Stevenson, Adlai Ewing, II

(1900-1965)

   Born in Los Angeles, California, Adlai Stevenson moved to Bloomington, Illinois, as a child, where he attended a number of schools before going to Choate and Princeton University. After briefly working as a journalist, he went to Northwestern Law School in 1925. Once he was qualified, he worked in a legal practice in Chicago, Illinois, until 1933, when he went to Washington, D.C. He returned to Chicago after two years. His speeches and writing on behalf of the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies brought him to the attention of Frank Knox. When Knox became secretary of the navy in 1940, he appointed Stevenson as his special assistant.

   During the war, Stevenson led the Foreign Economic Mission to determine the economic needs of Italy following the country’s liberation and later went to Europe on behalf of the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey. In 1945, he worked for the State Department to mobilize public support for the United Nations (UN), and he became senior adviser to the U.S. Delegation and a delegate in the New York sessions in 1946 and 1947.

   In 1948, Stevenson was elected Democratic governor of Illinois and did much to tackle corruption in public service. He gained national prominence for his refusal to implement a loyalty oath. In 1952, he was nominated on the fourth ballot as the presidential candidate for the Democratic Party. Although an inspirational and intelligent speaker, Stevenson was easily defeated by the Republican candidate, Dwight D. Eisenhower. Nonetheless, he was chosen again in 1956 but was defeated once more by Eisenhower. In 1960, he lost the nomination to John F. Kennedy, who appointed him ambassador to the UN. He was very involved during the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, when he advocated concessions to reach a settlement. Under President Lyndon Johnson, Stevenson opposed the escalation of the war in Vietnam and the unilateral intervention in the Dominican Republic. He died of a heart attack while on a visit to London, England.