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James Armstrong Mackay | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 1965 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's4th district | |
| In office January 3, 1965 – January 3, 1967 | |
| Preceded by | District established (redistricting) |
| Succeeded by | Benjamin B. Blackburn |
| Member of theGeorgia House of Representatives DeKalb County | |
| In office 1951–1953 | |
| In office 1955–1964 | |
| Constituency | DeKalb County |
| Personal details | |
| Born | James Armstrong Mackay (1919-06-25)June 25, 1919 Fairfield, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | July 2, 2004(2004-07-02) (aged 85) Chattanooga, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Education | Emory University (AB), (LLB) |
James Armstrong Mackay (June 25, 1919 – July 2, 2004) was an American politician and attorney fromGeorgia. Mackay was first elected to theUnited States House of Representatives in 1964, representing the4th district as aDemocrat. He served a single term, losing his re-election bid in 1966. He died on July 2, 2004, inChattanooga, Tennessee.
Mackay was born inFairfield, Jefferson County, Alabama on June 25, 1919. In 1940 he graduated with an A.B. degree fromEmory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He was a member ofKappa Alpha Order. Mackay attendedDuke University from 1940 to 1941. After active duty, he returned to Emory where he was president of the student body and received an LL.B. in 1947.
DuringWorld War II, he served as aCoast Guard Reserve officer on theUSSMenges, a destroyer escort in the Mediterranean, in 1944, and earned aBronze Star Medal for rescuing men when his ship was torpedoed.
During his tenure, he supported passage ofMedicare, and obtained federal funding for theFernbank Science Center and Planetarium. He was one of only two congressmen from Georgia (the other beingCharles L. Weltner of the 5th district) to vote for theVoting Rights Act of 1965.[1]
Mackay was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the90th United States Congress in1966.
Mackay practiced law inDecatur, Georgia, with his daughter Kathy and remained active in the Georgia Conservancy. He was a lifelong Methodist and served as an Emory trustee.
Mackay was one of 32 state House members who opposed the Georgia flag change in 1956. "There was only one reason for putting the flag on there. Like the gun rack in the back of a pickup truck, it telegraphs a message," he said decades later. On Feb. 13, 1956, the day Governor Griffin approved the new flag with its Confederate emblem, the state Senate gave final legislative approval to a resolution declaring null and void the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Brown vs. Board of Education.
Emory University conferred an Honorary Doctorate Degree on Mackay at its Sesquicentennial Convocation December 10, 1986. The honors included the Georgia Conservancy’s "Distinguished Conservationist Award," the DeKalb Historical Society’s "History Maker Award," the 1979 Rock Howard Award, and the 1984 "Mr. DeKalb" Award.
Georgia Conservancy president John Sibley remarked after Mackay's passing, "He was a larger-than-life person and an environmentalist who raised the level of the environmental movement in Georgia all by himself." Mackay recognized that public concern for the environment, stemming from the 1962 publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, needed to take root in Georgia. In January 1967, he assembled some of his colleagues to discuss forming the group that today is known as one of the leading environmental organizations in the nation.
Under Mackay’s leadership, the Conservancy understood that seeing what was happening in Georgia is the best way to learn about places and issues, that being active rather than reactive leads to success, and that Georgia’s economy and ecology are inseparable. The Georgia Conservancy honored Jamie with its Distinguished Conservationist award in 2001. Sweetwater Creek, Panola Mountain, the Okefenokee Swamp, Chattooga River, Cumberland Island, and Fernbank are only a few of his legacies.
Mackay died on July 2, 2004, one week after his 85th birthday, atLookout Mountain, Tennessee, where he maintained a boat cleat on his deck a thousand feet above the floor of Lookout Valley and invited others to join his Society of Noah.
His first wife, Mary Caroline Lee Mackay, and his son, James Edward Mackay, predeceased him. He was survived by his wife Sara Lee Mackay, and his daughter Kathleen Mackay, ofRising Fawn, Georgia, a former member of the DeKalb Bar Association. Mackay's remains were cremated.
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| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromGeorgia's 4th congressional district January 3, 1965 – January 3, 1967 | Succeeded by |
| Georgia House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of theGeorgia House of Representatives forDeKalb County 1951–1953 With:Richard Bell William Hugh McWhorter | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theGeorgia House of Representatives forDeKalb County 1955–1964 With:William Hugh McWhorter (1955–1961) Guy Rutland, Jr. (1955–1964) Pierre Howard (1961–1963) J. Robin Harris (1963–1964) | Succeeded by |
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographical Directory of the United States Congress.Federal government of the United States.
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