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Charles Longstreet Weltner
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromGeorgia's5th district
In office January 3, 1963 – January 3, 1967
Preceded by	James C. Davis
Succeeded by	Fletcher Thompson
Judge of theFulton County Superior Court
In office 1976–1981
Justice of theSupreme Court of Georgia
In office 1981–1992
23rdChief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia
In office June 1992 – August 1992
Preceded by	Harold G. Clarke
Succeeded by	Harold G. Clarke
Personal details
Born	(1927-12-17)December 17, 1927 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Died	August 31, 1992(1992-08-31) (aged 64) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Party	Democratic
Alma mater	Oglethorpe University Columbia Law School
Military service
Branch/service	United States Army

Charles Longstreet Weltner (December 17, 1927 – August 31, 1992) was an Americanjurist and politician from theU.S. state ofGeorgia. From 1963 to 1967, he served two terms in theU.S. House of Representatives.

Weltner was born inAtlanta, Georgia. In 1948, he received a bachelor's degree fromOglethorpe University in suburbanDeKalb County, Georgia. In 1950, he received a law degree fromColumbia Law School in New York City. After serving two years in theUnited States Army, Weltner practiced law in Atlanta and worked to defeat Georgia's county-unit system and preserve the public school system after state leaders threatened to close the schools rather than integrate.

In1962, Weltner was elected to representGeorgia's 5th congressional district in theHouse of Representatives as aDemocrat. He ran against RepublicanLeland James O'Callaghan, where he defeated him 55.6%–44.4%.

In1964, he faced O'Callaghan again, and defeated him 54%–46%.

Weltner was one of only two Southern members of Congress to condemn the16th Street Baptist Church bombing inBirmingham, Ala., in 1963 bywhite supremacists that killed four girls and injured between 14 and 22 other people.^[1] He was one of just two members of the state's congressional delegation to vote for theVoting Rights Act of 1965, commenting that "We must not remain forever bound to another lost cause."^[2] Weltner voted in favor of theVoting Rights Act of 1965.^[3] He also supported quick implementation of theUnited States Supreme Court decision to outlawracial segregation in public schools, the 1954 decisionBrown v. Board of Education. Despite this, Weltner initially voted with the majority of his Southern colleagues against theCivil Rights Act of 1964, but voted for the final version with the Senate amendment.^[4][5]

In 1966, Weltner refused to run for re-election when the state Democratic Party demanded that he sign a loyalty oath that would have required him to supportLester Maddox, an ardent segregationist who was running forgovernor against aRepublican U.S. representative,Howard Callaway. In a speech, Weltner said, "I love the Congress, but I will give up my office before I give up my principles." No other had taken the loyalty oath so literally. Weltner described Maddox as "the very symbol of violence and repression". Nevertheless, Maddox was chosen governor by the state legislature as a result of a general election impasse with Callaway and former GovernorEllis Arnall, who received critical votes as a write-in candidate. Maddox ridiculed Weltner for abandoning the House race: "Anyone who would give up his seat in Congress is sick".Conversely, bothU.S. SenatorRobert F. Kennedy andcivil rights movement leaderMartin Luther King Jr., hailed Weltner's courage for rejecting Maddox.^{[citation needed]}The Macon Telegraph decreed Weltner "a public servant greatly to be admired". TheSavannah Morning News termed Weltner "a man of principle" but repudiated his "foolhardy liberalism".^{[citation needed]}

Callaway expressed "amusement" over the "foolish" loyalty oath and questioned whether Weltner withdrew from the race because he feared the RepublicanFletcher Thompson, astate senator from Atlanta, would unseat him. Later Callaway referred to his House colleague Weltner as "courageous", but Weltner dismissed Southern Republicans at that time as "Dixiecrats in button-down shirts". Weltner said Callaway viewed Georgia as "a giant company store".

Weltner tried to regain his seat in1968 on theHumphrey–Muskieticket but lost to his Republican successor,Fletcher Thompson. He was defeated 55.6%–44.4%. In1973, Weltner ran formayor of Atlanta but finished third behind incumbentSam Massell and the eventual winner, Vice MayorMaynard Jackson.

After leaving politics, Weltner continued his legal career, first as a judge in theFulton County Superior Court from 1976 to 1981 and then serving as an associate justice of theSupreme Court of Georgia from 1981 to 1992. He was appointed to the Supreme Court by GovernorGeorge Busbee in October 1981, to succeed retired JusticeHiram K. Undercofler.^[6] In June 1992, Weltner was elected as chief justice of that body by his fellow justices, and he served in that role until his death in Atlanta on August 31, 1992, of esophageal cancer that had been diagnosed two years earlier.^[7]

In 1991, Weltner became the second person to be honored with theJohn F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, the first having been former U.S. RepresentativeCarl Elliott ofAlabama. That same year, Weltner received an honorary Doctor of Humane Lettersdegree from his alma mater Oglethorpe University.^[8] Anhonoris causa inductee ofOmicron Delta Kappa in 1969, he was honored with Omicron Delta Kappa's highest honor, the Laurel Crowned Circle Award, for excellence in leadership in 1992.

Georgia's 5th congressional district:^[9][10][11]

• List of members of the House Un-American Activities Committee

Wikimedia Commons has media related toCharles L. Weltner.

• Speech by Charles Weltner on March 22, 1968, about the Southerner at the crossroads. Audio fromThe University of Alabama's Emphasis Symposium on Contemporary Issues
• United States Congress."Charles L. Weltner (id: W000290)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

• 1927 births
• 1992 deaths
• Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers
• Georgia (U.S. state) state court judges
• Politicians from Atlanta
• Military personnel from Georgia (U.S. state)
• United States Army officers
• Oglethorpe University alumni
• Columbia Law School alumni
• Chief justices of the Supreme Court of Georgia (U.S. state)
• Democratic Party United States representatives from Georgia (U.S. state)
• 20th-century American lawyers
• 20th-century Georgia (U.S. state) state court judges
• Justices of the Supreme Court of Georgia (U.S. state)
• Superior court judges in the United States
• 20th-century United States representatives
• Members of the House Un-American Activities Committee

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