Carl Trumbull Hayden (October 2, 1877 – January 25, 1972) was an American statesman. Representing Arizona in the United States Senate from 1927 to 1969, he was the first U.S. senator to serve seven terms. Serving as the state's first representative for eight terms before entering the Senate, Hayden set the record as the longest-serving member of the United States Congress more than a decade before his retirement from politics. He was Dean of the United States Senate and served as its president pro tempore and chairman of both its Rules and Administration and Appropriations committees. He was a member of the Democratic Party. Hayden was also the last remaining member of Congress to have served during the presidencies of William Howard Taft and Woodrow Wilson, as he retired in 1969.
Having earned a reputation as a reclamation expert early in his congressional career,August p. 45 Hayden consistently backed legislation dealing with public lands, mining, reclamation, and other projects affecting the Western United States. In addition, he played a key role in creating the funding formula for the federal highway system. President John F. Kennedy said of Hayden, "Every Federal program which has contributed to the development of the West—irrigation, power, reclamation—bears his mark, and the great Federal highway program which binds this country together, which permits this State to be competitive east and west, north and south, this in large measure is his creation."Kennedy, John F. (November 17, 1961). Remarks in Phoenix at the 50th Anniversary Dinner Honoring Senator Hayden. The American Presidency Project. John Woolley and Gerhard Peters. Retrieved on 2007-05-28.
Known as the "Silent Senator", Hayden rarely spoke on the Senate floor. Instead his influence came from committee meetings and Senate cloakroom discussions, where his comments were "given a respect comparable to canon law".Phillips, Cabell. "Dozen Key Men in Congress", The New York Times, January 3, 1960, p. SM6. A colleague said of him, "No man in Senate history has wielded more influence with less oratory,"Phillips, Cabell. "Cannon vs. Hayden: A Clash of Elderly Power Personalities in Congress", The New York Times, June 25, 1962, p. 17. while the Los Angeles Times wrote that Hayden had "assisted so many projects for so many senators that when old Carl wants something for his beloved Arizona, his fellow senators fall all over themselves giving him a hand. They'd probably vote landlocked Arizona a navy if he asked for it."Cohen, Jerry. "Carl Hayden – Man of History and Few Words", Los Angeles Times, April 18, 1971, pp. A1, 4–5.
Background Hayden was born to Charles Trumbull Hayden and Sallie Calvert Davis on October 2, 1877, in Hayden's Ferry, Arizona Territory (renamed Tempe in 1878). Charles Hayden was a Connecticut-born merchant and freight operator who had moved west due to a lung ailment and homesteaded a claim on the south bank of the Salt River. Charles Hayden had also served as a probate judge and, following Grover Cleveland's 1884 election, had been considered for the territorial governorship. Sallie Davis was an Arkansas-born schoolteacher who served as vice president of the Arizona Territorial Suffrage Association during the 1890s.
Following the birth of their son, Charles and Sallie Hayden had three daughters: Sarah (called Sallie), Anna, and Mary (called Mapes). Anna died unexpectedly at two-and-one-half years of age. The Hayden family operated a variety of business interests including a ferry service, a gristmill, a general store, and agricultural interests.
While he was growing up, Hayden's family took several trips, including journeys to Washington, D.C., and the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. To these, Hayden added several solo trips, including a horseback trip to the Grand Canyon and a trip to Mexico City when he was fourteen.August pp. 16, 20Rice pp. 17–19, 33–34
Hayden attended Tempe's Eighth Street School and Arizona Territorial Normal School (now Arizona State University). After his graduation from normal school in June 1896 he was enrolled at Stanford University where he studied economics, history, language, and philosophy with an interest in attending law school after graduation. While at Stanford, he was sophomore class president and participated in debate, fiction writing, football, and track. During his junior year, Hayden suffered his only election defeat when he narrowly lost the race for student body president. He attributed his loss to overconfidence and learned to "always run scared" in future elections.August pp. 24–25Rice pp. 21, 27–28 Hayden met his future wife, Nan Downing, while at Stanford. The couple married on February 14, 1908, and produced no children.Johnson p. 152
One semester from graduation, in December 1899, Hayden was forced to drop out of school when his father became ill. Charles Hayden died on February 5, 1900, leaving his son with responsibility for the family and control of the family business interests. Hayden sold the mercantile business to pay off outstanding debts and then rented most of the family's properties to provide an income that allowed him to move his mother and sisters to Palo Alto, California, where his sisters could attend college.August pp. 25–26 In the fall of 1903, he enlisted in the Arizona Territorial National Guard and was elected captain within two months.Rice p. 170August p. 32
Early political career
Soon after his return from Stanford, Hayden became active in Democratic Party politics. In September 1900 he represented Tempe as a delegate at a county level convention and became chairman of the Maricopa County Democratic Central Committee in 1902.Rice p. 33 Hayden was also elected to a two-year term on the Tempe town council. Following passage of the National Reclamation Act of 1902 he was sent to Washington, D.C. by interests in Tempe to lobby for funding of the Salt River Project.August p. 28
Hayden led the Arizona Territory delegation to the 1904 Democratic National Convention in St. Louis. Later in 1904 he was elected Maricopa County treasurer. Hayden's two years as treasurer provided him practical experience with public finance and budgetary processes. After one term as county treasurer, he chose to pursue the more lucrative office of sheriff—the position providing a travel budget and a percentage of collected fees. The November 1906 election saw Hayden defeat his Republican and Prohibition party challengers by the largest margin of victory in any of the county races.August p. 30
By the time Hayden became sheriff, Maricopa County had transformed from a Wild West frontier into a quiet agricultural settlement.Rice p. 35 Based in Phoenix, which had grown to a population of 10,000 people, he performed duties such as maintaining order, collecting fees from saloons and gambling halls, transportation of prisoners to other parts of the territory, and enforcing local ordinances such as a Phoenix law requiring local Indians to wear pants instead of a breechcloth when visiting town.(February 9, 1962) "Old Frontiersman. Time 79 (6): 15. During his time as sheriff, Hayden did not have to fire his firearm, although he did use an Apperson Jack Rabbit to pursue and capture two train robbers.
House of Representatives
Hayden's first run for Congress came during a 1911 special election called in anticipation of Arizona statehood. With the Democratic Party's influence in territorial politics, winning the party primary was tantamount to winning the general election. Hayden was considered an underdog to two other Democratic challengers and received an endorsement from only one Arizona newspaper. Due to his duties as sheriff along with his Arizona Territorial National Guard service, Hayden had become known to political leaders throughout the territory. These acquaintances, combined with the influence of his father's good reputation, allowed Hayden a surprise win in the Democratic primary which was followed by his election to the United States House of Representatives.August pp. 35–39
The 1911 election set a number of precedents that would characterize Hayden's later political campaigns. The first was his tradition of never mentioning his opponent's name in public.August p. 42 He also began a practice of caravaning around the state with other members of his party, a pattern that continued until war-time rationing of the 1940s ended the custom. He also kept a lookout for candidates with a potential to run against him, occasionally sending letters encouraging the rumored candidates to run. With good home service of his constituents, Hayden rarely faced a strong challenge for his office.Rice p. 225
Hayden gave the jail house keys to Deputy Jeff Adams and, with his wife, began the trip to Washington, D.C. the same day President William H. Taft signed the legislation granting Arizona statehood. Bearing credentials from Territorial Governor Richard Elihu Sloan, Hayden was sworn into the 62nd United States Congress on February 19, 1912. His goal while in Congress was to help his fledgling state develop its natural resources and infrastructure while growing the state's population. Due to the federal government controlling the majority of the state's land, Hayden also wished to involve the federal government in this process.Rice pp. 39–40 Hayden's first bill, authorizing a railroad right-of-way to Fort Huachuca, was introduced on March 1, 1912.
With the 1913 start to his first full term, Hayden supported Woodrow Wilson's policies by voting for the Clayton Anti-Trust Act, Federal Reserve Act, Underwood Tariff Act, and creation of the Federal Trade Commission.Rice p. 46 He sponsored the Grand Canyon National Park Act, and, in honor of his mother, he introduced a joint resolution calling for women's suffrage. In 1914, Hayden secured an extension of repayment times for loans made under the National Reclamation Act of 1902 from ten to twenty years. The extension included greater flexibility in the payment amounts during the early repayment period.August p. 48 An additional change in the way that reclamation projects were funded came in 1922 with passage of Hayden's legislation authorizing revenues from sale of hydroelectric power to be credited to repayment of project debts.Rice p. 90 Favoring local control of reclamation projects, in 1917 Hayden wrote legislation transferring financial obligations and operations of the Salt River Project from the Bureau of Reclamation to a local government entity. The Bureau transferring control to local government agencies would become the model for future reclamation projects in The West.August pp. 49–50 Other early efforts by Hayden included sponsoring the creation of the Grand Canyon National Park and the 1919 legislation resulting in the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.Johnson p. 154
Beginning with an appropriation during his first term for the United States Army Corps of Engineers to perform a study accessing the feasibility of building a flood control dam, Hayden sought to bring a reclamation project to the Gila River.August pp. 50–51 Following a favorable feasibility report on the project, Hayden introduced legislation authorizing the San Carlos Project in 1914. Bill opponents claimed that Arizona had already received an overly large share of federal reclamation funds and the legislation was defeated.August p. 55