The Liberalism of Senator Norris

David Fellman

American Political Science Review, 1946, vol. 40, issue 1, 27-51

Abstract: Senator George W. Norris was a doggedly righteous man who never stopped battling for the Lord and the common people in a world of sinful men. His long political life, which included seven years as a district judge in Nebraska, ten years in the national House of Representatives, and thirty in the Senate, was a grim and sustained bout with what he regarded as the forces of evil. He tilted his lance against dishonest and corrupt men, political schemers, monopolies and “special interests,” religious and racial bigots, lobbyists and other special pleaders, the “power trust,” and the superheated zealots of partisanship. His autobiography, so long awaited, bears ample witness to the fact that for him life was real and earnest, and usually somewhat sad and despairing as well. But it had its rewards, for Senator Norris was a reflective man, and out of the bitter juices of human experience he always managed to distil a residue of homely moralistic wisdom. He learned that democratic government is pretty largely a process of compromise, and that in that process one must give as well as take. He also learned that, with enough courage and persistence, virtue is often rewarded, and that in the long run the masses of ordinary people can be trusted to reach tolerably reasonable conclusions. There were many disappointments in his life, and a great deal of heartache, but there were also many triumphs, and the net impression of his book seems to be that he felt his life had not been spent in vain. He was richly entitled to this feeling, for it will be conceded generally that he had been a very useful public servant indeed.

Date: 1946
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