John M. Slack

John M. Slack (1975)

John Mark Slack, Jr. (born March 18, 1915 in Charleston , West Virginia , † March 17, 1980 in Alexandria , Virginia ) was an American politician . Between 1959 and 1963 he represented the sixth and from 1963 to 1980 the third electoral district of the state of West Virginia in the US House of Representatives .

Career

John Slack attended public schools in Charleston and then the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington . Between 1948 and 1952 he was employed by the Kanawha County District Court . He was then between 1952 and 1958 administrative officer ( County Assessor ) in this county.

Politically, Slack became a member of the Democratic Party . In 1958 he was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC as their candidate in the sixth district of West Virginia . There he succeeded Robert Byrd on January 3, 1959 , who moved to the US Senate , where he still holds office today, setting a new record in office for US Senators. After a re-election in 1960, Slack could represent the sixth constituency in Congress until January 3, 1963 . After the dissolution of this district in 1962 as a result of a census and a redistribution of the constituencies, Slack ran in the third district of West Virginia. He beat incumbent Congressman Cleveland M. Bailey in his party's primary. After he also won the actual election, Slack was able to continue his term in Congress without interruption. After eight re-elections, he remained in Congress until his death on March 17, 1980. His tenure included the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War , the moon landing, the Watergate affair and the murder of John F. Kennedy , his brother Robert and Martin Luther King . During this time, four amendments to the constitution were discussed and passed.

After a by-election, the seat of parliament held by John Slack fell to his party colleague John G. Hutchinson , who ended Slack's last legislative term.

Web links

• John M. Slack in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• John M. Slack in the database of Find a Grave (English)