Overton Brooks
Encyclopedia
Thomas Overton Brooks (December 21, 1897 – September 16, 1961) was a Democratic
U.S. representative from the Shreveport-based Fourth Congressional District of northwest Louisiana
, having served for a quarter century beginning on January 3, 1937. Brooks was a nephew of U.S. Senator John Holmes Overton as well as a great-grandson of Walter Hampden Overton
. He chaired the House Science and Astronautics Committee at the time of his death.
as an enlisted man in the Sixth Field Artillery, First Division, Regular Army, 1918-1919.
After the war, he obtained a law degree in 1923 from Louisiana State University
in Baton Rouge. He was then admitted to the bar and began his practice in Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish.
On June 1, 1932, Brooks married the former Mollie Meriwether of Shreveport, a daughter of Minor Meriwether and the former Anne Finley McNutt. They had one child, Laura Anne.
, a fellow Democrat from Minden
, the seat of Webster Parish. Rather than seek reelection to the House, Sandlin ran unsuccessfully in the 1936 Democratic primary against Allen J. Ellender
for an open seat in the U.S. Senate.
In 1940, newly elected Governor of Louisiana Sam Houston Jones urged that Brooks be defeated in the Democratic congressional primary, but Brooks won his third term that year.In 1950, Brooks overwhelmed the conservative intraparty challenge waged by James H. Greene (1918-1988), a 32-year-old graduate of Fair Park High School
, a veteran of the U.S. Navy, and at the time a reporter for the since defunct Shreveport Journal.In 1952, Brooks defeated another young conservative intraparty rival, attorney Lawrence L. May, Jr. (1921-1995), of Vivian
in Caddo Parish, who in an advertisement criticized the mounting casualties of the Korean War
and the excesses of federal bureaucracy
. May declared himself "an anti-Truman, anti-New Deal
, anti-communist
Demorat."
Brooks served on the U.S. House Committee on Armed Services from 1947 to 1958, and he then became the first chairman of the newly formed House Space Committee (later Science and Astronautics), reportedly because his seniority entitled him to a more important post on Armed Services than he was considered capable of handling. He was reappointed in 1961. Although little can be credited to his chairmanship, he was noted for urging the development of a civil, rather than military, space program, and on May 4, 1961, his committee sent a memo to then Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson
on this subject. (President John F. Kennedy's
famous speech which prompted the Apollo program came just a few weeks later.) From his Armed Services Committee berth, Brooks became a champion of veterans' causes. The veterans' medical center in Shreveport bears his name.
He was also president of the National River and Harbor Congress and was an early advocate of making the Red River navigable from Shreveport to Alexandria
, a cause continued by his popular Democratic successor, Joseph David "Joe D." Waggonner, Jr.
, of Plain Dealing
in Bossier Parish.
Brooks was reelected to Congress twelve times. He signed the Southern Manifesto
, a failed congressional attempt to block desegregation
of public schools. In 1956, he campaigned on issues popular with many of his constituents: continued support for segregation, strengthening national defense, the production of natural gas
, rural electrification
, and "fair prices" for farm, dairy, and ranch products. Brooks defeated (68-32 percent) the Republican
nominee Littleberry Calhoun Allen, Jr.
, who later turned Democratic and was elected as Shreveport's public utilities commissioner (1962–1970) and as mayor (1970–1978). Brooks declared himself a lifelong Democrat in that campaign and urged voters to support Adlai E. Stevenson of Illinois
for president over the Louisiana choice that year, Dwight D. Eisenhower
. Allen had called himself an "Eisenhower Republican".
In Brooks' last election in 1960, he overwhelmed his Republican challenger, Fred Charles McClanahan, Jr. (1918–2007), of Shreveport, by a 74-26 percent margin.
Sam Rayburn
of Texas
to appoint newer, more liberal members to the panel which determined which legislation goes to the House floor. Conservatives in both parties generally opposed this vote, which they termed "packing the Rules Committee." Waggonner later announced that he would challenge Brooks in the August 1962 Democratic primary. A civic group known as the Congressional Affairs League of Louisiana was formed to express a vote of "no confidence" in Brooks. Among the organizers of the League were Charles E. Roemer, Jr., of Bossier Parish
, later the commissioner of administration under Governor Edwin Washington Edwards and the father of Governor Buddy Roemer
. From Webster Parish
, organizers were building contractor John L. McInnis (1915–1994) and R. McIntyre Bridges (1926–1992), a physician who served on the parish school board as a conservative Democrat.
Opposition to Brooks' vote to expand the Rules Committee led to the burning of a cross on the congressman's lawn at his Linden Street home in Shreveport. Caddo Parish Sheriff
J. Howell Flournoy
advised Brooks to remain in Washington and not come home until tensions eased.
in Bethesda Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland
. Former Shreveport Mayor
James C. Gardner
, who at the time lived only two blocks from Brooks, said in his memoirs that he believes Brooks' death was "largely a result of the strain that he experienced from the Rules Committee vote. The party had demanded a vote that had a large and vocal opposition among the congressman's constituents."
Brooks' death propelled Waggonner into the special election to choose a new representative. After winning an easy closed Democratic primary race, Waggonner faced a stronger-than-usual Republican challenger in Charlton Havard Lyons, Sr.
(1894–1973), a Shreveport oilman. Waggonner nevertheless prevailed with 54 percent of the vote, having carried every parish in the district except Lyons' Caddo Parish.
Brooks was a member of the Masonic Lodge
, the Shriners
, the Elks, American Legion
, Veterans of Foreign Wars
, and the Kiwanis Club.
Brooks is interred at Forest Park Cemetery
in Shreveport, the final resting place of many Shreveport politician
s. He was Episcopalian.
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
U.S. representative from the Shreveport-based Fourth Congressional District of northwest Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, having served for a quarter century beginning on January 3, 1937. Brooks was a nephew of U.S. Senator John Holmes Overton as well as a great-grandson of Walter Hampden Overton
Walter Hampden Overton
Walter Hampden Overton was a U.S. Representative representing Louisiana's 3rd congressional district. He was born near Louisa Court House, Virginia in 1788 and moved in infancy with his father Thomas Overton to North Carolina, and then to Tennessee in 1801. Overton attended the common schools...
. He chaired the House Science and Astronautics Committee at the time of his death.
Before politics
Brooks was born in Baton Rouge to Claude M. Brooks and the former Penelope Overton. He graduated from public schools. Brooks served overseas during World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
as an enlisted man in the Sixth Field Artillery, First Division, Regular Army, 1918-1919.
After the war, he obtained a law degree in 1923 from Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
in Baton Rouge. He was then admitted to the bar and began his practice in Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish.
On June 1, 1932, Brooks married the former Mollie Meriwether of Shreveport, a daughter of Minor Meriwether and the former Anne Finley McNutt. They had one child, Laura Anne.
Political career
Brooks succeeded John Nicholas Sandlin, Sr.John N. Sandlin
John Nicholas Sandlin, Sr. , of Minden, Louisiana, represented his state's Fourth Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives from 1921 to 1937. In 1936, rather than seeking a ninth term in the House, Sandlin, upon the request of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt,...
, a fellow Democrat from Minden
Minden, Louisiana
Minden is a city in the American state of Louisiana. It serves as the parish seat of Webster Parish and is located twenty-eight miles east of Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish. The population, which has been stable since 1960, was 13,027 at the 2000 census...
, the seat of Webster Parish. Rather than seek reelection to the House, Sandlin ran unsuccessfully in the 1936 Democratic primary against Allen J. Ellender
Allen J. Ellender
Allen Joseph Ellender was a popular U.S. senator from Houma, Louisiana , who served from 1937 until his death. He was a Democrat who was originally allied with the legendary Huey Pierce Long, Jr.. As Senator he compiled a generally conservative record, voting 77% of the time with the Conservative...
for an open seat in the U.S. Senate.
In 1940, newly elected Governor of Louisiana Sam Houston Jones urged that Brooks be defeated in the Democratic congressional primary, but Brooks won his third term that year.In 1950, Brooks overwhelmed the conservative intraparty challenge waged by James H. Greene (1918-1988), a 32-year-old graduate of Fair Park High School
Fair Park High School
Fair Park Medical Careers Magnet High School is a high school located at 3222 Greenwood Road in Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S.A. When it opened as Fair Park High School in 1928, it was the second high school in the city. C.E...
, a veteran of the U.S. Navy, and at the time a reporter for the since defunct Shreveport Journal.In 1952, Brooks defeated another young conservative intraparty rival, attorney Lawrence L. May, Jr. (1921-1995), of Vivian
Vivian, Louisiana
Vivian, is a town in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, United States and is home to the Red Bud Festival. The population was 4,031 at the 2000 census...
in Caddo Parish, who in an advertisement criticized the mounting casualties of the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
and the excesses of federal bureaucracy
Bureaucracy
A bureaucracy is an organization of non-elected officials of a governmental or organization who implement the rules, laws, and functions of their institution, and are occasionally characterized by officialism and red tape.-Weberian bureaucracy:...
. May declared himself "an anti-Truman, anti-New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
, anti-communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
Demorat."
Brooks served on the U.S. House Committee on Armed Services from 1947 to 1958, and he then became the first chairman of the newly formed House Space Committee (later Science and Astronautics), reportedly because his seniority entitled him to a more important post on Armed Services than he was considered capable of handling. He was reappointed in 1961. Although little can be credited to his chairmanship, he was noted for urging the development of a civil, rather than military, space program, and on May 4, 1961, his committee sent a memo to then Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
on this subject. (President John F. Kennedy's
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
famous speech which prompted the Apollo program came just a few weeks later.) From his Armed Services Committee berth, Brooks became a champion of veterans' causes. The veterans' medical center in Shreveport bears his name.
He was also president of the National River and Harbor Congress and was an early advocate of making the Red River navigable from Shreveport to Alexandria
Alexandria, Louisiana
Alexandria is a city in and the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the principal city of the Alexandria metropolitan area which encompasses all of Rapides and Grant parishes....
, a cause continued by his popular Democratic successor, Joseph David "Joe D." Waggonner, Jr.
Joe Waggonner
Joseph David Waggonner, Jr. , better known as Joe D. Waggonner, was a Democratic U.S. Representative from Bossier Parish who represented the old 4th Congressional District of northwest Louisiana from December 1961 until January 1979. He was also a confidant of Republican U.S...
, of Plain Dealing
Plain Dealing, Louisiana
Plain Dealing is a town in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, United States best known as the birthplace of former U.S. Representative Joe D. Waggonner, Jr. The population was 1,071 at the 2000 census...
in Bossier Parish.
Brooks was reelected to Congress twelve times. He signed the Southern Manifesto
Southern Manifesto
The Southern Manifesto was a document written February–March 1956 by Adisen and Charles in the United States Congress opposed to racial integration in public places. The manifesto was signed by 101 politicians from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South...
, a failed congressional attempt to block desegregation
Desegregation
Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups usually referring to races. This is most commonly used in reference to the United States. Desegregation was long a focus of the American Civil Rights Movement, both before and after the United States Supreme Court's decision in...
of public schools. In 1956, he campaigned on issues popular with many of his constituents: continued support for segregation, strengthening national defense, the production of natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
, rural electrification
Rural electrification
Rural electrification is the process of bringing electrical power to rural and remote areas. Electricity is used not only for lighting and household purposes, but it also allows for mechanization of many farming operations, such as threshing, milking, and hoisting grain for storage; in areas...
, and "fair prices" for farm, dairy, and ranch products. Brooks defeated (68-32 percent) the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
nominee Littleberry Calhoun Allen, Jr.
Calhoun Allen
Littleberry Calhoun Allen, Jr. , was from 1970 to 1978 a two-term Democratic mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana, the state's third largest city. From 1962-1970, he was the municipal public utilities commissioner. He also served some two months as a "District B" city council member after his election in...
, who later turned Democratic and was elected as Shreveport's public utilities commissioner (1962–1970) and as mayor (1970–1978). Brooks declared himself a lifelong Democrat in that campaign and urged voters to support Adlai E. Stevenson of Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
for president over the Louisiana choice that year, Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
. Allen had called himself an "Eisenhower Republican".
In Brooks' last election in 1960, he overwhelmed his Republican challenger, Fred Charles McClanahan, Jr. (1918–2007), of Shreveport, by a 74-26 percent margin.
Vote on Rules Committee
On January 31, 1961, Brooks voted with a narrow majority of 217-212 to increase the size of the House Rules Committee to permit SpeakerSpeaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
Sam Rayburn
Sam Rayburn
Samuel Taliaferro Rayburn , often called "Mr. Sam," or "Mr. Democrat," was a Democratic lawmaker from Bonham, Texas, who served as the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives for seventeen years, the longest tenure in U.S. history.- Background :Rayburn was born in Roane County, Tennessee, and...
of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
to appoint newer, more liberal members to the panel which determined which legislation goes to the House floor. Conservatives in both parties generally opposed this vote, which they termed "packing the Rules Committee." Waggonner later announced that he would challenge Brooks in the August 1962 Democratic primary. A civic group known as the Congressional Affairs League of Louisiana was formed to express a vote of "no confidence" in Brooks. Among the organizers of the League were Charles E. Roemer, Jr., of Bossier Parish
Bossier Parish, Louisiana
Bossier Parish is named for Pierre Bossier, a 19th-century Louisiana state senator and U.S. representative from Natchitoches Parish.Bossier Parish was spared fighting on its soil during the American Civil War...
, later the commissioner of administration under Governor Edwin Washington Edwards and the father of Governor Buddy Roemer
Buddy Roemer
Charles Elson "Buddy" Roemer III is an American politician who served as the 52nd Governor of Louisiana, from 1988 to 1992. He was elected as a Democrat but switched to the Republican Party on March 11, 1991...
. From Webster Parish
Webster Parish, Louisiana
Webster Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The seat of the parish is Minden. In 2010, its population was 41,207....
, organizers were building contractor John L. McInnis (1915–1994) and R. McIntyre Bridges (1926–1992), a physician who served on the parish school board as a conservative Democrat.
Opposition to Brooks' vote to expand the Rules Committee led to the burning of a cross on the congressman's lawn at his Linden Street home in Shreveport. Caddo Parish Sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
J. Howell Flournoy
J. Howell Flournoy
Joseph Howell Flournoy was the sheriff of Caddo Parish based in Shreveport, Louisiana, from 1940 until his death in office...
advised Brooks to remain in Washington and not come home until tensions eased.
Death
Brooks later died of a heart attackMyocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
in Bethesda Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda is a census designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House , which in turn took its name from Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda...
. Former Shreveport Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
James C. Gardner
James C. Gardner
James Creswell Gardner, I, known as Jim Gardner , was a power company executive best known as the mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana, who served a single term from 1954-1958....
, who at the time lived only two blocks from Brooks, said in his memoirs that he believes Brooks' death was "largely a result of the strain that he experienced from the Rules Committee vote. The party had demanded a vote that had a large and vocal opposition among the congressman's constituents."
Brooks' death propelled Waggonner into the special election to choose a new representative. After winning an easy closed Democratic primary race, Waggonner faced a stronger-than-usual Republican challenger in Charlton Havard Lyons, Sr.
Charlton Lyons
Charlton Havard Lyons, Sr., also known as Big Papa Lyons , was a Shreveport oilman who in 1964 waged the first determined Republican bid for the Louisiana governorship since Reconstruction. Lyons also made a strong but losing bid for the United States House of Representatives in a special election...
(1894–1973), a Shreveport oilman. Waggonner nevertheless prevailed with 54 percent of the vote, having carried every parish in the district except Lyons' Caddo Parish.
Brooks was a member of the Masonic Lodge
Masonic Lodge
This article is about the Masonic term for a membership group. For buildings named Masonic Lodge, see Masonic Lodge A Masonic Lodge, often termed a Private Lodge or Constituent Lodge, is the basic organisation of Freemasonry...
, the Shriners
Shriners
The Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, also commonly known as Shriners and abbreviated A.A.O.N.M.S., established in 1870, is an appendant body to Freemasonry, based in the United States...
, the Elks, American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
, Veterans of Foreign Wars
Veterans of Foreign Wars
The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States is a congressionally chartered war veterans organization in the United States. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, VFW currently has 1.5 million members belonging to 7,644 posts, and is the largest American organization of combat...
, and the Kiwanis Club.
Brooks is interred at Forest Park Cemetery
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
in Shreveport, the final resting place of many Shreveport politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
s. He was Episcopalian.