Burr Powell Harrison (July 2, 1904 – December 29, 1973) was a Virginia lawyer, judge and Democratic politician who was a member of the

Byrd Organization The Byrd machine, or Byrd organization, was a political machine of the Democratic Party led by former Governor and U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd (1887–1966) that dominated Virginia politics for much of the 20th century. From the 1890s until the l ...

and served as

U.S. Congressman 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 ...

representing

Virginia's 7th congressional district Virginia's 7th congressional district is a United States congressional district in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The district is currently represented by Democrat Abigail Spanberger, first elected in 2018. 2016 redistricting The Virginia ...

(as had his father).

Early and family life

Born in

Winchester, Virginia Winchester is the most north western independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Frederick County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Winchester wit ...

to Virginia lawyer and soon-to-be Congressman

Thomas W. Harrison Thomas Walter Harrison (August 5, 1856 – May 9, 1935) was a Virginia lawyer, judge and politician. He served in the Senate of Virginia and in the United States House of Representatives. Early and family life Born in Leesburg, Loudoun County, ...

and his wife, Burr Harrison was descended from the

First Families of Virginia First Families of Virginia (FFV) were those families in Colonial Virginia who were socially prominent and wealthy, but not necessarily the earliest settlers. They descended from English colonists who primarily settled at Jamestown, Williamsburg ...

and named for his great-great grandfather Burr William Harrison (1793-1865) who represented

Loudoun County Loudoun County () is in the northern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. In 2020, the census returned a population of 420,959, making it Virginia's third-most populous county. Loudoun County's seat is Leesburg. Loudoun C ...

in the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...

in the 1840s and great-great-great-great grandfather

Burr Harrison (patriot) Burr Harrison (June 16, 1734 – August 2, 1790) was a Virginia planter, soldier and politician who served in the Virginia militia during American Revolutionary War, then two terms in the Virginia House of Delegates representing Prince William C ...

(1734-1790), who represented

Prince William County Prince William County is located on the Potomac River in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 482,204, making it Virginia's second-most populous county. Its county seat is the independent city of Manassas ...

and fought in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. This Burr Harrison attended the public schools, then

Woodberry Forest School Woodberry Forest School is a private, all-male boarding school located in Woodberry Forest, Madison County, Virginia, in the United States. Woodberry's current enrollment is 405. Students come from 28 U.S. states (plus the District of Columbia ...

Virginia Military Institute la, Consilio et Animis (on seal) , mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal) , established = , type = Public senior military college , accreditation = SACS , endowment = $696.8 mill ...

Hampden-Sydney College Hampden Sydney is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince Edward County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,450 at the 2010 census. Hampden Sydney is the home of Hampden–Sydney College, a private all-male college that is the tenth- ...

, and the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

. He graduated from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

Law School,

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, in 1926.

Career

Harrison was admitted to the Virginia bar the same year and commenced practice in

with his father (who died in 1935). Harrison was the attorney for Frederick County in 1932–1940. During the years 1940–1943, Harrison represented Frederick County (part-time) in

Senate of Virginia The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Virg ...

. His colleagues elected him as judge of the seventeenth judicial circuit and the corporation court of Winchester in 1943–1946. Voters of

(which his father had represented during World War I and before the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

) elected Harrison 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 Eightieth Congress, initially by special election to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of

United States 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 ...

A. Willis Robertson Absalom Willis Robertson (May 27, 1887 – November 1, 1971) was an American politician from Virginia who served in public office for over 50 years. A member of the Democratic Party and lukewarm ally of the Byrd Organization led by fellow U.S. Se ...

(who successfully ran for election as U.S. Senator). Voters reelected Harrison to the seven succeeding Congresses (November 5, 1946 – January 3, 1963). He was a member of the

House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...

during the McCathy era. Like his father, Harrison was a member of the

led by Virginia's U.S. Senator

Harry F. Byrd Harry Flood Byrd Sr. (June 10, 1887 – October 20, 1966) was an American newspaper publisher, politician, and leader of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in Virginia for four decades as head of a political faction that becam ...

(of Winchester) and accordingly supported

Massive Resistance Massive resistance was a strategy declared by U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd Sr. of Virginia and his brother-in-law James M. Thomson, who represented Alexandria in the Virginia General Assembly, to get the state's white politicians to pass laws and p ...

to the U.S. Supreme Court decisions 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 signed 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. Harrison did not seek his party's renomination to the Eighty-eighth Congress in 1962, but instead resumed his legal practice in Winchester, Virginia. Fellow Democrat John O. Marsh, Jr. succeeded to the Congressional seat.

Death and legacy

Harrison died in Winchester on December 29, 1973, and was interred in Winchester's Mount Hebron Cemetery.

Electoral history

*1946; Harrison was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in a special election with 62.53% of the vote, defeating Republican Karl Jenkins. He was simultaneously elected in the general election with 62.32% of the vote, defeating Republican Jenkins. *1948; Harrison was re-elected with 60.43% of the vote, defeating Republican Stephen D. Timberlake. *1950; Harrison was re-elected with 69.41% of the vote, defeating Republican Jacob A. Garber. *1952; Harrison was re-elected with 79.09% of the vote, defeating Republican Glenn W. Ruebush. *1954; Harrison was re-elected with 74.17% of the vote, defeating Republican John P. Ruddick. *1956; Harrison was re-elected with 69.04% of the vote, defeating Republican A.R. Dunning. *1958; Harrison was re-elected with 76.64% of the vote, defeating Independent Henry A. Oder. *1960; Harrison was re-elected unopposed.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Burr Powell 1904 births 1973 deaths Georgetown University Law Center alumni Virginia lawyers Democratic Party Virginia state senators Virginia state court judges Politicians from Winchester, Virginia Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American politicians Woodberry Forest School alumni 20th-century American judges Burials at Mount Hebron Cemetery (Winchester, Virginia) Virginia circuit court judges

Early and family life

Career

Death and legacy

Electoral history

See also

Sources