Changes

Arends was first elected to the House in the 1934 midterms, defeating Democrat incumbent Frank Gillespie narrowly.<ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=262725 IL District 17 Race - Nov 06, 1934]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved June 13, 2021.</ref> He was re-elected in a rematch the following election cycle,<ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=262867 IL District 17 Race - Nov 03, 1936]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved June 13, 2021.</ref> and hardly faced any serious challengers in his following eighteen re-elections.<ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=33106 Candidate - Leslie C. Arends]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved June 13, 2021.</ref>

Arends voted in favor of [[anti-lynching legislation]] in 1937<ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/75-1/h27 TO PASS H. R. 1507, AN ANTI-LYNCHING BILL.]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved June 14, 2021.</ref> and 1940,<ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/76-3/h96 TO PASS H.R. 801, A BILL TO MAKE LYNCHING A FEDERAL CRIME.]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved June 14, 2021.</ref> the Gavagan-Wagner bill and the Gavagan-Fisher bill respectively.<ref>[https://fascinatingpolitics.com/2018/07/01/on-ideology-and-anti-lynching-legislation/ On Ideology and Anti-Lynching Legislation]. ''Mad Politics: The Bizarre, Fascinating, and Unknown of American Political History''. Retrieved June 14, 2021.</ref>

During World War II, Arends opposed the [[Lend-Lease Act]],<ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/77-1941/h6 TO PASS H.R. 1776, A BILL TO PROMOTE THE DEFENSE OF THE UNITED STATES (LEND-LEASE BILL).]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved August 8, 2021.</ref> relaxing neutrality laws, as well as naval construction projects.<ref name=wapo>Pierson, Richard (July 17, 1985). [https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1985/07/17/leslie-c-arends-89-dies/5749e25b-9c38-477d-ae06-bcfa275031a7/ Leslie C. Arends, 89, Dies]. ''The Washington Post''. Retrieved June 13, 2021.</ref> He also opposed [[organized labor]] and supported agricultural projects. Becoming the Minority Whip in 1943,<ref name=latobituary>LAT Archives (July 17, 1985). [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-07-17-me-7907-story.html 30-Year House GOP Whip Leslie Arends Dies at Age 89 ]. ''Los Angeles Times''. Retrieved June 13, 2021.</ref> Arends helped lead the powerful [[Conservative Coalition]] of Republicans and [[Boll Weevils]] which controlled the domestic agenda from 1937 to 1964. He supported [[Robert A. Taft]] over [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] for the 1952 Republican presidential nomination,{{fact}} and was an early supporter of the party's nominees [[Richard M. Nixon]] and [[Barry Goldwater]]<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1964/06/24/archives/goldwater-plans-delegate-watch-senators-aides-will-keep-track-at.html GOLDWATER PLANS DELEGATE WATCH; Senator's Aides Will Keep Track at Convention]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved June 13, 2021.</ref> in the campaigns of the 1960s. In the [[United States presidential election, 1964|1964 presidential election]], Arends particularly denounced smears against Goldwater, describing those who spread the attacks as "hate-peddlers" employing a "big lie".<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1964/09/30/archives/goldw-ater-backer-scores-hate-drive.html GOLDW ATER BACKER SCORES ‘HATE’ DRIVE]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved June 13, 2021.</ref>

Arends organized the GOP opposition to [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]'s [[Great Society]] and campaigned in the 1960s with fellow conservatives [[Charles A. Halleck]] and [[Charlotte T. Reid]].<ref>[https://history.house.gov/People/Detail?id=20261 Reid, Charlotte Thompson]. ''US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives''. Retrieved June 13, 2021.</ref> He also supported [[civil rights]] legislation, voting for the [[Civil Rights Act]]s of [[Civil Rights Act of 1957|1957]],<ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/85-1957/h42 HR 6127. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1957.]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved June 13, 2021.</ref> 1960,<ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/86-1960/h106 HR 8601. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1960. APPROVAL BY THE HOUSE OF THE SENATE'S AMENDMENTS.]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved June 13, 2021.</ref> [[Civil Rights Act of 1964|1964]],<ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/88-1964/h182 H.R. 7152. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964. ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION (H. RES. 789) PROVIDING FOR HOUSE APPROVAL OF THE BILL AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE.]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved June 13, 2021.</ref> 1968,<ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/90-1967/h113 TO PASS H.R. 2516, A BILL TO ESTABLISH PENALTIES FOR INTERFERENCE WITH CIVIL RIGHTS. INTERFERENCE WITH A PERSON ENGAGED IN ONE OF THE 8 ACTIVITIES PROTECTED UNDER THIS BILL MUST BE RACIALLY MOTIVATED TO INCUR THE BILL'S PENALTIES.]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved June 13, 2021.</ref> as well as the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]].<ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/89-1965/h87 TO PASS H.R. 6400, THE 1965 VOTING RIGHTS ACT.]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved June 13, 2021.</ref>

{{cquote|I wouldn't say party regularity enters into it so much on the Appropriations Committee. On some other committees it might. But we're the no-spend party. I like to say we have more fiscal responsibility than the other party, so the people on our side are all that way. Usually we have no way of knowing whether he [a candidate for the Committee] would be a spender. Of course, if we knew that someone was inclined to spend money and was opposed to everything the Republican Party stood for in that way, why we wouldn't put him on the Appropriations Committee.}}

In early 1965, Arends was targeted for defeat for his post as the House Republican Whip by [[New Jersey]] [[Moderate Republican]]<ref>Berliner, David C. (June 3, 1973). [https://www.nytimes.com/1973/06/03/archives/frelinghuysen-moderate-republican-an-affluent-district.html Frelinghuysen: Moderate Republican]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved August 8, 2021.</ref> colleague [[Peter Frelinghuysen, Jr.]],<ref name=wapo/> the father of Rodney Frelinghuysen. His fellow conservative colleague [[Charles Halleck]] had just been unseated by Moderate Republican then-representative [[Gerald Ford]] from the House Republican Leader position, which was attributed to backlash against Halleck's leadership following significant defeats in the 1964 elections.<ref>[https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/notablealumni/13/ Charles Abraham Halleck]. ''Maurer School of Law''. Retrieved June 13, 2021.</ref> However, Arends had enough support within the House GOP and maintained his position by eleven votes.<ref name=wapo/>

A member of the House Armed Services Committee, Arends defended the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] in March 1964 against critics.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1964/03/27/archives/arends-defends-cia-against-critics.html Arends Defends C.I.A. Against Critics]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved June 13, 2021.</ref>