Jared Y. Sanders, Jr.
| Jared Young Sanders, Jr. | |
 | |
United States Representative for Louisiana's 6th congressional district
| |
| In office May 1, 1934 – January 3, 1937 | |
| Preceded by | Bolivar Edwards Kemp, Sr. |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | John K. Griffith |
| In office January 3, 1941 – January 3, 1943 | |
| Preceded by | John K. Griffith |
| Succeeded by | James H. Morrison |
Louisiana State Representative
for East Baton Rouge Parish | |
| In office 1928–1932 | |
| Preceded by | Two-member district T. Sambola Jones |
| Succeeded by | Two-member district J. Oliver Bouanchaud |
Louisiana State Senator for
East Baton Rouge Parish | |
| In office 1932–1934 | |
| Preceded by | Charles A. Holcombe |
| Succeeded by | Fred A. Blanche |
| Born | April 20, 1892 Franklin, St. Mary Parish, Louisiana |
| Died | November 29, 1960 (aged 68) Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Resting place | Roselawn Memorial Park in Baton Rouge |
| Political party | Democrat-turned-States' Rights Party (1960) |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Briggs Sanders (married 1921-1960, his death) |
| Children | Mary Elizabeth Sanders (1923-2006) |
| Residence | Bogalusa, Louisiana Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Alma mater | Louisiana State University Washington and Lee University (Virginia) |
| Occupation | Attorney |
| Religion | Christian Science |
Military Service
| |
| Service/branch | United States Army in France |
| Rank | Captain |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
Jared Young Sanders, Jr. (April 20, 1892 – November 29, 1960),[1] was a Democratic member of both houses of the Louisiana legislature and the United States House of Representatives for the 6th congressional district, perhaps best known for his conservative opposition to legendary Governor and U.S. Senator Huey Pierce Long, Jr., and his support of the States' Rights Party of Louisiana in 1960.
Background
Sanders was born in Franklin, the seat of St. Mary Parish in south Louisiana, to Governor Jared Y. Sanders, Sr., who served from 1908 to 1912, and the former Ada Shaw of Fouke in Miller County, in in southwestern Arkansas[2] His parents divorced when Sanders was twenty.
He was educated in public schools and the Dixon Academy in Covington in St. Tammany Parish, one of the suburban areas outside New Orleans. He graduated from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge in 1912. From 1912 to 1913, he attended Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. He then transferred to the Tulane University Law Schoo in New Orleans, from which he received his LL.B. degree in 1914. He was admitted to the practice of law in Bogalusa in Washington Parish to the east of Baton Rouge]], where his father, whose term as governor had expired, was also then practicing law. Shortly thereafter, Sanders moved to Baton Rouge, where he would reside for most of the remainder of his life.[3]
During World War I, Sanders served in the United States Army in France, having obtained the rank of captain of the 346th Infantry,.[3] On October 5, 1921, he wed the former Mary Briggs (1903-1990) of Little Rock, Arkansas, the daughter of C. H. Briggs and the former Eugenia Tate. They had a daughter, Mary Elizabeth Sanders (1923-2006).
Political career
Sanders was elected to the Louisiana House in 1928 and served a single term. He was elected to the state Senate in 1932 and, with Cecil Morgan of Shreveport and Ralph Norman Bauer of Franklin, became the "Dynamite Squad," a term used to refer to the opposition leader to Governor and U.S. Senator Huey Long. In the impeachment proceedings brought against Governor Long in the Louisiana House in 1929, Long had been accused of having plotted to kill Sanders.[2]
In 1934, Sanders was elected to the United States House of Representatives from the Baton Rouge-based 6th district, a seat also held by his father from 1917 to 1921, and made vacant by the death of incumbent Bolivar Edwards Kemp, Sr. Sanders first ran in a "revolt election" in December 1933 protesting a hurriedly called special election won by Kemp's widow, Esther, known as "Lallie" Kemp. The House refused to seat either Sanders or Lallie Kemp. Mrs. Kemp did not run in the subsequent special election held of May 1, 1934, and Sanders was elected by defeating Agriculture Commissioner Harry D. Wilson, an ally of Long and the father of Cajun humorist and chef Justin Wilson (1924-2001), whose sister was married to Bolivar Edwards Kemp, Jr., son of Bolivar Kemp, Sr., and Lallie Kemp. Kemp, Jr., was the state attorney general from 1948 to 1952.
Sanders was defeated for renomination in 1936 by John K. Griffith but staged a short comeback for the congressional seat in 1940, when he defeated Griffith. Then Sanders was toppled in the 1942 primary by the liberal James H. Morrison of Hammond in Tangipahoa Parish[2] Morrison held the position until after his 1966 primary defeat at the hands of conservative Judge John Rarick of St. Francisville in West Feliciana Parish.
Sanders attended meetings in 1935 to plan an anti-Long ticket in the state elections. Long accused him of involvement in a plot to assassinate him. Their conflict was bitter, but there is no evidence that either plotted to murder the other. [2] The Democrat Richard Leche, a pro-Long factional ally, won the governor's race that year.
Sanders attended the Democratic national conventions which re-nominated President Franklin D. Roosevelt for third and fourth terms in 1940 and 1944. He continued his law practice in Baton Rouge. In 1960, the conservative Sanders refused to support either Democrat John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts or Republican Richard M. Nixon of California for the presidency. Instead, he was an unsuccessful candidate for presidential elector on the Louisiana States Rights Party ticket,[2] along with future Republican Governor David C. Treen, Plaquemines Parish District Attorney Leander Henry Perez, Sr. (1891-1969), the political activist Kent Courtney, then of New Orleans, and former state Senator William Rainach of Claiborne Parish in North Louisiana. Ben C. Toledano, a lawyer and later a Republican candidate for mayor of New Orleans in 1970 and the United States Senate]in 1972, was also active in the States' Rights Party for a brief period. Sanders died just days before the successful Louisiana electors cast their ballots in Baton Rouge for the winning Kennedy-Lyndon B. Johnson slate[4]
Sanders was an active Mason and was deputy grand master of the Grand Lodge of Louisiana in 1960. A member of the Christian Science denomination, Sanders died in Baton Rouge and is interred there at Roselawn Memorial Park.[5]
References
- ↑ Jared Young Sanders Jr. (1892-1960) - Find A Grave Memorial, accessed April 7, 2021.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Dictionary of Louisiana Biography - S - Louisiana Historical Association (lahistory.org), accessed April 7, 2021.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress - Retro Member details, accessed April 7, 2021.
- ↑ .Sanders obituary, The New York Times, November 30, 1960.
- ↑ Jared Young Sanders Jr. (1892-1960) - Find A Grave Memorial, accessed April 7, 2021.