Carl Atwood Elliott was a U.S. Congressman from the state of Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

. He was elected to eight consecutive terms in office, serving from January 1949 to January 1965.

Elliott was born in rural Franklin County in the hills of northwest Alabama. He graduated from high school at the age of 16 from Vina High School in Vina, AL, but few people expected him to be able to afford college. Due to the Depression-era policies of University President George H. Denny, Elliott was able to attend the University of Alabama

University of Alabama

The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....

 in Tuscaloosa by working a variety of jobs around campus to pay for his education. He received his undergraduate degree from the University in 1933 and subsequently enrolled in the University of Alabama School of Law.

While a law student, Elliott ran for the high-profile position of Student Government President at the University of Alabama. With the support of the growing number of out-of-state students and women, Elliott became the first person ever to defeat "the Machine

The Machine

The Machine, the former Alpha Rho chapter of Theta Nu Epsilon at the University of Alabama, is a coalition of traditionally white fraternities and sororities which formed a secret society with some degree of influence over campus and Alabama state politics...

", a select coalition of fraternities and sororities that to this day dominates campus politics at the University. In 1936, Elliott completed his term as SGA President and graduated with his law degree.

Elliott then began his law practice in Russellville, Alabama

Russellville, Alabama

Russellville is a city in Franklin County in the U.S. state of Alabama. At the 2000 census, the population of the city was 8,971. The city is the county seat of Franklin County.-History:...

, near his hometown, but soon moved to the town he would call home for the remainder of his life: Jasper, Alabama

Jasper, Alabama

Jasper is a city in Walker County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 14,659. As of 2011 the population had was 13,857. The city is the county seat of Walker County, and once ranked among the world's leading producers of coal....

. During his career as an attorney in Jasper, Elliott spent most of his time representing coal miners and their families, foreshadowing his long political career of fighting for Alabama's poorest, most disadvantaged people. He served in the U.S. Army from 1942–1944. He was twice elected a local judge in Jasper before running for U.S. Congress in 1948. His "Farm Boy to Congress" persona proved to be very popular among the working class in his district, and he unseated incumbent Rep. Carter Manasco, to the surprise of many political observers. Upon winning the election, Elliott and his wife purchased a residence in the nation's capitol, and they would spend the next 16 years of their lives traveling back and forth between Washington, D.C. and Jasper.

Elliott represented the old Seventh District in the U.S. Congress. He served on the House Veterans Committee, the Education and Labor Committee, and the Rules Committee. He chaired the Select Committee for Government Research. In 1956, Elliott authored the Library Services Act, which brought mobile libraries (Bookmobiles) and continuing library service to millions of rural Americans. In 1958, he co-authored the National Defense Education Act (NDEA), which, in the wake of the U.S.S.R.'s early post-Sputnik lead in the Space Race, improved science, foreign language and technology education nationwide and provided low-interest loans for college and graduate school for needy students. Both laws have been extended; more than 30,000,000 college students nationwide have obtained loans under Elliott's NDEA legislation.

Elliott was defeated in the runoff primary election in 1964. Alabama had failed to redistrict itself from 9 to 8 districts in 1962, so they held a primary in their nine districts and a statewide runoff where the field of nine was narrowed to eight. By the time of the 1964 primaries, a redistricting plan had not passed, so Elliott defeated future Congressman Tom Bevill in a primary. Then in the statewide runoff, Elliott was the Congressman defeated. His defeat was credited to his conflicts with then-governor George C. Wallace over various policies. Alabama would actually pass a redistricting plan after the runoff primary, averting a second statewide general election.

Elliott ran for Alabama governor in 1966 on a platform of federal assistance to the needy, better education, and racial tolerance. He lost the election, which was fraught with racial tension and characterized by bomb threats, defaced campaign billboards, and Ku Klux Klan

Ku Klux Klan

Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...

 appearances at several of his campaign speeches, to Lurleen Wallace

Lurleen Wallace

Lurleen Brigham Wallace , born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, was the 46th Governor of Alabama from 1967 until her death in 1968. She was the first wife of Alabama Governor George Wallace, whom she succeeded as governor. She succeeded her husband as he was forbidden by Alabama law to succeed himself. She...

, running as a proxy for her husband George C. Wallace, who was prohibited by the state constitution from succeeding himself. After Elliott's defeat, he slipped into political obscurity and poverty, having spent his Congressional pension on the gubernatorial race. He resumed practicing law, writing books about local history, producing columns and book reviews for area newspapers, and publishing books by local authors. His books include five volumes of Annals of Northwest Alabama, a history of Red Bay, Alabama

Red Bay, Alabama

Red Bay is a city in Franklin County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 3,374.-Geography:Red Bay is located at .According to the U.S...

, and seven volumes of histories of coal miners.

Elliott received new recognition of his achievements in 1990, when he became the first recipient of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. In the twilight of his life, he received long-sought vindication when he was able to travel to Boston to accept the award from Sen. Ted Kennedy

Ted Kennedy

Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...

. His autobiography, The Cost of Courage: The Journey of An American Congressman, published in 1992, was recently reprinted by the University of Alabama Press.

A one-hour TV special, Conscience of a Congressman: The Life and Times of Carl Elliott, was produced as an episode of The Alabama Experience documentary series by The University of Alabama Center for Public Television & Radio. Only weeks before her death, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

Jacqueline Lee Bouvier "Jackie" Kennedy Onassis was the wife of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, and served as First Lady of the United States during his presidency from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. Five years later she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle...

 watched "Conscience of a Congressman." She had met Elliott when he had served in Congress with her husband. Ms. Onassis was also the editor of Elliott's memoirs. In a letter to Elliott, she wrote that the program's power "was going to be in what it does to young people."

External links

• Carl Elliott's Last Stand, essay by David Vest http://www.mindspring.com/~dcqv/carlelliott.htm
• News Footage: Carl Elliott accepts the first Profile In Courage Award, 1990 http://main.wgbh.org/ton/programs/7313_02.html
• The Carl Elliott Museum http://www.bscc.edu/elliott/index.php
• The Cost of Courage: Journey of an American Congressman by Carl Elliott and Michael D'Orso http://www.amazon.com/dp/081731105X/
• Study Guide: Conscience of a Congressman – The Life and Times of Carl Elliott http://www.alabamatv.org/alex/studyguides/elliott.htm
• Outline for Conscience of a Congressman http://fs.huntingdon.edu/jlewis/Outlines/CarlElliottVideo.htm
• Political Analysis: George Wallace and Carl Elliott http://www.populist.com/wallace.roberson.html
• Alabama Academy of Honor http://www.archives.state.al.us/famous/academy/c_elliot.html