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John Little McClellan was born on February 25, 1896, on a farm near Sheridan,
Arkansas, the son of Isaac S. and Belle Suddeth McClellan. The McClellans
were staunch Democrats and named their son for Congressman John Little.
Educated in public schools, young John became interested in law and studied
in his father's law office when not busy on the family's farm. He was admitted
to the Arkansas Bar in 1913 at the age of seventeen, becoming the youngest
lawyer in the United States. That same year, he married Eula Hicks of Sheridan
and practiced law with his father in Grant County. In August 1917, John
L. McClellan joined the U.S. Army and served as a First Lieutenant in the
Aviation Section of the Signal Corps. He opened a law office in Malvern
following his February 1919 discharge and a divorce from his wife.
McClellan's long political career began in 1920 when he was chosen City
Attorney of Malvern, a post he held until 1926. During this time he married
Lucille Smith of Malvern. At age thirty, he was elected Prosecuting Attorney
for the Seventh Judicial District of Arkansas. Elected to Congress in 1934,
he served two terms (1935-1938) in the U.S. House of Representatives from
the Sixth Congressional District of Arkansas. Lucille McClellan died suddenly
in 1935. Congressman McClellan married the former Norma Myers Cheatham in
1937.
In 1938, McClellan unsuccessfully challenged Arkansas senator Hattie Caraway
for her seat, losing a close Democratic primary. He resumed the practice
of law in Camden, then ran for Arkansas's other Senate seat in 1942, which
he won easily. McClellan was re-elected in 1948, 1954, 1960, 1966, and 1972,
serving until his death in 1977. He represented the people of Arkansas in
that capacity longer than anyone in the state's history. McClellan earned
the highest committee rank ever attained by an Arkansan in the Senate, that
of Chair of the Committee on Appropriations.
John L. McClellan advanced to prominent positions of leadership in the Senate,
enabling him to render outstanding service to the people of Arkansas and
the nation. The McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System is a prime
example of his leadership in providing opportunity and progress in Arkansas
and the Southwest. Numerous dams, lakes, drainage and flood control projects,
wildlife habitats, forest preserves, and recreational facilities bear his
stamp of endeavor.
John L. McClellan served for twenty-two years as Chairman of the Committee
on Government Operations. He served as Chairman of the Senate Permanent
Subcommittee on Investigations for eighteen years (1955-1973), and no other
chairman of a congressional investigating committee in the history of the
United States Congress has approached McClellan's record of tenure as chairman,
for either the number of investigations conducted or the results achieved.
As Chair of that Subcommittee and two other investigative committees–the
Senate Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor or Management Field
and the Special Committee to Investigate Political Activities, Lobbying
and Campaign Contributions–he conducted more congressional investigations
than any other member.
The Senator first emerged as a national figure during the Army-McCarthy
hearings of 1954. McClellan led a Democratic walk-out of the Republican-controlled
subcommittee because of objections to Senator Joseph McCarthy's witch
hunting
conduct. In 1955, Senator McClellan assumed chairmanship of that committee
and hired Robert F. Kennedy as chief counsel.
Under Senator McClellan's leadership, some of the most well-known and significant
investigations in the nation's history were conducted–-probes into
widespread corruption and criminal activities in the labor-management field;
organized crime; the TFX aircraft contract; profiteering in defense contracts
for missile procurement; and the riots that erupted in cities and college
campuses in the late 1960s. Probes into the activities of teamsters Dave
Beck and Jimmy Hoffa, the so-called "Valachi hearings", and investigations
surrounding the affairs of Texas financier Billie Sol Estes, all catapulted
McClellan into the public eye. As a vigorous, relentless and effective investigator,
John L. McClellan won a reputation for judicial impartiality and fairness
which brought him respect of his colleagues and the American people.
As a member of both the first and second Hoover Commissions, the Senator
authored many of its recommendations to reorganize the federal government,
resulting in savings of hundreds of millions of dollars to taxpayers. Prominent
among these was his sponsorship of legislation which created the General
Services Administration, the business arm of the federal government. He
was also the co-author of the bill which in 1976 resulted in the first complete
revision of the U.S. copyright laws since 1909.
A leading advocate of law enforcement, Senator McClellan was a key figure
in winning Congressional approval for many significant laws and programs.
Among them were the landmark Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Acts
of 1968 and 1970, and the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970. In his thirty-five
years as a Senator, John L. McClellan introduced over 1,000 bills of which
140 were signed into law.
For many years, Senator McClellan, Senator J.W. Fulbright and Representative
Wilbur D. Mills, gave Arkansas one of the nation's most powerful Congressional
delegations.
Paralleling the senator's successful political career was a series of
tragic deaths within his family. After losing his second wife to spinal
meningitis in 1935, his three sons died within a relatively short period
of time: Max died of spinal meningitis in Africa in 1943, while serving
in World War II; John L., Jr., died in 1949 from injuries received in an
automobile accident; and James H. "Jimmy" died in a plane crash in 1958.
John L. McClellan also had two daughters, Doris and Mary Alice.
John L. McClellan died November 28, 1977, in Little Rock, and is buried
in Roselawn Memorial Park. At the time of his death, he ranked second in
seniority in the U.S. Senate and was one of its most powerful members.
Senator McClellan announced in June of 1976 that Ouachita Baptist University
would be the repository for his official papers and memorabilia. McClellan
Hall, the building designed to house these items, was officially dedicated
on April 4, 1978.
A display of the physical memorabilia has been developed in the rotunda
of the building. The exhibit is based on four phases of his career: "McClellan
the Builder," "McClellan the Investigator," McClellan the
Legislator," and "McClellan the Man." Plaques, awards, memorabilia,
and photographs that highlight these four phases are on display. A recreation
of the Senator's office serves as the centerpiece of the exhibit and contains
his office desk and chair, his chair from the Senate Chamber, an oil painting
of his wife, a large stuffed owl from his owl collection, and many other
items.
Senator McClellan's papers are housed in OBU's Riley-Hickingbotham Library.
Over 1,200 linear feet of files form the foundation of the collection. The
scrapbook collection dates from 1922, when McClellan ran for a local office
in Malvern. There are over 3,000 photographs covering all aspects of his
life and career, and more than 4,000 volumes of government documents and
books from the senator's personal library. And, the collection also contains
a number of audio and video recordings.
Contact Us
Jacynda Ammons
OBU Box 3729
Arkadelphia, AR 71998
ammonsj@obu.edu
870.245.5332
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