Joseph L. Bristow

Who was Joseph L. Bristow?

Joseph Little Bristow was an American Republican politician from Kansas.

Born outside Hazel Green, Kentucky, he moved to Kansas when he was twelve. He graduated from Baker University when he was 25.

He edited several newspapers in Salina, Kansas before serving as a private secretary to Governor Edmund Morrill. He was President William McKinley's fourth assistant postmaster general.

Bristow was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1908 and served from 1909 to 1915. Bristow is perhaps best known for provoking a sarcastic comment from Vice President Thomas R. Marshall. One day while Bristow was delivering a speech in the Senate on "what this country needs", Marshall whispered loudly enough for most of the chamber to hear, "What this country really needs is a good five-cent cigar."

Bristow fought fiercely for direct election of Senators, which, until the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1912, were elected by state legislatures.

Bristow is also known for giving Dwight D. Eisenhower his recommendation for entrance into the United States Military Academy.

Bristow was defeated in his 1914 re-election bid. He spent the rest of his days farming his Virginia estate, Ossian Hall.