Germany; his mother was born in Hanover, Germany.[3]
Arends attended the local schools and from 1912 to 1913 was a student atOberlin College in Ohio.[1] He enlisted in theUnited States Navy during World War I, where he played in the Navy band at numerous war bond rallies.[2] After his discharge he acquired and rented out several farms, and became active in banking.[4] He eventually became president of the Commercial State Bank in Melvin, which had been founded by his father.[1][4] He was a member of theFord County Farm Bureau,[2] and a member of the board of trustees ofIllinois Wesleyan University, which awarded him thehonorary degree ofLL.D. in 1962.[5][6]
In 1934, Arends was elected to the 74th Congress.[1] He was reelected nineteen times, and served from January 3, 1935, until resigning on December 31, 1974, a few days before the end of his final term.[7] He alternately served asmajority whip andminority whip for House Republicans from 1943 to 1974,[1] and was the longest-serving whip inU.S. House of Representatives history.[1] He rose through seniority to become the ranking Republican on theHouse Armed Services Committee,[4] where one of his pet projects was preventing the closure ofChanute Air Force Base in Illinois; it remained open until 1993.[4]
Arends represented a heavily Republican, largely ruraldownstate Illinois district. Conservative but pragmatic, he opposed much of theNew Deal and remained a staunchisolationist until America entered World War II.[1] After becoming minority whip in 1943, Arends helped create the powerfulConservative Coalition of Republicans and Southern Democrats who controlled the domestic agenda from 1937 to 1964.[8] He was reelected as whip amid Republican in-fighting following their large Congressional losses in the 1964 elections;[5] after their setback, House Republicans replaced leaderCharles Halleck withGerald Ford.[5] Ford backedPeter Frelinghuysen Jr. for Whip.[5] Arends had usually been reelected Whip without opposition, and despite a strong challenge from Frelinghuysen relied on personal relationships forged over thirty years to provide the votes that enabled him to retain the post.[5]
He supportedRobert A. Taft overDwight D. Eisenhower for the 1952 Republican presidential nomination,[9] and was an early supporter of the party's nomineesRichard M. Nixon andBarry Goldwater in the campaigns of the 1960s.[10][11][12] He organized the GOP opposition toLyndon B. Johnson'sGreat Society.[13] Arends voted in favor of theCivil Rights Acts of 1957,[14]1964,[15] and1968,[16] and theVoting Rights Act of 1965,[17] while Arends did not vote on theCivil Rights Act of 1960 and voted present on the24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.[18][19] During theWatergate scandal, Arends provided unwavering loyalty to PresidentRichard M. Nixon, and said he would not vote for impeachment, citing his strong personal friendship with Nixon and belief that Nixon had performed capably as president.[20] Despite the Whip challenge following the 1966 elections, Nixon's successor Gerald Ford and Arends maintained a close personal friendship, ensuring Arends a good relationship with the White House after Nixon's resignation.[21]
After leaving Congress, Arends served on thePresident's Intelligence Advisory Board,[4] and spent time at homes in Melvin,Naples, Florida, andWashington, DC.[1]
Arends's papers are part of the collections of Illinois Wesleyan University, and the university library's special collections room was named for him.[6]
Arends died in Naples on July 17, 1985,[1] and was buried at Melvin Cemetery in Melvin. He was survived by his wife Betty (Tychon) and daughter Leslie ("Letty").[1]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromIllinois's 17th congressional district January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1973 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromIllinois's 15th congressional district January 3, 1973 – December 31, 1974 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Republican Whip of the U.S. House of Representatives May 13, 1943 – December 31, 1974 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minority Whip of the U.S. House of Representatives May 13, 1943 – January 3, 1947 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Majority Whip of the U.S. House of Representatives January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1949 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minority Whip of the U.S. House of Representatives January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1953 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Majority Whip of the U.S. House of Representatives January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1955 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minority Whip of the U.S. House of Representatives January 3, 1955 – December 31, 1974 | Succeeded by |
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