As a U.S. senator, Ernest McFarland sponsored more than forty congressional laws, including the landmark GI Bill in 1944. Twice he led the Central Arizona
Project (CAP) to passage in the Senate on its way to ultimate success, and his dedication led to his selection as U.S. Senate majority leader. After
losing to Barry Goldwater in 1952, McFarland returned to Arizona, led a Democratic resurgence, and became a two-term governor. He enjoyed notable achievements
preparing the way for industrial expansion in the state and successfully arguing the CAP case before the U.S. Supreme Court. At age seventy he successfully
ran for the Arizona Supreme Court, where he wrote the controversial decision that was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in Miranda v. Arizona. He
rose to chief justice in 1968, thus achieving the unique political triple crown of serving in the highest position in the legislative, executive, and
judicial branches of state government. Mac passed away in Phoenix in 1984 at age 89, having risen from a log cabin in Oklahoma to Capitol Hill and
to the Arizona statehouse, working alongside such notables as Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson in a career marked by selfless concern for the common
person and stewardship of his nation.
