John H. Overton
| John Holmes Overton, Sr. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Former U.S. Senator from Louisiana From: March 4, 1933 – May 14, 1948 | |||
| Predecessor | Edwin S. Broussard | ||
| Successor | William S. Feazel | ||
| Former U.S. Representative from Louisiana's 8th Congressional District From: May 12, 1931 – March 3, 1933 | |||
| Predecessor | James B. Aswell | ||
| Successor | Cleveland Dear | ||
| Information | |||
| Party | Democrat | ||
| Spouse(s) | Ada Ruth Dismukes | ||
John Holmes Overton, Sr. (September 17, 1875 – May 14, 1948) was a pro-Long Democrat and attorney from Louisiana who was the state's U.S. senator from 1933 until his death in 1948. He previously represented the eighth congressional district in the United States House of Representatives for one term.
One of his nephews was U.S. representative Thomas Overton Brooks (usually referred to as Overton Brooks), who represented the fourth congressional district from 1937 until his death in 1961.
Contents
Political career
An ally of Huey Pierce Long, Jr., Overton served as an attorney to "The Kingfish" when impeachment was filed against then-governor Long in 1929.[1] This alliance would prove crucial in propelling Overton's election to Congress. When U.S. representative James B. Aswell died in office on March 16, 1931, Overton ran for the seat as the hand-picked successor by Long[1] and won the special election to serve out the remainder of the term.[2]
U.S. Senate
Due to the Jim Crow disenfranchisement of blacks in the South, the main competition in practically all elections for the region during the time was in the Democrat primary. Overton ran for U.S. Senate in the 1932 elections coinciding with the concurrent presidential race, challenging incumbent Edwin S. Broussard. Again with the backing of Long's powerful political machine, Overton, considered an entertaining speaker,[1] handily defeated Broussard by nearly twenty points[3] and faced no competition in the general election.[4]
After losing the primary, Broussard filed a complaint to the U.S. Senate against Overton, charging that corruption in the Long-dominated state administration influenced the Senate Democrat primary.[5] Although a Senate committee rebuked tactics used by Huey Long, it cleared charges against Overton, who took the Senate seat.
Tenure
Considered an expert on waterway matters,[1] Overton sponsored flood acts several times during his Senate tenure.[6] Like most racist Southern Democrats, he opposed anti-lynching measures, voting to table the Copeland rider amendments in 1937[7][8] and against cloture to end a filibuster on an anti-lynching bill in 1938.[9]
Within his home state, Overton was targeted for ousting by Hilda Phelps Hammond, who led the Women's Committee of Louisiana in fierce opposition to the corruption of the Long political machine.[10] However, even after Long's assassination in 1935, Overton was popular enough in his state[1] to be re-elected in 1938[11] and 1944.[12]
In the 1946 Senate race in Mississippi, incumbent Democrat racist demagogue Theodore Gilmore Bilbo threatened and intimidated blacks during his re-election campaign, leading to calls for him being blocked from taking his Senate seat following the general election.[13] The Senate GOP in that midterm cycle had just gained a majority, and, amidst petitions filed against Bilbo, moved to halt the latter.[14] However, prior to the start of the new Congress on January 3, 1947, the Senate committees were still controlled by the Democratic Party, including one which the case was referred to. It consisted of five members, three being Southern Democrats (Allen J. Ellender of Louisiana, Burnet Maybank of South Carolina, and Elmer Thomas of Oklahoma) and two being conservative Republicans (Bourke Hickenlooper of Iowa and Styles Bridges of New Hampshire).[14] Ellender, the chair of the committee, defended the racist voter suppression as a result of "tradition" rather than Bilbos' rhetoric,[13] and the committee voted 3–2 on party lines to clear Bilbo.[14] However, the GOP-led 80th Congress still budged in refusal to seat Bilbo. Overton then introduced two motions that would allow Bilbo to be seated as investigations continued; this was due to the fact that expelling a seated senator required an unobtainable two-thirds majority rather than merely a simple majority.[14] Both motions were tabled, with all Republicans and less than half of Democrats voting to kill the Overton motions.[15][16] Bilbo ultimately did not take his seat due to health issues, and ultimately died of mouth cancer later in 1947 following decades of spewing virulent, demagogic racism.
Death in office
Overton was admitted to Bethesda Naval Hospital for a stomach obstruction in 1948; an emergency surgery performed on him proved to be of little help, and he died on May 14.[1] He is interred at Mount Olivet Cemetery, located in the city of Pineville.
See also
- Allen J. Ellender, his Louisiana senatorial colleague since 1937
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 design (May 1, 2016). Huey Long’s Lawyer: Senator John Overton of Louisiana. The Knoxville Focus. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
- ↑ LA - District 08 Special Election Race - May 12, 1931. Our Campaigns. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
- ↑ LA US Senate - D Primary Race - Sep 13, 1932. Our Campaigns. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
- ↑ LA US Senate Race - Nov 08, 1932. Our Campaigns. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
- ↑ Long/Overton Expulsion. United States Senate. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
- ↑ Jackson, Leah (November 29, 2011). Family donates John Overton Collection to library. Northwestern State University. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
- ↑ TO TABLE AN AMENDMENT TO S. 69, THE INTERSTATE COMMERCE ACT. THE AMEND. OFFERED BY SENATOR COPELAND WHICH WOULD HAVE ADDED HOUSE BILL 1507, THE ANTILYNCHING BILL, TO S. 69, A BILL LIMITING THE SIZE OF TRAINS IN INTERSTATE COMMERCE.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
- ↑ TO TABLE AN AMENDMENT TO S. 2475. OFFERED BY SENATOR COPELAND WHICH WOULD HAVE ADDED THE ANTILYNCHING BILL AS PERFECTED BY THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY TO THE PENDING LEGISLATION.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
- ↑ TO IMPOSE CLOTURE ON DEBATE H.R. 1507, AN ANTI-LYNCHING BILL. GovTrack.us. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
- ↑ Dictionary H. Dictionary of Louisiana Biography. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
- ↑ LA US Senate Race - Nov 08, 1938. Our Campaigns. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
- ↑ LA US Senate Race - Nov 07, 1944. Our Campaigns. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 The Election Case of Theodore G. Bilbo of Mississippi (1947). United States Senate. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Fleegler, Robert L. Theodore G. Bilbo and the Decline of Public Racism, 1938-1947. Mississippi Historical Society. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
- ↑ S RES 1. WHITE MOTION THAT THE OATH OF OFFICE BE ADMINIS- TERED TO BREWSTER. TAFT MOTION TO TABLE OVERTON MOTION TO SUBSTITUTE THE NAME OF BILBO.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
- ↑ S RES 1. RESOLUTION TO REFER TO RULES COMMITTEE BILBO'S CLAIM TO A SENATE SEAT. OVERTON AMEND. TO PERMIT OATH TO BE ADMINISTERED TO BILBO. TAFT MOTION TO TABLE BOTH RESOLUTION AND AMEND.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
