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William M. Colmer | |
|---|---|
 Colmer in 1940 | |
| Chair of theHouse Rules Committee | |
| In office January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1973 | |
| Speaker | John W. McCormack Carl Albert |
| Preceded by | Howard W. Smith |
| Succeeded by | Ray Madden |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMississippi | |
| In office March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1973 | |
| Preceded by | Robert S. Hall |
| Succeeded by | Trent Lott |
| Constituency | 6th district (1933–1963) 5th district (1963–1973) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William Meyers Colmer (1890-02-11)February 11, 1890 Moss Point, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Died | September 9, 1980(1980-09-09) (aged 90) Pascagoula, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | Millsaps College |
William Meyers Colmer (February 11, 1890 – September 9, 1980) was an American politician fromMississippi.
Colmer was born inMoss Point, Mississippi, and attendedMillsaps College. He served in the military duringWorld War I.
Colmer was electedJackson County attorney in 1921, becoming district attorney in 1928.
In 1932, Colmer was elected to theHouse of Representatives as aDemocrat from Mississippi's 6th District, located on the Gulf Coast. He was reelected 19 times. His district was renumbered the 5th after the 1960 Census, when Mississippi's declining proportion of the US population due to theGreat Migration cost it a congressional seat.
Originally elected as a supporter of PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt'sNew Deal, Colmer became increasingly conservative as the years passed. He became disenchanted as the national Democratic Party began to support theCivil Rights Movement and chose to back theDixiecrats in 1948.[1] After theBrown v. Board of Education (1954) decision by theUnited States Supreme Court, ruling that public school segregation was unconstitutional, Colmer helped to get Southern Democratic congressmen to sign the "Southern Manifesto"[2] declaring their resistance. Colmer voted against theCivil Rights Acts of 1957,[3] theCivil Rights Acts of 1960,[4] theCivil Rights Acts of 1964,[5] and theCivil Rights Acts of 1968[6] as well as the24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution[7] and theVoting Rights Act of 1965.[8]
Colmer endorsed the unpledged electors slate in 1960,Republican Partypresidential candidatesBarry Goldwater in 1964, andRichard Nixon in 1972. Because of his seniority, he advanced to the position as chairman of theRules Committee, serving from 1967 to 1973.
Colmer did not run for reelection in 1972. He endorsed his administrative assistant,Trent Lott, as his successor, although Lott ran as a Republican. Colmer served longer in the U.S. House of Representatives than anyone in Mississippi's history exceptJamie Whitten, who served 54 years in Congress from 1941 to 1995. (Fellow MississippianJohn Stennis would serve over 41 years in the U.S. Senate from late 1947 until early 1989.)
Media related toWilliam M. Colmer at Wikimedia Commons| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromMississippi's 6th congressional district 1933–1963 | District eliminated afterCensus 1960 |
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromMississippi's 5th congressional district 1963–1973 | Succeeded by |
Chairs of theU.S. House Committee on Rules (1880–present) | ||
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