Norris Cotton

Norris Cotton

Norris H. Cotton (born May 11, 1900 in Warren , Grafton County , New Hampshire , † February 24, 1989 in Lebanon , New Hampshire) was an American politician ( Republican Party ) who represented the state of New Hampshire in both chambers of the Congress represented.

Promotion to Congressman

The come on a farm born Norris Cotton was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter and Wesleyan University in Middletown ( Connecticut ), in which he made 1923 its conclusion. During this time he also worked as an administrative clerk in the New Hampshire Senate . In 1923 he moved to the New Hampshire House of Representatives as an MP , making him one of the youngest MPs in state history. He then graduated from the Law School of the George Washington University in Washington, DC , after which he was admitted to the bar in 1928 and began practicing in Lebanon. At times he was also on the staff of US Senator George H. Moses .

In 1943 Cotton was re-elected to the House of Representatives for his state, where he also served as the Republican majority leader. In 1945 he succeeded Sherman Adams as Speaker of this Chamber of Parliament. The following year he succeeded in moving into the United States House of Representatives , where he represented the second district of New Hampshire after multiple re-elections until November 7, 1954. That day he stepped down after winning the by-election for the Senate seat of the late Charles W. Tobey . In 1956 he was confirmed for a full term; two more re-elections followed.

Two terms in the Senate

In the Senate he was soon one of the leading figures in his group. In his last term from 1973 to 1975 he held the post of Republican Conference Chairman . One of his most controversial decisions was his rejection of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 , for which all other New England MPs voted. He later passed other civil rights laws such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Civil Rights Act of 1968 . In 1974 Cotton did not stand for re-election; three days before the end of his term in office, he resigned to allow his successor Louis C. Wyman to join the company earlier.

On August 8, 1975, Cotton returned to Congress as an appointed Senator. He took over Wyman's seat, which the Senate had previously declared vacant. The reason was a lawsuit that had dragged on for months and was initiated by John A. Durkin , Democratic candidate in the previous Senate election. This had resulted in a two-vote lead for Republican Wyman, whereupon the election of Durkin was challenged. After a long party-political dispute, both candidates finally agreed to run for a new election; by then, Norris Cotton would once again represent New Hampshire's interests in the Senate.

He did this until September 18 of the same year. On that day he was replaced by Durkin, who had won the by-election by eleven percentage points. Cotton finally ended his political career and returned to New Hampshire, where he died in 1989. The Norris Cotton Cancer Center in Lebanon and a federal building in Manchester were named after him in his honor.

Web links

• Norris Cotton in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Norris Cotton in the database of Find a Grave (English)