Remembering the Venerable Senator Birch Bayh
By Kate O'Brien-Nicholson
29th March 2019
“You simply cannot look at the evolution of equality in our nation without acknowledging the contributions and the commitment Senator Bayh made to securing equal rights and opportunities for every American” – Billie Jean King
Fordham University Press remembers former Indiana Senator Birch Baych, who passed away on March 14th, 2019 at the age of 91.
Most notably, he was known as a Founding Father of Title IX, which outlaws discrimination based on sex, the The Twenty-Fifth Amendment, which deals with the succession of Presidents in the event of death, disability or resignation, and the 26th Amendment, which lowered the voting age from 21 to 18. The aforementioned achievements barely scratch the surface of the contributions he made during his 27 year tenure. He was an influential and persuasive legislator, but he is also remembered by many for his character. Evan Bayh, who followed in his father’s footsteps and became the 46th Governor of Indiana, tells IndyStar that his father was an “extrovert who was devoted to his fellow citizens and trying to make their lives better…” His peers regarded Birch as a “good listener and communicator,” and believe he should be regarded as a “constitutional scholar.”
Fordham University Press is proud to further commemorate Bayh by highlighting a work from the former Dean of Fordham University’s law school, John D. Feerick. His book, The Twenty-Fifth Amendment: Its Complete History and Applications, delves deep into the history of the Amendment’s uses in the past twenty years and how those uses (along with new legal scholarship) have changed the Amendment and perceptions of presidential disability in general. Click here to learn more about his work and where to buy.