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Line 52: − + − − Morrison patronized the Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies at Southeastern University. In 1995, Dr. John Miller, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, inaugurated the annual James H. Morrison Lecture on Politics and Government at Southeastern. Political figures from both parties have delivered Morrison lectures, including Democratic former [[U.S. Senator]] [[John Breaux]] and Jack A. "Jay" Blossman, Jr., the Republican former chairman of the Louisiana Public Service Commission, on which he no longer serves. − − ==References== − {{reflist}} − − {{DEFAULTSORT:Morrison, James H.}} − [[Category:Louisiana People]] − [[Category:Attorneys]] − [[Category:Politicians]] − [[Category:Former United States Representatives]] − [[Category:Democrats]] − [[Category:Liberals]] − [[Category:Episcopalians]] − − ==Background== − − Born in Hammond, the principal city of Tangipahoa Parish, one the "Florida Parishes" east of the capital city of [[Baton Rouge]], Morrison was the son of [[banker]]-[[merchant]] Benjamin M. Morrison and the former Florence Hobson (1878–1972), originally from Greensboro in Hale County in the western Black Belt region of [[Alabama]]. − A maternal uncle, Richmond Pearson Hobson (1870-1937) was a naval hero of the [[Spanish–American War]] and later served five terms in the U. S. House from Alabama. − − Morrison attended public schools and obtained the [[Juris Doctor]]ate degree from [[Tulane University]] Law School in [[New Orleans]] in 1934. He practiced law in Hammond with Joseph Arthur Sims (1914-1973), later an aide to [[Governor]] [[Earl Long|Earl Kemp Long]]. − − In 1940, Morrison married the former Marjorie Abbey (November 1916 – January 25, 2016) of Webb in Tallahatchie County in northwestern [[Mississippi]]. A graduate of Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, [[Virginia]], and an advocate of the arts who did post-graduate studies at the New York School of Interior Design, Mrs. Morrison was the daughter of Thomas Benton and Julia Cochran Abbey. The couple had two sons, James Hobson Morrison, Jr. (born November 1942), and wife, Lisa, of Hammond, and Benjamin Abbey Morrison (born July 1944) of New Orleans.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://obits.nola.com/obituaries/nola/obituary.aspx?n=marjorie-morrison&pid=177460147|title=Marjorie Morrison (1916-2016)|publisher=''The New Orleans Times-Picayune''|accessdate=January 27, 2016}}</ref> − − ==Political career== − − In 1936, Morrison ran for the state Senate but lost by a narrow margin. He alleged vote fraud, and although he did not take office, from then until he was elected to Congress commonly billed himself as "Senator Jim Morrison." In 1937, Morrison wrote the charter of the newly formed Louisiana Farmers Protective Union and launched a public relations campaign on behalf of union members in the [[strawberry]] belt centered about Tangipahoa Parish. − − In his first election to Congress in 1942, Morrison defeated the conservative [[incumbent]], Jared Young Sanders, Jr. (1892-1960), in the Democratic primary. He was unopposed in the [[general election]] of 1942 as well as the elections of 1944 and 1946. He secured a total of twelve terms before Rarick, defeated him in the 1966 primary, 51.2 to 48.8 percent. − − After the end of [[World War II]], Morrison introduced a bill to grant U.S. citizenship to New Orleans ''[[Mafia]]'' boss Sylvestro Carolla "Silver Dollar Sam" Carolla in order to prevent Carolla's deportation. Though he signed the [[Southern Manifesto]] and later joined all Louisiana congressional delegation members in voting against the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]], Morrison was considered politically liberal during the 1960s because of his support for many federal social programs. − − On November 8, 1960, [[Republican Party|Republicans offered the native [[Pennsylvania]]n, [[Charles H. Dillemuth]] as their nominee against Morrison. A Baton Rouge [[business]]man with an impressive war record for whom a local humanitarian award is named, Dillemuth polled only 14.4 percent of the vote.<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, November 8, 1960.</ref> − − In 1964, the Republican businessman Floyd O. Crawford (1907-1995) of Baton Rouge, formerly from [[Illinois]], ran a stronger race than had Dillemuth. However, Crawford too was defeated, 48,715 votes (37.1 percent) to Morrison's 82,686 (62.9 percent). Crawford was aided by the presence of [[Barry oldwater]] at the top of the [[Republican Party|GOP]] ticket, and he won majorities in three parishes near Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, West Feliciana, and St. Helena]— all obtained in the year prior to adoption of the pivotal [[Voting Rights Act]] of 1965], which would thereafter turn all three of those predominantly [[African-American]] parishes into Democratic strongholds. − − Crawford's modest but burgeoning support may have encouraged stronger opposition to Morrison to emerge in 1966. Another factor was Morrison's support of the aforementioned Voting Rights Act, followed by a so-called "backlash" of new white registrants who in some cases neutralized the effect of increased voting registration by blacks.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,842857-1,00.html|title=The Turning Point|publisher=''[[Time Magazine]]''|date=October 7, 1966|accessed January 15, 2009}}</ref> The increased African American registration was less than what the Morrison camp expected, and the Voting Rights Act also removed the formal barrier against registration by subliterate whites. In the Democratic primary, a candidate named "James E. Morrison" (not the incumbent James H. Morrison), received thousands of votes without campaigning — enough votes to embarrass the incumbent into a runoff. In a campaign vitriolic even by Louisiana standards, Morrison, advertising Rarick as "the [[Ku Klux Klan|Klan]]'s man from Indiana" with a picture of a cross burning, alleged that James E. Morrison's name on the ballot was the result of a conspiracy by Rarick's supporters. Rarick countered by saying that the incumbent had voted to put "thousands of illiterates on the voter rolls" and should pay the consequences.</ref> − − On three occasions, Morrison ran unsuccessfully for governor — 1940 (polling 48,243 votes or 8.7 percent and losing to the eventual winner, [[Sam Houston Jones]]), 1944 (with 76,081 votes or 15.9 percent and failing to enter the runoff with [[Jimmie Davis]]), and 1948 (101,754 votes or 15.8 percent and failing to enter the runoff with the resurgent Earl Long). <ref>''Congressional Quarterly's Guide to Elections," Gubernatorial primary elections, 1940, 1944, 1948.</ref>In 1944, his other opponents were Lewis Lovering Morgan of Covington, the ticket mate of Earl Long, who unsuccessfully sought the lieutenant governorship that year; [[Sam Caldwell]], the mayor of [[Shreveport]], and colorful state Senator Dudley J. LeBlanc of Abbeville in Vermillion Parish. In 1948, Morrison campaigned for governor with the promise of a soldiers' "bonus". His ticket mates included [[Lucille May Grace]] for register of state lands and J. Y. Fontenot for lieutenant governor,<ref>''Minden Herald,'' January 16, 1948, p. 14.</ref> but victory that year went to the slate supporting the return to office of former Governor Earl Long. In the gubernatorial races, Morrison could run for governor without sacrificing his U.S. House seat because Louisiana holds [[Governor|gubernatorial]] elections a year before the presidential election. − − Representative Morrison was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions of1956 and 1960 and supported the [[Adlai Stevenson]] and [[John F. Kennedy]] tickets, respectively. Morrison was not related to New Orleans [[Mayor]] deLesseps Story "Chep" Morrison, Sr. (1912-1964), though the two often agreed politically and both ran unsuccessfully for governor on three occasions. After his defeat for Congress, Morrison resumed his law practice in Hammond. Rarick served in the House seat from 1967 to 1975, only a third of the tenure that Morrison accumulated. − − ==Death and legacy== − − Morrison died of a [[heart attack]] after a series of [[stroke]]s. His last residence was in Loranger in central Tangipahoa Parish. He is interred at the Episcopal Church Cemetery in Hammond. U.S. Route 51, a main north-south thoroughfare through Hammond, was renamed Morrison Boulevard in honor of the congressman. − − Morrison donated his congressional papers to the Archives and Special Collections Department of Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond. His photographic collection of national leaders, family, and campaign events are displayed in the Linus A. Sims Memorial Library in what is called the "Morrison Room." Linus Arthur Sims (1882-1949) was the principal founder of Southeastern University and the father of Morrison's former law partner, Joseph Sims. After the donation of his papers to SLU, Morrison valued this donation at $1.6 million and attempted to take an [[income tax]] reduction of over $61,100 over a five-year period. The United States Tax Court held that Morrison failed to establish the claimed deduction.<ref>''Morrison v. Commissioner'', 71 T.C. 683, 1979 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 183.</ref> On appeal, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the decision of the Tax Court.<ref>''Morrison v. Commissioner,'' 611 F.2d 98 (5th Cir. 1980).</ref>
no edit summary
Morrison was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1956 and 1960 and supported the [[Adlai Stevenson]] and [[John F. Kennedy]] tickets, respectively. Morrison was not related to New Orleans [[Mayor]] deLesseps Story "Chep" Morrison, Sr. (1912-1964), though the two often agreed politically and both ran unsuccessfully for governor on three occasions. After his defeat for Congress, Morrison resumed his law practice in Hammond. Rarick served in the House seat from 1967 to 1975, only a third of the tenure that Morrison accumulated.
Morrison was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1956 and 1960 and supported the [[Adlai Stevenson]] and [[John F. Kennedy]] tickets, respectively. Morrison was not related to New Orleans [[Mayor]] deLesseps Story "Chep" Morrison, Sr. (1912-1964), though the two often agreed politically and both ran unsuccessfully for governor on three occasions. After his defeat for Congress, Morrison resumed his law practice in Hammond. Rarick served in the House seat from 1967 to 1975, only a third of the tenure that Morrison accumulated.
==Death and legacy==
==Death and legacy===
Morrison died of a [[heart attack]] after a series of [[stroke]]s. His last residence was in Loranger in central Tangipahoa Parish. He is interred at the Episcopal Church Cemetery in Hammond. U. S. Route 51, a main north-south thoroughfare through Hammond, was renamed Morrison Boulevard in honor of the congressman.
Morrison died of a [[heart attack]] after a series of [[stroke]]s. His last residence was in Loranger in central Tangipahoa Parish. He is interred at the Episcopal Church Cemetery in Hammond. U. S. Route 51, a main north-south thoroughfare through Hammond, was renamed Morrison Boulevard in honor of the congressman.
Morrison donated his congressional papers to the Archives and Special Collections Department of Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond. His photographic collection of national leaders, family, and campaign events are displayed in the Linus A. Sims Memorial Library in what is called the "Morrison Room." Linus Arthur Sims (1882-1949) was the principal founder of Southeastern University and the father of Morrison's former law partner, Joseph Sims. After the donation of his papers to SLU, Morrison valued this donation at $1.6 million and attempted to take an [[income tax]] reduction of over $61,100 over a five-year period. The United States Tax Court held that Morrison failed to establish the claimed deduction.<ref>''Morrison v. Commissioner'', 71 T.C. 683, 1979 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 183.</ref> On appeal, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the decision of the Tax Court.<ref>''Morrison v. Commissioner'', 611 F.2d 98 (5th Cir. 1980).</ref>
Morrison donated his congressional papers to the Archives and Special Collections Department of Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond. His photographic collection of national leaders, family, and campaign events are displayed in the Linus A. Sims Memorial Library in what is called the "Morrison Room." Linus Arthur Sims (1882-1949) was the principal founder of Southeastern University and the father of Morrison's former law partner, Joseph Sims. After the donation of his papers to SLU, Morrison valued this donation at $1.6 million and attempted to take an [[income tax]] reduction of over $61,100 over a five-year period. The United States Tax Court held that Morrison failed to establish the claimed deduction.<ref>''Morrison v. Commissioner'', 71 T.C. 683, 1979 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 183.</ref> On appeal, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the decision of the Tax Court.<ref>''Morrison v. Commissioner'', 611 F.2d 98 (5th Cir. 1980).</ref>
Morrison patronized the Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies at Southeastern University. In 1995, Dr. John Miller, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, inaugurated the annual James H. Morrison Lecture on Politics and Government at Southeastern. Political figures from both parties have delivered Morrison lectures, including Democratic former [[U.S. Senator]] [[John Breaux]] and Jack A. "Jay" Blossman, Jr., the Republican former chairman of the Louisiana Public Service Commission, on which he no longer serves.
Morrison patronized the Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies at Southeastern University. In 1995, Dr. John Miller, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, inaugurated the annual James H. Morrison Lecture on Politics and Government at Southeastern. Political figures from both parties have delivered Morrison lectures, including Democratic former [[U.S. Senator]] [[John Breaux]] and Jack A. "Jay" Blossman, Jr., the Republican former chairman of the Louisiana Public Service Commission, on which he no longer serves.