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William M. Colmer
William M. Colmer
	Colmer in 1940
Chair of the House 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 the U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi
	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; February 11, 1890; Moss Point, Mississippi, U.S.
Died	September 9, 1980 (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 from Mississippi.

Colmer was born in Moss Point, Mississippi, and attended Millsaps College. He served in the military during World War I.

Colmer was elected Jackson County attorney in 1921, becoming district attorney in 1928.

In 1932, Colmer was elected to the House of Representatives as a Democrat 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 the Great Migration cost it a congressional seat.

Originally elected as a supporter of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, Colmer became increasingly conservative as the years passed. He became disenchanted as the national Democratic Party began to support the Civil Rights Movement. After the Brown v. Board of Education (1954) decision by the United States Supreme Court, ruling that public school segregation was unconstitutional, Colmer helped to get Southern Democratic congressmen to sign the "Southern Manifesto"^[1] declaring their resistance. Colmer voted against the Civil Rights Acts of 1957,^[2] 1960,^[3] 1964,^[4] and 1968^[5] as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution^[6] and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.^[7]

Colmer endorsed the unpledged electors slate in 1960, Republican Party presidential candidates Barry Goldwater in 1964, and Richard Nixon in 1972. Because of his seniority, he advanced to the position as chairman of the Rules 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 except Jamie Whitten, who served 54 years in Congress from 1941 to 1995. (Fellow Mississippian John Stennis would serve over 41 years in the U.S. Senate from late 1947 until early 1989.)

Note

Colmer Middle School in Pascagoula, Mississippi is named after William Colmer.^[8]

References

^ "Southern Manifesto" (PDF). Congressional Record - Senate: 4459–4461.
^ "HR 6127. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1957. -- House Vote #42 -- Jun 18, 1957". GovTrack.us. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
^ "HR 8601. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1960. APPROVAL BY THE … -- House Vote #106 -- Apr 21, 1960". GovTrack.us. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
^ "H.R. 7152. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964. ADOPTION OF A … -- House Vote #182 -- Jul 2, 1964". GovTrack.us. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
^ "TO PASS H.R. 2516, A BILL TO ESTABLISH PENALTIES FOR … -- House Vote #113 -- Aug 16, 1967". GovTrack.us. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
^ "S.J. RES. 29. CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO BAN THE USE OF … -- House Vote #193 -- Aug 27, 1962". GovTrack.us. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
^ "TO AGREE TO CONFERENCE REPORT ON S. 1564, THE VOTING … -- House Vote #107 -- Aug 3, 1965". GovTrack.us. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
^ "Choctaw Traits". 3 March 2018. Retrieved 17 February 2019.

United States Congress. "William M. Colmer (id: C000645)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

External links

Media related to William M. Colmer at Wikimedia Commons
William M. Colmer Papers, Special Collections at the University of Southern Mississippi (Historical Manuscripts)

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Robert S. Hall	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi's 6th congressional district 1933–1963	District eliminated after Census 1960
Preceded by W. Arthur Winstead	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi's 5th congressional district 1963–1973	Succeeded by Trent Lott