George Huddleston (November 11, 1869 – February 29, 1960) 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 ...

, father of George Huddleston, Jr.

Life and career

Huddleston was born on a farm near

Lebanon, Tennessee Lebanon is the county seat of Wilson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 38,431 at the 2020 census. Lebanon is located in Middle Tennessee, approximately east of downtown Nashville. Lebanon is part of the Nashville Metropolit ...

, the son of Nancy Emeline (Sherrill) and Joseph Franklin Huddleston. Huddleston attended the common schools. He studied law at

Cumberland School of Law Cumberland School of Law is an American Bar Association, ABA accredited law school at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. It was founded in 1847 at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee and is the 11th oldest law schoo ...

Cumberland University Cumberland University is a private university in Lebanon, Tennessee. It was founded in 1842. The campus's current historic buildings were constructed between 1892 and 1896. History 1842-1861 The university was founded by the Cumberland ...

. He 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 1891 and practiced in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

, until 1911, when he retired from practice. During the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

, Huddleston served as a private in the First Regiment, Alabama Volunteer Infantry. Huddleston 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 Sixty-fourth and to the ten succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1915 – January 3, 1937), representing Alabama's 9th congressional district. He generally championed progressive laws and measures. In March 1932, Huddleston addressed a committee of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on the subject of the condition of

sharecropper Sharecropping is a legal arrangement with regard to agricultural land in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land. Sharecropping has a long history and there are a wide range ...

s, stating "Any thought that there has been no starvation, that no man has starved and no man will starve, is the rankest nonsense. Men are actually starving in their thousands today..." However, in spite of his opposition to the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

and race-based violence, he did not support the

Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill The Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill (1918) was first introduced in the 65th United States Congress by Representative Leonidas C. Dyer, a Republican from St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States House of Representatives as H.R. 11279 in order “to protec ...

, fearing for how his majority-white constituency would view him if he voted for it. was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1936, as he lost support among his constituents for opposing bills regarding public services and energy legislation. Huddleston died in Birmingham on February 29, 1960, and was interred in Elmwood Cemetery. He is a grandfather of writers

George Packer George Packer (born August 13, 1960) is a US journalist, novelist, and playwright. He is best known for his writings for ''The New Yorker'' and ''The Atlantic'' about U.S. foreign policy and for his book '' The Assassins' Gate: America in Iraq''. ...

and

Ann Packer Ann Elizabeth Packer MBE (born 8 March 1942) is an English former sprinter, hurdler and long jumper. She won a gold medal in the 800 metres and a silver in the 400 metres at the 1964 Summer Olympics. Early life In 1959 Packer won the English ...

. He is the father of Nancy Packer (author, mother of George and Ann), Jane Aaron, Mary Chiles, George Huddleston, and John Huddleston.

Quotes

* ''"In a time like this...it takes a lion-hearted courage for a man to stand up on his feet and dare to speak for peace."'' (Spoken during attempts to throw people in jail for speaking for

non-intervention Non-interventionism or non-intervention is a political philosophy or national foreign policy doctrine that opposes interference in the domestic politics and affairs of other countries but, in contrast to isolationism, is not necessarily opposed t ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Huddleston, George 1869 births 1960 deaths Politicians from Birmingham, Alabama People from Lebanon, Tennessee Military personnel from Alabama Cumberland School of Law alumni Alabama lawyers United States Army soldiers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Alabama Burials at Elmwood Cemetery (Birmingham, Alabama)

Life and career

Quotes

References

Further reading

External links