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Gale McGee was a University of Wyoming Professor, a U.S. Senator from Wyoming (1959-1977), and the U.S. Ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS) (1977-1981). Born on Saint Patrick's Day, March 17, 1915, in Lincoln, Nebraska, McGee attended public schools, where he was prominent in debate. He wanted to study law, but the depression forced him to attend Nebraska Teaching College, where he graduated in 1936.

McGee taught high school from 1936 to 1939 while working toward a master's degree in history at the University of Colorado. He continued as a college instructor at Nebraska Wesleyan University, Iowa State College, and Notre Dame. In 1946, McGee received his Ph.D. in history from the University of Chicago and accepted a position as a professor of American history at the University of Wyoming. The following year he became chairman of the Institute of International Affairs at the University of Wyoming.

Active in Democratic politics, McGee was asked to run for Congress in 1950, which McGee ultimately was convinced was not the right time. In 1955 and 1956, he took a leave of absence from the University to work as a legislative assistant to Wyoming Senator Joseph C. O'Mahoney.

In 1958, McGee made his bid for the U.S. Senate and won, challenging incumbent Frank A. Barrett. McGee ran on a program of youth and new ideas, which received national attention. He served three terms in the U.S. Senate representing Wyoming, winning re-election in 1964 and 1970 until his defeat in 1976.

As Senator, McGee served on the Appropriations, Foreign Relations, Commerce, and Post Office and Civil Service committees. McGee was an internationalist, advocating for U.S. foreign aid to developing countries and fighting Communism by promoting Democratic values. Considered the leading "hawk" supporting U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, McGee frequently debated his close friend and fellow professor, Senator George McGovern (D-SD), the leading "dove," during one of the most divisive periods in our Nation's history.

Domestically, Senator McGee supported the social, environmental, and conservation programs of the "New Frontier" and "Great Society." While on the Appropriations Committee, McGee successfully directed federal aid for Wyoming's public works, public lands, as well as its agriculture, livestock, wool, and energy industries. He played a vital role in modernizing U.S. foreign aid, extending voting rights, and ending nationwide railroad and postal strikes.

Following his defeat in 1976 to Malcolm Wallop, President Carter appointed him as U.S. Ambassador to the OAS, where he was instrumental in the Senate ratification of the Panama Canal Treaty. In 1981, he established a consulting firm in Washington, D.C. Throughout his professional life, McGee was a recognized scholar of U.S. history and known as a forceful and effective orator on foreign and domestic issues.

As of 2022, McGee remains the last Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from Wyoming. In 2007, Congress renamed the Laramie, Wyoming Post Office in his honor. McGee's biography "The Man in the Arena: The Life and Times of U.S. Senator Gale McGee," written by Rodger McDaniel, was published in 2017.

Gale W. McGee married Loraine Baker in 1939, and together, they had four children, David W., Robert M., Mary Gale, and Lori Ann. Senator McGee died on April 9, 1992, in Washington, D.C.

From T.A. Larson Preface to the Gale W. McGee Papers:

"One of Wyoming's most prominent U.S. Senators, Gale W. McGee, died in Bethesda, Maryland, April 9, 1992, at the age of 77. Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, he grew up in Norfolk, Nebraska, and attended Nebraska State Teachers College at Wayne, Nebraska, the University of Colorado, and the University of Chicago. He earned his Ph.D. degree in history at Chicago. After short periods teaching at Nebraska, Wesleyan, Iowa State, and Notre Dame, he taught at the University of Wyoming, 1946-1958.

Some later speculated that McGee settled in Wyoming because his chances of getting elected to the U.S. Senate would be better there than in his native Middle West. Franklin D. Roosevelt had recently converted many of Wyoming's small population to his party.

McGee's preparation for the U.S. Senate could not have been programmed better. Blessed with a quick mind and a powerful, resonant voice, he focused early on oratory, extemporaneous speaking, and debate. He majored in American History and Foreign Relations, writing his dissertation on the Monroe Doctrine. Wyoming wanted his favorite courses and soon he was given the direction of an already popular summer Institute of International Affairs.

From the outset his classes were very popular and before long, he was on the regional Knife and Fork Clubs circuit and in demand for high school commencement addresses. Uniquely he spoke to all audiences without notes. He memorized the opening and closing sentences, and ad-libbed the four or five main parts, which followed one another logically.

In 1950 Democrats encouraged him to run for the U.S. House of Representatives, but he chose to bide his time rather than challenge a seasoned Republican after only four years in the state. The savvy senior U.S. Senator, Joseph C. O'Mahoney, took him in tow. He approved his spending a sabbatical leave (1952-1953) in the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations in New York City. Three years later O'Mahoney employed him as his legislative assistant in Washington, D.C. The university trustees reluctantly allowed McGee a leave without pay.

Republicans realized that McGee was being groomed for elective office. Yet some raised eyebrows when he filed to oppose incumbent U.S. Senator Frank A. Barrett in 1958. Barrett had lost only one election in his long career as county attorney, state legislator, four-term congressman, governor, and U.S. senator. At sixty-five, he was still vigorous and dedicated to serving conservative constituents. McGee, at forty-three, had no money and knew the Democrats could supply no more than half as much campaign funds as the GOP. Yet he defeated Barrett by a margin of 2,503 votes. Former students dominated his campaign organization. Faculty colleagues effectively answered allegations that he was a "dangerous left-wing liberal."

In the Senate, McGee's forty-minute maiden speech was delivered without notes, an unprecedented performance. He served eighteen years on the powerful Appropriations Committee and for shorter periods on other major committees. After his defeat in 1976, he served four years as Ambassador to the Organization of American States. His twenty-two years of public service spanned a very crucial period of American history.

As his department head at the University of Wyoming, I had ample opportunities to observe McGee's extraordinary self-confidence, courage, enthusiasm, wit, and civility. He was a leader in an academic freedom dispute with the Board of Trustees in 1950-1951, risking his untenured job. His great faith in democracy and his country's mission in the world inspired colleagues and students. He laced his lectures with sparkling humor. He manifested unusual civility and cooperation with political opponents. He worked smoothly with Republican Senator Cliff Hansen for Wyoming initiatives. In his Senate career, he maintained friendly relations with all five presidents, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, and Carter. No senator had more concern for higher education. None spoke to as many university audiences – more than 700.

Senator McGee opposed clear-cutting in national forests and investigated environmental problems first-hand. Whether or not political opportunity attracted him to Wyoming in 1946, trout fishing definitely did. It was my good fortune to go with him on a hundred or more fishing expeditions in southeastern Wyoming before he went to the Senate. He pursued pheasants and grouse with comparable gusto, though less often. In sum, Gale W. McGee left an indelible mark on the University of Wyoming History Department, as well as on the state, the U.S. Senate and his country. His papers, now for the first time made available, are truly a tremendous bonanza for research scholars."

T. A. Larson, Professor Emeritus, University of Wyoming, May 1997