Legacy
By the late 1940s, the foreign policy Vandenberg had shaped was falling apart at its seams. Conflicts in the senate abounded. Vandenberg was no longer strong enough to act as a voice for compromise and cooperation. He tried his best, but failing health held him back.
The long interval between the discovery in 1948 of a tumor and its removal in October 1949 was due to the Senator’s firm insistence that his health was of far less importance than his attention to affairs of government... His inflexible determination to conclude these responsibilities without regard to his personal welfare and against the advice of his doctors unquestionable was a contributing factor in later serious physical disability.
-Arthur Vandenberg Jr. [1]
He returned to Grand Rapids for cancer treatment and found himself bedridden by February, 1951. He dictated letters when he could no longer write. On April 18, 1951, Senator Arthur H. Vandenberg passed away.
His fellow senators reflected on his legacy in memorial speeches.
He had the greatest gift any legislator could have -- the gift of being able to bring men of sharply opposing views into harmony upon the vital questions of foreign policy… He was one of the giants of the Senate, and a great American.
-Ernest McFarland, April 1951 [2]
But out of the sorrow of the hour we can derive some measure of solace as we consider Arthur Vandenberg’s long and distinguished career in the service of his country, and his devotion to the cause of peace and justice everywhere. Reflecting on his personality and character and his method of doing things, we can derive inspiration and new courage to meet the challenge of the hour, and, meeting it, to overcome the obstacles that confront us. His mantle falls on all of us. It remains for us to accept it and to assume the obligation which it imposes on us.
-Irving Ives, April 1951 [3]
God Grant that we may daily emulate his lofty example of placing the welfare of the Nation above the welfare of all political parties and service to humanity above all selfish temptations and above all materialistic considerations.
-Matthew Neely, April 1951 [4]
Ten years after Vandenberg’s death, then-Congressman Gerald R. Ford gave his own speech.
Senator Arthur Hendrick Vandenberg became one of the architects of American foreign policy which now works for world peace by combined international effort to make the non-Communist countries of the world so strong that no Soviet dictator would dare take the risk of starting a war of conquest. His historic address in January, 1945, indicating that he, who had been a noninterventionist before World War II now clearly perceived that the world had changed and had contracted, led the way to acceptance of America's role as a leader of the free nations of the earth... Much of the united effort we have undertaken since World war II has been due to the wisdom and efforts of Senator Vandenberg. Again, Senator Arthur Vandenberg was not afraid to change his views when convinced that another was right. He had a genius for seeing what was in the other man's mind and in trying to get the best of that man's thought to formulate agreements which embodied the beat of everybody's thinking. Senator Vandenberg was a man who did all he could to make the world free and decent and honest...He was considerate and fair in doing what he thought was right. He never failed to remember and serve his constituents in Michigan any more than he did the people of the world.
-Gerald R. Ford, April 1961 [5]
Arthur H. Vandenberg shaped a lasting legacy, not only in American history but also in global history. His willingness to put the needs of America before his own ideology and step forward both into compromise and conflict shaped a legacy of international cooperation that remains to this day.