| Norris Henry Cotton | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Former U.S. Senator from New Hampshire From: August 8, 1975 – September 18, 1975 | |||
| Predecessor | Louis C. Wyman | ||
| Successor | John A Durkin | ||
| Former U.S. Senator from New Hampshire From: November 8, 1954 – December 31, 1974 | |||
| Predecessor | Robert W. Upton | ||
| Successor | Louis C. Wyman | ||
| Former U.S. Representative from New Hampshire's 2nd Congressional District From: January 3, 1947 – November 7, 1954 | |||
| Predecessor | Sherman Adams | ||
| Successor | Perkins Bass | ||
| Former State Representative from New Hampshire From: 1943–1947 | |||
| Predecessor | ??? | ||
| Successor | ??? | ||
| Former State Representative from New Hampshire From: 1923–1923 | |||
| Predecessor | ??? | ||
| Successor | ??? | ||
| Information | |||
| Party | Republican | ||
| Spouse(s) | Ruth Isaacs (died 1978) Eleanor Coolidge Brown | ||
| Religion | Congregationalist | ||
Norris Henry Cotton (May 11, 1900 – February 24, 1989) was a New Hampshire Republican who served as the state's U.S. representative from the second congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives, and later as senator. He previously served in the lower state legislature.
U.S. Senate
After the death of incumbent Republican U.S. senator Charles W. Tobey, Cotton successfully ran in the special election to fill the seat.[1] He won re-election in 1956,[2] 1962,[3] and 1968.[4]
Cotton broke from the mostly conservative wing of his party in 1954 when voting in favor of censuring Wisconsin Republican Joseph McCarthy,[5] who exposed communist infiltration of the U.S. government.
He was one of only three Republican senators to vote against the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965.[6] Cotton also voted against the Equal Rights Amendment,[7] which was heavily backed by the D.C. establishment though ultimately defeated by a grassroots conservative movement led by Phyllis Schlafly.
Civil rights
Cotton was a strong supporter of civil rights, voting in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957[8] and 1960.[9] However, like fellow Republican senators Barry Goldwater, Bourke Hickenlooper and Milward Simpson, he voted against the final passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964[10] over concerns that it would excessively expand the size and scope of the federal government beyond the parameters designated by the Constitution.[11] Nevertheless, Cotton did vote in favor of invoking cloture to end the Southern Democrat filibuster of the landmark legislation.[12]
Cotton voted in favor of the Voting Rights Act of 1965[13] and the Civil Rights Act of 1968.[14]
Death and legacy
Cotton died at the age of 88 of pneumonia at his home in Lebanon, New Hampshire. He is interred in the First Congregational Church Cemetery.
The Norris Cotton Cancer Center is named after him,[15] as well as a federal building.[16]
See also
- U.S. "Party-switch" myth
- Styles Bridges, former governor and U.S. senator from New Hampshire
References
- ↑ NH US Senate - Special Election Race - Nov 02, 1954. Our Campaigns. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
- ↑ NH US Senate Race - Nov 06, 1956. Our Campaigns. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
- ↑ NH US Senate Race - Nov 06, 1962. Our Campaigns. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
- ↑ US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1968. Our Campaigns. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
- ↑ S. RES. 301. PASSAGE.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
- ↑ TO PASS H.R. 2580, IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT AMENDMENTS.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
- ↑ TO PASS H.J. RES. 208.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
- ↑ HR. 6127. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1957.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ↑ HR. 8601. PASSAGE OF AMENDED BILL.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ↑ HR. 7152. PASSAGE.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ↑ The Pragmatism of Politics: Senator Norris Cotton and the Civil Rights Legislation in the 1960s. University of New Hampshire. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ↑ HR. 7152. MANSFIELD DIRKSEN MOTION THAT THE SENATE INVOKE CLOTURE ON THE SOUTHERN FILIBUSTER.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ↑ TO PASS S. 1564, THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
- ↑ TO PASS H.R. 2516, A BILL TO PROHIBIT DISCRIMINATION IN SALE OR RENTAL OF HOUSING, AND TO PROHIBIT RACIALLY MOTIVATED INTERFERENCE WITH A PERSON EXERCISING HIS CIVIL RIGHTS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
- ↑ History. Norris Cotton Cancer Center. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ↑ Norris Cotton Federal Building. gsa.gov. Retrieved February 19, 2021.