William M. Colmer

William M. Colmer, 1940

William Meyers Colmer (born February 11, 1890 in Moss Point , Mississippi , † September 9, 1980 in Pascagoula , Mississippi) was an American politician and represented the state of Mississippi as a member of the US House of Representatives .

Career

William Meyers Colmer was born on February 11, 1890 in Moss Point, Mississippi, where he attended Millsaps College. During the First World War he served in the army. After the war, Colmer was elected District Attorney for Jackson County , Mississippi in 1921 , and District Attorney in 1928. Colmer was elected to the US House of Representatives in 1932 as a Democrat for the 6th Mississippi District. He was then re-elected nineteen more times. Its district was renamed the 5th after the 1960 Census when Mississippi lost a congressional seat due to a falling population.

Originally elected as an advocate of the New Deal , Colmer became more and more conservative as the years went by, especially as the Democrats became more benevolent towards civil rights. After the " v Brown Board of Education. " - judgment, Colmer 1956 participated in the constitution of the Southern Manifesto , a letter which spoke out against racial integration in public institutions. He was also a supporter of Richard Nixon's presidency in 1960, 1968 and 1972, and Barry Goldwaters in 1964. Despite his strong opposition to racial integration, he was the chairman of the Rules Committee between 1967 and 1973.

After that, Colmer decided not to run again for re-election in 1972. He recommended his administrative assistant Trent Lott as his successor, although Lott was a Republican . Colmer served longer in both Congresses than anyone before him in Mississippi history, with one exception being Jamie Whitten , who served 54 years in Congress.

William Meyers Colmer died on September 9, 1980 on his estate in Pascagoula, Mississippi. He was buried in Machpelah Cemetery in Pascagoula, Mississippi.

literature

• Wolfganglauch: Representative William M. Colmer and Senator James O. Eastland and the Reconstruction of Germany, 1945. Journal of Mississippi History 34 (August 1972), pp. 193-214.

Web links

Commons : William M. Colmer  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• Biography from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress