Harold D. Cooley

Harold Dunbar Cooley (July 26, 1897 – January 15, 1974) was an American politician of the Democratic Party. He represented the Fourth Congressional district of North Carolina from 1934 to 1966.

Harold D. Cooley
Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee
In office
January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1953
Preceded byClifford R. Hope
Succeeded byClifford R. Hope
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from North Carolina's 4th district
In office
July 7, 1934 – December 30, 1966
Preceded byEdward W. Pou
Succeeded byJim Gardner
Personal details
Born(1897-07-26)July 26, 1897
Nashville, North Carolina, U.S.
DiedJanuary 15, 1974(1974-01-15) (aged 76)
Wilson, North Carolina, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materUniversity of North Carolina, Yale University Law School
Occupationlawyer

Background

He was born on July 26, 1897, in Nashville, North Carolina. He was a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Yale University Law School.

Career

He was a private practice lawyer and military veteran, serving in the United States Naval Aviation Flying Corps during World War I. He was a member of the Interparliamentary Conferences held at Cairo, Egypt, 1947 and at Rome, Italy, 1948 and served as president of the American group for two four-year terms.[1]

On July 7, 1934, he was elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-third Congress by special election to fill the vacancy caused by the death of United States Representative Edward W. Pou. He was subsequently reelected 16 times, serving until his resignation on December 30, 1966. Cooley remains the longest-serving Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture in history. In 1947-8, he served on the Herter Committee.[2] He was one of the few Southern Congressmen not to sign the 1956 Southern Manifesto that opposed the desegregation of public schools ordered by the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education. However, Cooley voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1957,[3] the original version of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (while abstaining on the final version),[4][5] the Civil Rights Act of 1964,[6][7] the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,[8] and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.[9][10]

He was nearly defeated in 1964 by Republican James Carson Gardner and then lost to Gardner by a stunning 13-point upset in 1966.[11]

Death

He died on January 15, 1974, in Wilson, N.C. and is buried in Forest Hill Cemetery, Nashville, N.C.

Legacy

His home at Nashville, the Bissette-Cooley House, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.[12]

References
  1. "Bioguide Search".
  2. "Final Report on Foreign Aid of the House Select Committee on Foreign Aid" (PDF). Marshall Foundation. May 1, 1948. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  3. "HR 6127. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1957". GovTrack.us.
  4. "HR 8601. PASSAGE".
  5. "HR 8601. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1960. APPROVAL BY THE HOUSE OF THE SENATE'S AMENDMENTS".
  6. "H.R. 7152. PASSAGE".
  7. "H.R. 7152. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964. ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION (H. RES. 789) PROVIDING FOR HOUSE APPROVAL OF THE BILL AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE".
  8. "S.J. RES. 29. CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO BAN THE USE OF POLL TAX AS A REQUIREMENT FOR VOTING IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS". GovTrack.us.
  9. "TO PASS H.R. 6400, THE 1965 VOTING RIGHTS ACT".
  10. "TO AGREE TO CONFERENCE REPORT ON S. 1564, THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT".
  11. OurCampaigns: 1966
  12. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.


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