On a muggy September afternoon, gregarious Congressman Charles A. Halleck, flanked by wife Blanche and former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, blinked back tears. Known for his oratorical prowess, Representative Halleck stood speechless before a large crowd in his hometown of Rensselaer, Indiana. From the lawn of St. Joseph’s College, Hoosiers keenly observed the political titans—both clad in collegiate cap and gown—at a dedication ceremony for the Halleck Student Center.[1] Laying of the cornerstone was just the tip of the “Charlie Halleck Day” iceberg. Accounts of the 1962 festivities provide a window into the friendship of Charlie and Ike and help humanize the nation’s leaders.
Although Halleck proudly donated to St. Joseph’s and served as a lay trustee for the college, he was actually an Indiana University alum. Born in DeMotte in 1900, the Halleck family moved to Rensselaer when Charles was just two years old. In 1922, he earned his A.B. from IU and his LL.B. in 1924, successfully campaigning for Jasper-Newton County Prosecutor in his last year of law school.[2] His seemingly limitless energy on the campaign trail and artful speeches helped secure his election. The young attorney served in this role from 1924 to 1926 and 1928 to 1934.[3] But he had bigger ambitions.
After the sudden death of U.S. Rep. Frederick Landis in 1934, the Second District held a special election. Halleck’s ability to mobilize once again got him into office and, at 35, he became one of twelve Hoosier representatives in Congress. He was the only Republican in this cohort, which, according to the Indianapolis News, reflected his district’s disdain for the New Deal.[4] At a public celebration in Rensselaer a few days later, Halleck introduced his mother to the crowd, telling them she deserved most of the credit for the victory, having “‘given him the spirit and inspiration to go through the successful campaign.'”[5]
Congressman Halleck’s adroit political maneuvering and ability to whip up votes kept him in office until 1969, and earned him appointments as Majority Leader (1947-1949, 1953-1955) and Minority Leader (1959-1965).[6] From the Great Depression to the Vietnam War, his tenure spanned some of the most significant events and legislation in American history. After World War II, Rep. Halleck joined a contingent of lawmakers who focused on identifying and ousting Communists in America. As Majority Leader, he shepherded passage of the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act, which limited the power of labor unions, whose members many conflated with Communists. Halleck ascribed to this belief, but also supported the bill because labor strikes had paralyzed parts of the country, as reflected in a letter from a constituent who wrote “Those labor troubles, strikes and slow-downs, deprived farmers of much needed machinery and supplies.”[7] Halleck’s deft politicking was evident after he whipped up enough votes to override President Harry S. Truman’s veto of the bill.
Halleck and Truman unified over the Economic Recovery Plan, better known as the 1948 Marshall Plan. Foreign Affairs Specialist Curt Tarnoff described the legislation in his 2018 “The Marshall Plan: Design, Accomplishments, and Significance” as:
An effort to prevent the economic deterioration of postwar Europe, expansion of communism, and stagnation of world trade, the Plan sought to stimulate European production, promote adoption of policies leading to stable economies, and take measures to increase trade among European countries and between Europe and the rest of the world.[8]
Truman solicited a massive aid package, hoping to help alleviate the suffering of those in war-ravaged countries and to make them less vulnerable to Communist forces. Halleck used his influence as Majority Leader to convince his congressional colleagues to support the program, which Tarnoff noted was “considered by many to have been the most effective ever of U.S. foreign aid programs.”[9]
While Halleck publicly scrutinized Truman, accusing him of aligning with “radicals and Communists” with his labor bill veto, he later told an interviewer “I enjoyed working with him. He’s undoubtedly got a place in history.”[10] But Eisenhower? Halleck stated:
my association with President Eisenhower was one of the happiest, greatest experiences of my life. And understand I had served thirty-four years, had been majority leader twice, minority leader three times, I’ve been through wars, depressions, and whole ball of wax and I know them all.[11]
The feeling was seemingly mutual. When Eisenhower first entered the Oval Office as President in January 1953, he had never been elected to public office and had virtually no legislative experience. Someone like Congressman Halleck, who spent decades in Capitol Hill and knew its inner-workings intimately, proved invaluable to the 34th President. Halleck biographer Henry Scheele wrote that Halleck “emerged as the president’s chief legislative lieutenant on Capitol Hill.” This was, in large part, because he was an “expert on the subtleties of parliamentary procedure.”[12] A 1959 TIME article detailed why Halleck was such an asset to the Eisenhower administration, noting that Halleck:
goes into great and colloquial detail to explain what decisions were made—and why. The minutes of Policy Committee meetings are mimeographed and placed on each Republican’s desk. Not in many a long year have the Republican members of the House been so fully informed about the party line and positions, and the results can be found in their cohesiveness on vote after vote this year.[13]
Halleck would prove one of Eisenhower’s staunchest advocates, bullish in his pursuit of advancing the President’s initiatives, browbeating lawmakers, if necessary. Through his tenacity, he helped Eisenhower extend reciprocal trade agreements, pass the Civil Rights Act of 1957, and kill a “heavy protectionist tariff proposal.”[14] Scheele noted that before submitting a bill to the House, Eisenhower always sought out Halleck’s input. In his 1963 Mandate for Change, Eisenhower wrote that Halleck was a “fighting leader and was valuable to me.” Therefore, when Democrats swept the 1954 elections and ousted Halleck as Majority Leader, Eisenhower wrote “I personally insisted that Halleck still attend the Legislative-leaders meetings at the White House.”[15]
The two worked even more closely when Halleck was appointed Minority Leader in 1959. TIME profiled Halleck’s new role, highlighting the fact that he:
helped bring White House and congressional Republicans closer together than at any other time during the Eisenhower Administration. As never before, Congressmen are informed about Administration aims, and the President gets an accurate and detailed picture of congressional sentiment.[16]
Although he could be pugnacious, Halleck understood the value of comradery and often invited his Republican colleagues to “get together for political shoptalk” over drinks. To further boost morale, he routinely furnished the Commander in Chief with the names of Congressmen worthy of a letter of appreciation.
TIME reported that because of Halleck’s influence, Republican lawmakers worked much more cohesively and their weekly legislative conferences had “passed from pain to pleasure.” Eisenhower agreed, stating “‘These sessions are getting to be so much fun . . . that they’re running overtime.'” He attributed this to Halleck , writing “‘You are a political genius.'”[17]
After Eisenhower left office in January 1961, the two stayed in touch. On occasion, Halleck and colleagues like Everett Dirksen went up to Gettysburg to visit with Eisenhower and ask for his advice.[18] Charlie and Ike reunited publicly in Indiana on September 13, 1962, their mutual admiration evident. Despite the oppressive heat, about 20,000 Hoosiers greeted Ike at the Purdue University Airport.[19] Robert Kriebel remembered “A stairway parted from the front of the plane and suddenly there he was—good old Ike—grinning and doffing a gray a gray homburg.” It was evident that many missed his presence in the Oval Office. Charlie recalled there was “Just a sea of people. Just terrific. He was President; he was General; he was everything. And the people just idolized him. They realized, even the wild-eyed right wingers, that he’d been a [sic] terrific.”[20]
After landing in West Lafayette, Charlie and Ike traveled to Rensselaer to attend the dedication ceremony for St. Joseph’s College Halleck Student Center. The Vidette-Messenger of Porter County reported on the event, noting that “A picnic atmosphere prevailed . . . There was some live music, and lots of big circus tents were strung on the campus.”[21] Politicians, students, and dozens of members of the press milled about while local law enforcement directed heavy traffic from the air.[22] A farm truck parked nearby bearing a sign that read “‘Charlie and Ike. No Dove Hunting Please,'” a call-back to Halleck’s arrest a week earlier in North Carolina for shooting doves over a baited field.[23]
Guests from twelve counties sat on tent-covered hay bales and ate barbequed chicken. Halleck recalled “Every chicken and broiler producer in Indiana was here,” serving twelve double-lines of people.[24] Charlie tried to curtail the dreaded, universal experience of being watched while eating finger food. Ike was in the mood for some chicken, but didn’t “‘want any of that barbeque stuff on it.'” Charlie noted “So we get out and get up where he could sit down, and I was a little disturbed by some of my people. Hell, they just get, look right over his shoulder, you know, when you’re eating a piece of chicken.”[25]
When the ceremony began, Ike and Charlie joined college president the Very Rev. Raphael Gross on stage. Ike had recently remarked in Europe that he would enjoy being a president of a small college. Very Rev. Gross quipped that the college “‘is all yours,'” eliciting Ike’s signature grin.[26] Ike delighted the crowd when he eschewed protocol and insisted that Charlie join him in cementing the building’s new cornerstone. At the dais, Charlie told the crowd “‘This is a unique honor; it’s significance leaves me without words to adequately express my appreciation.'” He commented on the importance of higher education to both “the individual and to the nation.”[27] Ike added that the federal government “‘has a right and duty’ to provide aid for education.”[28]
Charlie Halleck Day continued into the evening at the local courthouse, where Ike opened his campaign tour for Republican congressional candidates.[29] The Vidette-Messenger described Ike as “looking fit and erect despite his 71 years.” He was delighted by performances by the Purdue University Glee Club and grade schoolers, dubbed the “Wee Singers.”[30] Halleck recalled that Ike watched the “cute little devils . . . and he just beamed. He just loved that.”[31] In his speech, Ike said the crowd probably wondered why Republicans weren’t “‘in overwhelming control of the Congress.'”[32] He mused “‘As long as we have Charlie Halleck and Everett Dirksen as leaders we don’t need overwhelming numbers.'” After all, he considered Charlie “‘a loyal, fighting, and deeply patriotic legislative leader . . . my warm friend; a staunch supporter and a champion of Republican principles and programs.'”[33]
In addition to lauding Charlie, Ike addressed broader issues regarding American government, troubled by the:
constant seeking for more governmental power over all our economic life. . . This is one of the most disturbing trends of our day—the apparent thirst for more and more power centered in the federal government, particularly the executive branch.'”[34]
He assured the crowd “‘as long as human honesty and integrity endure our great country will lead civilization to its proper destiny'”[35]
Exhausted from a demanding day, Ike stayed the night on St. Joseph’s campus. The next morning, he traveled to Kankakee, Illinois for a GOP breakfast, leaving Hoosiers electrified in his wake.[36]
After serving seventeen terms in Congress, Halleck announced he would be retiring and bid farewell to Capitol Hill on January 3, 1969.[37] No easy decision, he stated “‘the House has been my life.'”[38] This monumental life change was punctuated by news that his good friend, Ike, had passed away just two months later. In a news piece about Eisenhower’s death, Halleck declared he was “‘one of the greatest friends of my life, one to whom I was completely devoted.'”[39] While in D.C. for his funeral, Indiana papers announced Halleck’s next chapter, which included practicing law with former Governor Roger D. Branigin.[40]
Surely, nothing would be as fulfilling as the leadership sessions between Eisenhower and Halleck. The two men had shouldered the unique responsibility of navigating the country through the early Atomic Era. They worked amidst the ever-looming threat of global instability and seismic shifts in American identity. For a shared moment, however, they got to experience the small joys of civic life in Rensselaer, Indiana.
* The Indiana Historical Bureau will be installing a historical marker for Halleck in 2025. Stay tuned for details!
Notes
* All newspaper articles accessed via Newspapers.com.
[1] Rollie Bernhart, “Halleck’s Name on New Building,” Vidette-Messenger of Porter County, September 14, 1962, 1, 6.
[2] “New Candidate Phi Beta Kappa at University,” Lafayette Journal and Courier, December 12, 1934, 1.
[3] William White, “Charles Halleck, County Prosecutor in the Shadows of the Depression,” Indiana Magazine of History 114 (December 2018), accessed scholarworks.iu.edu.
[4] “Wins Election,” Indianapolis News, January 30, 1935, 13.
[5] Henry Z. Scheele, Charlie Halleck: A Political Biography (New York: Exposition Press, 1966), p. 57.
[6] Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1971 (United States: Government Printing Office, 1971), accessed HathiTrust.
[7] “GOP Leaders Score Action by President,” Chronicle Tribune (Marion, IN), June 20, 1947; “Marshall Plan Most Important,” Camden News (Arkansas), June 20, 1947, 1-2; “Indiana’s Solons Vote Unanimously to Override Veto,” Princeton Daily Clarion, June 20, 1947, 1; “GOP Leaders Blast Veto; Halleck Spearheads Attack,” Indianapolis Star, June 21, 1947, 2; “Halleck Enumerates Pledges Kept by G.O.P. Congress,” Buffalo News, August 12, 1947, 13; Quotation from Letter, Fred H. Foster to Hon. Charles A. Halleck, April 2, 1948, Box 16, Folder “1948, Apr. 1-10. Halleck mss. Correspondence,” Halleck mss., 1900-1968, Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
[8] Curt Tarnoff, Specialist in Foreign Affairs, “The Marshall Plan: Design, Accomplishments, and Significance,” Congressional Research Service, (January 18, 2018), accessed marshallfoundation.org.
[9] “Action on Measure Expected to Be Completed by Nightfall: Time and Amount Are Final Issues,” Central New Jersey Home News, March 31, 1948, 1; Press Conference, Republican National Committee, Joint Senate-House Leadership, Senator Dirksen-Representative Halleck, July 10, 1962, Box 96, Halleck mss., 1900-1968, Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana; Oral history interview with Charles A. Halleck, by Stephen Hess, March 22, 1965, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, accessed jfklibrary.org; Curt Tarnoff, “The Marshall Plan,” summary page.
[10] “GOP Leaders Score Action by President,” Chronicle Tribune (Marion, IN), June 20, 1947, 1; Oral history interview with Charles Halleck, by Thomas Soapes, April 26, 1977 for Dwight D. Eisenhower Library, p. 12, accessed eisenhowerlibrary.gov.
[11] Soapes, p. 12.
[12] Henry Z. Scheele, “President Dwight D. Eisenhower and U.S. House Leader Charles A. Halleck: An Examination of an Executive-Legislative Relationship,” Presidential Studies Quarterly 23, no. 2 (Spring 1993): 292, 298, accessed JSTOR.org.
[13] “The Congress: The Gut Fighter,” TIME 73, no. 23, June 8, 1959.
[14] Oral history interview with Charles A. Halleck, by Stephen Hess, March 22, 1965, p. 9-10, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, accessed jfklibrary.org; Scheele, “President Dwight D. Eisenhower and U.S. House Leader Charles A. Halleck,” 291-294.
[15] Dwight D. Eisenhower, The White House Years: Mandate for Change, 1953-1956 (Garden City, NY: DoubleDay & Company, Inc., 1963), p. 442.
[16] “The Congress: The Gut Fighter,” TIME.
[17] Ibid.
[18] Soapes interview, p. 36.
[19] Robert Kriebel, “Remember When Ike Was Here in ’62? It Was a Thrilling Day for Thousands,” Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN), March 29, 1969, 4.
[20] Soapes interview, p. 38.
[21] Herb Steinbach, “Charlie Is All Smiles on Big Day,” Vidette-Messenger of Porter County, September 14, 1962, 1.
[22] “Thousands Attend Halleck Day Fete,” Rensselaer Republican, September 14, 1962, 1, submitted by marker applicant.
[23] Ibid.
[24] Soapes, p. 37.
[25] Ibid., p. 37-38.
[26] “St. Joseph’s Names Ike ‘Impromptu President,'” Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN), September 14, 1962, 8; “‘President’ Ike Again,” Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN), September 14, 1962, 8.
[27] Rollie Bernhart, “Halleck’s Name on New Building,” Vidette-Messenger of Porter County, September 14, 1962, 1.
[28] “Thousands Attend Halleck Day Fete,” Rensselaer Republican, September 14, 1962, 1, submitted by marker applicant.
[29] Irwin J. Miller, “Spending by Government Hit by Ike,” Vidette-Messenger of Porter County, September 14, 1962, 1.
[30] Ibid.; Soapes interview, p. 37.
[31] Soapes interview, p. 37.
[32] “Praises Halleck in Rensselaer Talk,” Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN), September 14, 1962, 1, 8.
[33] Ibid.
[34] Irwin J. Miller, “Spending by Government Hit by Ike,” Vidette-Messenger of Porter County, September 14, 1962, 1.
[35] “Thousands Attend Halleck Day Fete,” Rensselaer Republican, September 14, 1962, 1, submitted by marker applicant.
[36] Irwin J. Miller, “Spending by Government Hit by Ike,” Vidette-Messenger of Porter County, September 14, 1962, 6.
[37] United Press International, “Charlie Halleck Dies; Longtime Congressman,” Logansport Pharos-Tribune, March 3, 1986, 1.
[38] Bart Barnes, “House Majority Leader Charles Halleck Dies at 85,” New York Times, March 3, 1986.
[39] Terre Haute Tribune, March 29, 1969, 2.
[40] “Halleck Joins Branigin Firm,” South Bend Tribune, April 1, 1969, 5.
