James E. Van Zandt

James E. Van Zandt

James Edward Van Zandt (born December 18, 1898 in Altoona , Pennsylvania , †  January 6, 1986 in Arlington , Virginia ) was an American politician . Between 1939 and 1943 and again from 1947 to 1963 he represented the state of Pennsylvania in the US House of Representatives .

Career

James Van Zandt attended public schools in his home country. He then graduated from the Pennsylvania Railroad Apprentice School , also in Altoona. He then worked in various functions for the Pennsylvania Railroad until 1938 . Then he worked as a passenger agent in his home district . During World War I , he served in the US Navy between 1917 and 1919 . Until 1943 he was a member of the reserve for this branch of service. From 1934 to 1936 he headed the nationwide Veterans of Foreign Wars . Politically, he joined the Republican Party .

In the 1938 congressional election , Van Zandt was elected to the United States House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the 23rd  constituency of Pennsylvania , where he succeeded Don Hilary Gingery on January 3, 1939 . After two re-elections, he could remain in Congress until his resignation on September 24, 1943 . The last New Deal laws of the Roosevelt government were passed there by 1941 , which Van Zandt's party was rather hostile to. Since 1941, the work of the Congress was also shaped by the events of World War II . Van Zandt was called back to active military service while still a member of parliament. He served in various theaters of war in the Navy until 1946; when he retired from the military, he had made it to the position of rear admiral .

In the elections of 1946 Van Zandt was re-elected to Congress in the 22nd district of his state. After seven re-elections, he was able to spend eight more terms in the US House of Representatives by January 3, 1963. From 1953 he represented the 20th electoral district there as the successor to Francis E. Walter . His second time as a congressman, beginning in 1947, saw the start of the Cold War , the Korean War and, domestically, the civil rights movement . When nationalists from Puerto Rico attacked Congress on March 1, 1954 , James Van Zandt personally disarmed one of the attackers.

In 1962 he decided against a further application for the US House of Representatives in favor of a then unsuccessful candidacy for the US Senate . In 1971 he became special advisor to the Governor of Pennsylvania. James Van Zandt spent his old age in Arlington, where he died on January 6, 1986. He was buried in the local Arlington National Cemetery.

Web links

Commons : James E. Van Zandt  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• James E. Van Zandt in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• James E. Van Zandt in the database of Find a Grave (English)

predecessor	Office	successor
Don Hilary Gingery	United States House Representative for Pennsylvania (23rd constituency) January 3, 1939 - September 24, 1943	J. Buell Snyder
D. Emmert Brumbaugh	United States House Representative for Pennsylvania (22nd constituency) January 3, 1947 - January 3, 1953	John P. Saylor
Francis E. Walter	United States House Representative for Pennsylvania (20th constituency) January 3, 1953 - January 3, 1963	Elmer J. Holland