George Aiken

George Aiken
Official portrait, c. 1940s
United States Senator from Vermont
In office January 10, 1941 – January 3, 1975
Preceded by	Ernest W. Gibson Jr.
Succeeded by	Patrick Leahy
64th Governor of Vermont
In office January 7, 1937 – January 9, 1941
Lieutenant	William H. Wills
Preceded by	Charles Manley Smith
Succeeded by	William H. Wills
60th Lieutenant Governor of Vermont
In office January 9, 1935 – January 7, 1937
Governor	Charles Manley Smith
Preceded by	Charles Manley Smith
Succeeded by	William H. Wills
77th Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives
In office January 4, 1933 – January 8, 1935
Preceded by	Edward H. Deavitt
Succeeded by	Ernest E. Moore
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives from Putney
In office January 7, 1931 – January 7, 1935
Preceded by	Robert Goodyear Loomis
Succeeded by	William Hinds Darrow
Personal details
Born	George David Aiken (1892-08-20)August 20, 1892 Dummerston, Vermont, U.S.
Died	November 19, 1984(1984-11-19) (aged 92) Montpelier, Vermont, U.S.
Resting place	Mount Pleasant Cemetery Putney, Vermont, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouses	Beatrice Howard ​ ​ (m. 1914; died 1966)​ Lola Pierotti ​ (m. 1967)​
Profession	Farmer Horticulturist Author

George David Aiken (August 20, 1892 – November 19, 1984) was an American politician and horticulturist. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 64th governor of Vermont (1937–1941) before serving in the United States Senate for 34 years, from 1941 to 1975. At the time of his retirement, he was the most senior member of the Senate, a feat which would be repeated by his immediate successor Patrick Leahy.

As governor, Aiken battled the New Deal over its programs for hydroelectric power and flood control in Vermont.^[1] As a Northeastern Republican in the Senate, he was one of four Republican cosponsors of the Full Employment Act of 1946. Aiken sponsored the food allotment bill of 1945, which was a forerunner of the food stamp program. He promoted federal aid to education and sought to establish a minimum wage of 65 cents in 1947. Aiken was an isolationist in 1941 but supported the Truman Doctrine in 1947 and the Marshall Plan in 1948.

In the 1960s and 1970s, he steered a middle course on the Vietnam War, opposing Lyndon Johnson's escalation and supporting Richard Nixon's slow withdrawal policies. Aiken was a strong supporter of the small farmer. As acting chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee in 1947, he opposed high rigid price supports. He had to compromise, however, and the Hope-Aiken Act of 1948 introduced a sliding scale of price supports. In 1950, Aiken was one of seven Republican senators who denounced in writing the tactics of Senator Joseph McCarthy, warning against those who sought "victory through the selfish political exploitation of fear, bigotry, ignorance and intolerance."^[2]