George W. Norris

George W. Norris

George William Norris (born July 11, 1861 in Clyde in York Township , Sandusky County , Ohio , †  September 2, 1944 in McCook , Nebraska ) was an American lawyer and politician, the House of Representatives of the United States and US Senator for the state of Nebraska was.

Early years

George William Norris was born the eleventh of twelve children to poor parents on a farm near Clyde, Ohio. He attended local schools and later studied law at Baldwin University (now: Baldwin-Wallace College ) in Berea while making a living as a teacher. He then did his Bachelor of Laws at Valparaiso University in Indiana . In 1885 he moved to the affluent town of Beaver City , Nebraska, and began working as a lawyer. He was district attorney ( county attorney ) of Furnas County for three legislative terms and from 1895 to 1902 district judge ( district judge ). In 1889 he married Pluma Lashley († 1901), who gave birth to three daughters, and moved to McCook in 1899. He had no children with his second wife, Ellie Leonard, whom he married in 1903.

Political rise

On March 4, 1903, his term as Republican began in the US House of Representatives, where he was active for a total of five legislative terms (until March 3, 1913). 1910 Norris was a key figure in the dispute with the Speaker of the House , Joseph Gurney Cannon , where these parts forfeited his political power. For example, the speaker was no longer chairman of the United States House Committee on Rules and could not personally appoint members of the other house committees .

Norris did not stand for re-election in 1912 because he was elected to the Senate. His term of office lasted from March 4, 1913 to January 3, 1943. He rejected President Woodrow Wilson's foreign policy and spoke out against the United States joining the First World War . He is considered the father of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and was responsible for the 20th Amendment to the American Constitution . He also campaigned for workers' rights, for example with the Norris-La Guardia Act of 1932, which passed a law that invalidated employment contracts in which workers had to refrain from union activity .

In 1928 and 1932, Norris supported the Democratic presidential candidates Al Smith and Franklin D. Roosevelt , but without being affiliated with the Democratic Party . When he was re-elected in 1936, he was not a member of either party.

Committees

During his tenure, Norris chaired the following committees:

• Committee on the Five Civilized Tribes of Indians
• Committee on Patents
• Committee on Agriculture and Forestry
• Judiciary Committee of the Senate

Death and legacy

George William Norris was responsible for a number of lasting changes. Some of his progressive policies continue to have an impact today. For example, Norris was the driving force behind the reshaping of the Nebraska Legislature , which is still the only US state to have a unicameral system. The first major dam built by the Tennessee Valley Authority was named Norris Dam in his honor . He also gave his name to the Norris Highway and the city of Norris in Tennessee.

George William Norris died in McCook on September 2, 1944, after he had previously retired from public life. His home in McCook was protected as a National Historic Landmark of the United States in 1967 under the name George W. Norris House . The following year, Norris' widow bequeathed the property to the Nebraska State Historical Society , and the house was designated a Nebraska State Historic Site and converted into a museum dedicated to the Senator's work.

literature

• Alfred Lief: Democracy's Norris: The biography of a lonely crusade , Octagon Books, 1977, ISBN 0-374-94998-0 .
• George William Norris: Fighting Liberal: The Autobiography of George W. Norris , Bison Books, 1992, ISBN 0-8032-8365-2 .

Web links

Commons : George W. Norris  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• George W. Norris in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• George W. Norris in the database of Find a Grave (English)

Remarks

1. ^ National Park Service, National Historic Landmarks Program: Norris, George W., House ( Memento of March 11, 2009 in the Internet Archive ); accessed May 14, 2017.
2. ^ Nebraska State Historical Society: more about ... Senator George Norris State Historic Site ; accessed May 14, 2017.