By John W. McCauley, Lexington
Perhaps one of our nation’s greatest statesmen, the gentleman from Somerset was a champion of the poor and working class. Known for crossing party lines, Sen. John Sherman Cooper took great pride in his independence and representing the people he served. In his first term in the United States Senate, he voted with each party approximately 50 percent of the time.
Born Aug. 21, 1901, to John Sherman and Helen Gertrude (Tartar) Cooper in Somerset, he was the second of seven children. His family was prominent in business and politics. In 1918, Cooper, who was class president and poet, graduated from Somerset High School. He held numerous jobs throughout his youth, including working in a coal mine.
Cooper attended Centre College before earning a bachelor of arts degree in 1923 from Yale University. He attended Harvard Law School but eventually returned home due to his family’s financial losses and, subsequently, his father’s death.
Cooper passed a state examination and was admitted to practice law. During his only term in the Kentucky House of Representatives, he supported free textbooks for school children. In 1929, he was elected Pulaski County judge, a post he held for eight years. Having served during the Great Depression, this period was instrumental in shaping his strong support for social programs.
In 1939, he ran for governor but lost in the Republican primary to former U.S. Rep. King Swope of Lexington. Swope lost to Lt. Gov. Keen Johnson in the general election.
During World War II, Cooper enlisted at age 41 in the U.S. Army, where he was commissioned a second lieutenant and later a captain. He served in Gen. George Patton’s Third Army in the European theater and received a Bronze Star Medal.
In 1945, after serving a few months as circuit judge, Cooper resigned to seek the unexpired term of U.S. Sen. A.B. “Happy” Chandler, who became commissioner of baseball. Cooper was not flamboyant or a great orator, just honest and sincere. He garnered the support of Chandler Democrats and defeated popular Kentucky Rep. John Young Brown Sr. in the general election.
In the U.S. Senate, Cooper became known as an independent Republican and, perhaps, somewhat of a maverick. Having been questioned by members of his own party for not toeing the party line, he reminded them that he wasn’t elected to represent a political party but to represent the people. He was successful in passing legislation to provide federal support for public education and joined Sen. Alben W. Barkley to support voting rights. In 1948, Cooper lost his re-election bid in a close race to U.S. Rep. Virgil Chapman.
Cooper began practicing law in Washington, D.C., and in 1949, he was appointed by President Harry S Truman to the United Nations General Assembly. He also served as an advisor to the Truman administration in efforts that led to the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
In 1951, Chapman was killed in a car accident, and Cooper decided to seek the unexpired term. He defeated Sen. Thomas R. Underwood, who had been appointed by Gov. Lawrence Wetherby in the general election. Cooper supported numerous public works projects and public housing and, on occasion, opposed the administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower on legislation and policy.
In 1954, Cooper faced Barkley in the race for senator. Cooper, a liberal Republican, and Barkley had similar platforms. No one could have defeated the popular Barkley, and Cooper lost his Senate seat for a second time.
In 1955, President Eisenhower appointed Cooper as ambassador to India and Nepal. The same year, he married Loraine Rowman Shevlin, a friend of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, wife of Sen. John F. Kennedy. The Coopers and Kennedys become good friends.
On April 30, 1956, Barkley died while in the U.S. Senate. With the encouragement of President Eisenhower, Cooper resigned to seek Barkley’s seat. The Democrats nominated former Gov. Wetherby, but with the support of Chandler Democrats, Cooper won the election. During that term, he supported the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960.
In 1960, Cooper finally was elected to a full term in the Senate, defeating former Gov. Keen Johnson. He became a close confidant and respected advisor to President Kennedy, especially regarding the Soviet Union. Cooper supported the 24th Amendment, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In late 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Cooper to the Warren Commission charged with investigating the assassination of President Kennedy.
Cooper was a vocal opponent of U.S. escalation in Vietnam, urging President Johnson to seek other methods for peace in southeast Asia. In 1965, Cooper joined Sen. Jennings Randolph to sponsor the Appalachian Regional Development Act, which created the Appalachian Regional Commission. He also authored the National Defense Education Act, which provided funding to educational institutions at all levels.
In 1966, Cooper faced former Rep. John Young Brown Sr. for a second time and won re-election by 217,000 votes. In 1968, he supported the Civil Rights Act and, with Sen. Frank Church, co-sponsored legislation to end the U.S. escalation in Vietnam. He also supported the safe return of U.S. prisoners of war.
On Jan. 21, 1972, Cooper announced that he would not seek re-election. During his time in the U.S. Senate, other Kentuckians he served with were former Gov. Earl C. Clements, Sen. Thruston B. Morton, and Sen. Marlow Cook. At the time, Barkley was the only Kentuckian who had served longer than Cooper in the U.S. Senate.
In 1974, he was tapped by President Richard M. Nixon to serve as the first U.S. ambassador to East Germany. In the wake of Watergate, Cooper was appointed to that post by President Gerald R. Ford. Upon returning home, he practiced law in Washington, D.C.
Senator Cooper died on Feb. 21, 1991, in Washington, D.C., at the age of 89. He was preceded in death by his wife, Loraine, and buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
In 1963, I met Sen. Cooper while on a family vacation to Washington, D.C., with my father, Joe McCauley, then mayor of Middlesboro. He and the senator were friends, and Sen. Cooper graciously received us in his office. He let me sit in his chair and inscribed a book to me. My last visit with Sen. Cooper was in 1984, while on the road with my boss and Cooper’s successor, Sen. Walter D. Huddleston.
To the state and nation, John Sherman Cooper was a statesman and diplomat; to me, a role model.