page_title: Sheridan Downey
section_title: U.S. Senate
hierarchical_section_title: Sheridan Downey / U.S. Senate
caption_attribution_description: English: Title: "$30 every Thursday" pension plan out as President discusses political situation with California candidates. Washington, D.C., Sept. 27. Sheridan Downey, who defeated Senator William Gibbs McAdoo, and other victors in the recent California Democratic Primary, were at the White House today to discuss the political situation with President Roosevelt. They admitted they did not discuss the "$30 every Thursday" pension plan with the Chief Executive. Pictured, left to right: Ellis E. Patterson, nominee for Lieut. Governor; Colbert L. Olson [sic], Nominee for Governor; and Sheridan Downey, nominee for the Senate, 9/27/38 Abstract/medium: 1 negative&#160;: glass&#160;; 4 x 5 in. or smaller
context_page_description: Sheridan Downey was a lawyer and a Democratic U.S. Senator from California from 1939 to 1950.
context_section_description: In 1938 Downey was elected to the United States Senate where he served until his resignation in November 1950.  He ran as a supporter of the proposed "Ham and Eggs" government pension program and defeated incumbent Senator William Gibbs McAdoo in the Democratic primary by more than 135,000 votes. Despite the strong backing McAdoo received from the White House and a personal campaign appearance by President Franklin Roosevelt to endorse McAdoo, Downey won the primary and went on to win the general election, defeating Republican Philip Bancroft 54%-46%. On October 24, 1938, Downey appeared on the cover of Time magazine.
  Though he had been considered a staunch liberal, Downey as a senator became a conservative Democrat who won the support of California's major oil interests. He supported the efforts of oil companies and agribusiness to procure state, rather than federal, control of California's oil resources. He also worked to exempt the California Central Valley from the Reclamation Act of 1902 to assist corporate farms. In the Senate, Downey also introduced a series of pension bills, and in 1941, he was named chairman of a special Senate committee on old-age insurance.
  He took an early stand supporting a military draft but opposed the Roosevelt administration's plans to requisition industries in time of war. During World War II, he called for the creation of a committee to investigate the status of blacks and other minorities in the armed forces and advocated a postwar United Nations, international control of atomic energy, increased veterans' benefits, and federal pay raises. At the end of the war, he opposed continuation of the military draft.
  During his years in the Senate, Downey often represented the interests of California's powerful motion picture industry. His shift from a liberal New Dealer to a conservative Democrat would become officially recognized after the war ended.
caption: Sheridan Downey on 27 September 1938
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