Dale Bumpers
Encyclopedia
Dale Leon Bumpers is an American politician
who served as the 38th Governor of Arkansas from 1971 to 1975; and then in the United States Senate
from 1975 until his retirement in January 1999. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Senator Bumpers is currently counsel
at the Washington, D.C.
office of law firm Arent Fox LLP, where his clients include Riceland Foods
and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
.
in Franklin County in west central Arkansas near Fort Smith
. He attended public schools and the University of Arkansas
at Fayetteville
. He served in the United States Marine Corps
from 1943 to 1946 during World War II
. Bumpers graduated from Northwestern University Law School in Evanston
, Illinois
, in 1951. From his time in Illinois, he became a great admirer of Adlai Stevenson, the Democratic presidential candidate in 1952 and 1956. Bumpers was admitted to the Arkansas bar in 1952. He started practicing law in his hometown in that same year and served as Charleston city attorney from 1952 to 1970. He served as special justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court
in 1968.
. Two other serious candidates were Attorney General Joe Purcell
of Benton
in Saline County and the outgoing Speaker
of the Arkansas House, Hayes McClerkin
of Texarkana
. Bumpers barely edged out Purcell for the runoff berth but then easily defeated Faubus. In the general election, he swamped the incumbent moderate Republican
Governor Winthrop Rockefeller
. It was a Democratic year nationally, and the tide benefited Bumpers. Like Jimmy Carter
of Georgia
, Reubin O. Askew in Florida
and John C. West
of South Carolina
, Bumpers was often described as a new kind of Southern Democrat who would bring reform to his state and the Democratic Party. His victory over Rockefeller ushered in a new era of youthful reform-minded governors, including two of his successors, David Pryor
(later a three-term U. S. Senator) and future U.S. President Bill Clinton
.
In the 1972 Democratic primary, Bumpers easily defeated two opponents, including the highly regarded State Senator Q. Byrum Hurst
of Hot Springs
. In the general election, he swamped the Republican Len E. Blaylock
of Perry County even as Richard M. Nixon was handily winning Arkansas in the presidential race.
Bumpers was elected to the United States Senate in 1974. He unseated the incumbent
James William Fulbright in the party primary by a wide margin and then overwhelmed the Republican John Harris Jones of Pine Bluff
. In 1980, he comfortably survived the Ronald W. Reagan victory in Arkansas by defeating a Democrat-turned-Republican, William "Bill" Clark. In 1986, he defeated later U.S. Representative Asa Hutchinson
. In 1992, he defeated future Governor Mike Huckabee
. In 1998, when Bumpers retired, the Democratic choice, Blanche Lincoln
easily defeated the Republican Fay Boozman
, a state senator who was later the Arkansas Department of Health director under Governor Huckabee.
from 1987 until 1995, when the Republican Party
took control of the Senate for a dozen years following the 1994 elections. Bumpers served as ranking minority member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
from 1997 until his retirement. In the Senate, Bumpers was known for his oratorical skills and for his prodigious respect for the Constitution of the United States. Bumpers never supported any constitutional amendment.
Despite support from many colleagues, including ultimate 1988 Democratic candidate, Senator Paul Simon of Illinois, Bumpers decided to not seek the Democratic Presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988. Initially named as one of Walter Mondale's top potential choices for his vice presidential running mate in '84, but he took his name out of the running early in the process. Bumpers stated as his main reason for not running, "a total disruption of the closeness my family has cherished." Many observers felt that Bumpers perhaps lacked the obsessive ambition required of a presidential candidate, especially one who would have started out the process with low name identification. Another factor often mentioned was Bumpers key vote in killing labor law reform in 1978, a vote that angered organized labor and had clearly not been forgotten by labor leaders nearly a decade later.
Bumpers, a self-declared close friend of President Clinton, gave an impassioned closing argument in defense of him during Clinton's impeachment trial.
Quotes from the closing argument of the White House presentation, January 21, 1999:
in his honor.
. The Dale and Betty Bumpers Vaccine Research Center (VRC) at the National Institutes of Health was established by former President Clinton to facilitate research in vaccine development.
, Bumpers was elected as the Vice President of the United States
in a ticket headed by Ted Kennedy
during the 1984 election
. In the next version of novel, Archer replaced Kennedy with the fictional character of Florentyna Kane, and Bumpers with the real-life Senator Bill Bradley
of New Jersey
.
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
who served as the 38th Governor of Arkansas from 1971 to 1975; and then in the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from 1975 until his retirement in January 1999. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Senator Bumpers is currently counsel
Counsel
A counsel or a counselor gives advice, more particularly in legal matters.-U.K. and Ireland:The legal system in England uses the term counsel as an approximate synonym for a barrister-at-law, and may apply it to mean either a single person who pleads a cause, or collectively, the body of barristers...
at the Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
office of law firm Arent Fox LLP, where his clients include Riceland Foods
Riceland Foods
Riceland Foods, Inc., located in Stuttgart, Arkansas, U.S.A., is an agricultural marketing cooperative and the world's largest miller and marketer of rice. Riceland had sales of $1.3 billion in the fiscal year ending July 31, 2009....
and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences is part of the University of Arkansas System, a state-run university in the U.S. state of Arkansas...
.
Biography
Dale Bumpers was born in CharlestonCharleston, Arkansas
Charleston is a city in Franklin County, Arkansas, United States, and one of the two county seats of Franklin County. It is part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area...
in Franklin County in west central Arkansas near Fort Smith
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith is the second-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. With a population of 86,209 in 2010, it is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 298,592 residents which encompasses the Arkansas...
. He attended public schools and the University of Arkansas
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...
at Fayetteville
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Fayetteville is the county seat of Washington County, and the third largest city in Arkansas. The city is centrally located within the county and is home to the University of Arkansas. Fayetteville is also deep in the Boston Mountains, a subset of The Ozarks...
. He served in the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
from 1943 to 1946 during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Bumpers graduated from Northwestern University Law School in Evanston
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, in 1951. From his time in Illinois, he became a great admirer of Adlai Stevenson, the Democratic presidential candidate in 1952 and 1956. Bumpers was admitted to the Arkansas bar in 1952. He started practicing law in his hometown in that same year and served as Charleston city attorney from 1952 to 1970. He served as special justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court
Arkansas Supreme Court
The Arkansas Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Arkansas. Since 1925, it has consisted of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices, and at times Special Justices are called upon in the absence of a regular justice...
in 1968.
Governor of Arkansas
Bumpers was virtually unknown when he announced his campaign for governor in 1970. Despite his lack of name recognition, his oratorical skills, personal charm, and outsider image put him in a runoff election for the Democratic nomination with former Governor Orval FaubusOrval Faubus
Orval Eugene Faubus was the 36th Governor of Arkansas, serving from 1955 to 1967. He is best known for his 1957 stand against the desegregation of Little Rock public schools during the Little Rock Crisis, in which he defied a unanimous decision of the United States Supreme Court by ordering the...
. Two other serious candidates were Attorney General Joe Purcell
Joe Purcell
Joseph Gregory Purcell -References:...
of Benton
Benton, Arkansas
Benton is a city in and the county seat of Saline County, Arkansas, United States and a suburb of Little Rock. It was established in 1837. According to a 2006 Special Census conducted at the request of the city government, the population of the city is 27,717, ranking it as the state's 16th largest...
in Saline County and the outgoing Speaker
Speaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
of the Arkansas House, Hayes McClerkin
Hayes McClerkin
Hayes C. McClerkin is a commercial and environmental law attorney in Texarkana, Arkansas, who served as a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1961–1970 and as Speaker from 1969-1970. He succeeded Speaker Sterling R...
of Texarkana
Texarkana, Arkansas
As of the census of 2000, there were 26,448 people, 10,384 households, and 7,040 families residing in the city. The population density was 830.5 people per square mile . There were 11,721 housing units at an average density of 368.1 per square mile...
. Bumpers barely edged out Purcell for the runoff berth but then easily defeated Faubus. In the general election, he swamped the incumbent moderate Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Governor Winthrop Rockefeller
Winthrop Rockefeller
Winthrop Rockefeller was a politician and philanthropist who served as the first Republican Governor of Arkansas since Reconstruction. He was a third-generation member of the Rockefeller family.-Early life:...
. It was a Democratic year nationally, and the tide benefited Bumpers. Like Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
of Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, Reubin O. Askew in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and John C. West
John C. West
John Carl West was a U.S. Democratic Party politician who served as the 109th Governor of South Carolina from 1971 to 1975. He served as ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 1977 to 1981.-Early life:...
of South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, Bumpers was often described as a new kind of Southern Democrat who would bring reform to his state and the Democratic Party. His victory over Rockefeller ushered in a new era of youthful reform-minded governors, including two of his successors, David Pryor
David Pryor
David Hampton Pryor is a former Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives and United States Senator from the State of Arkansas. Pryor also served as 39th Governor of Arkansas from 1975 to 1979 and was a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1960 to 1966...
(later a three-term U. S. Senator) and future U.S. President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
.
In the 1972 Democratic primary, Bumpers easily defeated two opponents, including the highly regarded State Senator Q. Byrum Hurst
Q. Byrum Hurst
Quincy Byrum Hurst, Sr. , was a Hot Springs attorney and a Democratic member of the Arkansas State Senate from 1950 to 1972. He vacated his Senate seat to run unsuccessfully against Governor Dale L. Bumpers, who won the second of his two gubernatorial terms in 1972...
of Hot Springs
Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs is the 10th most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Garland County, and the principal city of the Hot Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area encompassing all of Garland County...
. In the general election, he swamped the Republican Len E. Blaylock
Len E. Blaylock
Len Everette Blaylock, Sr. , is a retired farmer, educator, small businessman, and Republican politician from tiny Nimrod in Perry County in northwestern Arkansas. He was state welfare commissioner under Governor Winthrop Rockefeller, the GOP gubernatorial nominee , the U.S...
of Perry County even as Richard M. Nixon was handily winning Arkansas in the presidential race.
Bumpers was elected to the United States Senate in 1974. He unseated the incumbent
Incumbent
The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
James William Fulbright in the party primary by a wide margin and then overwhelmed the Republican John Harris Jones of Pine Bluff
Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Pine Bluff is the largest city and county seat of Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. It is also the principal city of the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and part of the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff, Arkansas Combined Statistical Area...
. In 1980, he comfortably survived the Ronald W. Reagan victory in Arkansas by defeating a Democrat-turned-Republican, William "Bill" Clark. In 1986, he defeated later U.S. Representative Asa Hutchinson
Asa Hutchinson
William Asa Hutchinson is a former U.S. Attorney for the Fort Smith-based Western District of Arkansas, U.S. Congressman from the Third District of Arkansas, Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the first-ever Under Secretary for Border & Transportation Security at the U.S...
. In 1992, he defeated future Governor Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee
Michael "Mike" Dale Huckabee is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won . He won...
. In 1998, when Bumpers retired, the Democratic choice, Blanche Lincoln
Blanche Lincoln
Blanche Meyers Lambert Lincoln is a former U.S. Senator from Arkansas and a member of the Democratic Party. First elected to the Senate in 1998, she was the first woman elected to the Senate from Arkansas since Hattie Caraway in 1932 and, at age 38, was the youngest woman ever elected to the...
easily defeated the Republican Fay Boozman
Fay Boozman
Fay W. Boozman was a Republican politician from the U.S. state of Arkansas, a close friend of former Governor Mike Huckabee and a brother of U.S...
, a state senator who was later the Arkansas Department of Health director under Governor Huckabee.
United States Senator
Bumpers was elected to the Senate four times, beginning with his huge victory over Fulbright, the veteran chairman of the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Bumpers chaired the Senate Committee on Small Business and EntrepreneurshipUnited States Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
The U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over the Small Business Administration and is also charged with researching and investigating all problems of American small business enterprises.-History:The...
from 1987 until 1995, when the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
took control of the Senate for a dozen years following the 1994 elections. Bumpers served as ranking minority member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
The United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources has jurisdiction over matters related to energy and nuclear waste policy, territorial policy, native Hawaiian matters, and public lands....
from 1997 until his retirement. In the Senate, Bumpers was known for his oratorical skills and for his prodigious respect for the Constitution of the United States. Bumpers never supported any constitutional amendment.
Despite support from many colleagues, including ultimate 1988 Democratic candidate, Senator Paul Simon of Illinois, Bumpers decided to not seek the Democratic Presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988. Initially named as one of Walter Mondale's top potential choices for his vice presidential running mate in '84, but he took his name out of the running early in the process. Bumpers stated as his main reason for not running, "a total disruption of the closeness my family has cherished." Many observers felt that Bumpers perhaps lacked the obsessive ambition required of a presidential candidate, especially one who would have started out the process with low name identification. Another factor often mentioned was Bumpers key vote in killing labor law reform in 1978, a vote that angered organized labor and had clearly not been forgotten by labor leaders nearly a decade later.
Bumpers, a self-declared close friend of President Clinton, gave an impassioned closing argument in defense of him during Clinton's impeachment trial.
Quotes from the closing argument of the White House presentation, January 21, 1999:
Honors
In 1995, the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville founded the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life SciencesDale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences
The Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food, and Life Sciences is the University of Arkansas' college for students interested in plants, animals, food, the natural environment and the human environment. It is named for former US Senator and Arkansas governor Dale Bumpers...
in his honor.
Causes
Bumpers and his wife Betty were both known for their dedication to the cause of childhood immunizationVaccination
Vaccination is the administration of antigenic material to stimulate the immune system of an individual to develop adaptive immunity to a disease. Vaccines can prevent or ameliorate the effects of infection by many pathogens...
. The Dale and Betty Bumpers Vaccine Research Center (VRC) at the National Institutes of Health was established by former President Clinton to facilitate research in vaccine development.
Bumpers in fiction
In the 1977 Jeffrey Archer's novel Shall We Tell the President?Shall We Tell the President?
Shall We Tell The President? is a 1977 book by English author Jeffrey Archer.In its original version, a plot to kill the president of the United States, Edward Kennedy, is foiled by an FBI agent working with the head of the FBI. A love story complicates the plot. The book includes descriptive...
, Bumpers was elected as the Vice President of the United States
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
in a ticket headed by Ted Kennedy
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...
during the 1984 election
United States presidential election, 1984
The United States presidential election of 1984 was a contest between the incumbent President Ronald Reagan, the Republican candidate, and former Vice President Walter Mondale, the Democratic candidate. Reagan was helped by a strong economic recovery from the deep recession of 1981–1982...
. In the next version of novel, Archer replaced Kennedy with the fictional character of Florentyna Kane, and Bumpers with the real-life Senator Bill Bradley
Bill Bradley
William Warren "Bill" Bradley is an American hall of fame basketball player, Rhodes scholar, and former three-term Democratic U.S. Senator from New Jersey. He ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic Party's nomination for President in the 2000 election.Bradley was born and raised in a suburb of St....
of New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
.
See also
Further reading
- Bumpers, Dale. The Best Lawyer in a One-Lawyer Town: A Memoir. New York: Random House, 2003.
- Oral History Interview with Dale Bumpers from Oral Histories of the American South