ABSTRACT
Mike Mansfield was on hand in Washington during the weeks prior to the opening of the new Congress in January 1961. He stayed close to his whip’s office on the gallery floor of the Capitol, making no effort to seek votes for his election as majority leader. The Georgian pointed out in a fraternal but firm manner that the caucus had been unanimous in its selection of Mansfield to serve as majority leader, and the Senate Democrats wanted him to function fully in that role. Mansfield affixed a similar plaque to the rooms to commemorate Kennedy’s brief use of them as president-elect prior to his moving into the White House. Unlike his Montana predecessors in the Congress, Mansfield was a cautious supporter of the great national transition that occurred during World War II, from a prewar isolationism into what was to become a deep US involvement in world affairs.
