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Thomas B. Curtis | |
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromMissouri | |
| In office January 3, 1951 – January 3, 1969 | |
| Preceded by | Raymond W. Karst |
| Succeeded by | James W. Symington |
| Constituency | 12th district (1951–53) 2nd district (1953–69) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1911-05-14)May 14, 1911 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | January 10, 1993(1993-01-10) (aged 81) Allegan, Michigan, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Alma mater | Washington University in St. Louis Dartmouth College Westminster College |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1942–1945 |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Thomas Bradford Curtis (May 14, 1911 – January 10, 1993) was an AmericanRepublican politician fromMissouri who represented suburbanSt. Louis County, Missouri for nine terms from 1951 to 1969.[1] He was a primary driver behind theCivil Rights Act of 1964 and aggressive supporter of civil rights for black Americans throughout his career.[citation needed]
Born inSt. Louis, Missouri, Curtis attended the public schools ofWebster Groves, Missouri. He attendedDartmouth College inHanover, New Hampshire where he was a member ofPhi Sigma Kappa, earning an A.B. in 1932. He was admitted to the bar in 1934 and commenced the practice of law in St. Louis. He received an LL.B. degree fromWashington University School of Law in 1935. He received an M.A. from Dartmouth in 1951, and a J.D. fromWestminster College in 1964.[1] He served duringWorld War II in theUnited States Navy from April 8, 1942, until discharged as alieutenant commander on December 21, 1945.[1]
Curtis served as member of the Board of Election Commissioners of St. Louis County in 1942. He served as member of the Missouri State Board of Law Examiners from 1947 to 1950.[1] Curtis came from a family of Democrats but became a Republican in protest of Democratic bossism and the Kansas City Pendergast machine.[2] Curtis was an early supporter ofRobert A. Taft in 1948 and 1952 as the Republican frontrunner.[3]
Curtis was elected as aRepublican to the Eighty-second and to the eight succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1951 – January 3, 1969).
TheCivil Rights Act of 1964 originated in Curtis' office in October 1962, and it was mainly Republican pressure from Curtis and his fellow Republican Judiciary Committee memberWilliam McCulloch of Ohio that forced John F. Kennedy to make his first, hesitant message on civil rights in April 1963.[4][5] Curtis' defense of civil rights was rooted partly in the Lincoln tradition of the GOP, but more simply in the belief that civil rights were at the base of the American philosophy of government and Judeo-Christian morality and that their defense was "the most fundamental issue that confronts any government at any time," as he wrote in 1952.[5][6]
Curtis did not sign the 1956Southern Manifesto, and voted in favor of theCivil Rights Acts of 1957,[7]1960,[8]1964,[9] and1968,[10] and theVoting Rights Act of 1965,[11] but voted against the24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.[12] Up until the mid-1960s, Curtis had been an opponent of the military draft.[2]
He was not a candidate for reelection in 1968 to the House of Representatives but was an unsuccessful candidate for election to theUnited States Senate, losing to DemocratThomas Eagleton by a 51% to 49% margin.[13]
Curtis was a noted economist, considered by most Republicans and some Democrats to be the most knowledgeable and insightful economist in Washington during his tenure as a Member of Congress.[citation needed]
He served as delegate to theRepublican National Convention in1964,1976 and1980. He served as vice president and general counsel,Encyclopædia Britannica, from 1969 to 1973. He was an unsuccessful candidate for theUnited States Senate again in 1974, winning only 39% of the vote against incumbentThomas Eagleton.[citation needed] He served as chairman of theCorporation for Public Broadcasting from 1972 to 1973. He served as chairman of theFederal Election Commission from April 1975 to May 1976. He endorsedRonald Reagan over PresidentGerald Ford during the1976 Republican primaries.[14][15] He was a consultant for the National Association of Technical and Trade Schools from 1984 until his death in 1993.[1]
Curtis was a resident ofPier Cove, Michigan, until his death inAllegan, Michigan, on January 10, 1993.[16]
| Party political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Republican nominee forU.S. Senator from Missouri (Class 3) 1968,1974 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromMissouri's 12th congressional district 1951–1953 | Succeeded by District eliminated |
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromMissouri's 2nd congressional district 1953–1969 | Succeeded by |
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