Albert McKinley Rains (March 11, 1902 – March 22, 1991) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

. Born in

Grove Oak, Alabama Grove Oak is a small unincorporated community in DeKalb County, Alabama, United States. It is located atop Sand Mountain in northeastern Alabama. Grove Oak has one store, and is surrounded by forests and farmland. There are two Baptist churches. ...

, Rains attended the public schools, Snead Seminary,

Boaz, Alabama Boaz is a city in Marshall and Etowah counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. The Marshall County portion of the city is part of the Albertville Micropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 10,107. Boaz was ...

, State Teachers College (now

Jacksonville State University Jacksonville State University (JSU) is a public university in Jacksonville, Alabama. Founded in 1883, Jacksonville State offers programs of study in six academic schools leading to bachelor's degree, bachelor's, master's degree, master's, educati ...

Jacksonville, Alabama Jacksonville is a city in Calhoun County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 12,548, which is a 49% increase since 2000. It is included in the Anniston-Oxford Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is home to Jacks ...

, and the

University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the public ...

. He studied law, was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1928 and commenced practice in

Gadsden, Alabama Gadsden is a city in and the county seat of Etowah County in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is located on the Coosa River about northeast of Birmingham and southwest of Chattanooga, Tennessee. It is the primary city of the Gadsden Metropolitan ...

, in 1929. He served as deputy solicitor for

Etowah County, Alabama Etowah County is a County (United States), county located in the Northeast Alabama, northeastern part of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 103,436. Its county seat is Gadsden, Alabama, ...

from 1930 to 1935, and as

city attorney A city attorney is a position in city and municipal government in the United States. The city attorney is the attorney representing the municipality. Unlike a district attorney or public defender, who usually handles criminal cases, a city at ...

for the city of

from 1935 to 1944. He served as a member of the

Alabama House of Representatives The Alabama State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of state of Alabama. The House is composed of 105 members representing an equal number of districts, with each constituency contai ...

1941–1944. Rains was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Seventy-ninth and to the nine succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1945 – January 3, 1965). Having been a signatory to the 1956

Southern Manifesto The Declaration of Constitutional Principles (known informally as the Southern Manifesto) was a document written in February and March 1956, during the 84th United States Congress, in opposition to racial integration of public places. The manife ...

that opposed the desegregation of public schools ordered by the Supreme Court in ''

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segregat ...

'', he voted against H.R. 6127, Civil Rights Act of 1957. He was not a candidate for renomination to the

Eighty-ninth Congress The 89th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1965, ...

. He served as chairman of board, First City National Bank (later First Alabama Bank of Gadsden) until becoming chairman emeritus in 1979. He was a resident of

, until his death there on March 22, 1991.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rains, Albert McKinley 1902 births 1991 deaths People from DeKalb County, Alabama Baptists from Alabama Alabama lawyers Democratic Party members of the Alabama House of Representatives University of Alabama alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Alabama 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American politicians 20th-century Baptists