Henry Bascom Steagall (May 19, 1873 – November 22, 1943) was a
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 ...
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 ...
. He was chairman of the
Committee on Banking and Currency and in 1933, he co-sponsored the
Glass–Steagall Act with
Carter Glass
Carter Glass (January 4, 1858 – May 28, 1946) was an American newspaper publisher and Democratic politician from Lynchburg, Virginia. He represented Virginia in both houses of Congress and served as the United States Secretary of the Treasu ...
, an act that introduced banking reforms and established the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is one of two agencies that supply deposit insurance to depositors in American depository institutions, the other being the National Credit Union Administration, which regulates and insures cred ...
(FDIC). With Senator
Robert F. Wagner, he co-sponsored the
Wagner-Steagall National Housing Act of September 1937 which created the
United States Housing Authority
The United States Housing Authority, or USHA, was a federal agency created during 1937 within the United States Department of the Interior by the Housing Act of 1937 as part of the New Deal.
It was designed to lend money to the states or commu ...
.
Life
Steagall was born in
Clopton,
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 ...
, on May 19, 1873. His paternal grandfather came to America from
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. Steagall attended the Southeast Alabama Agricultural School at
Abbeville
Abbeville (, vls, Abbekerke, pcd, Advile) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France.
It is the chef-lieu of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of ...
and graduated from the law department of the
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...
at Tuscaloosa in 1893. He served as the county solicitor of
Dale County from 1902 to 1908 and was a Democratic 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 ...
from 1906 to 1907. Steagall was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for Alabama's 3rd District in 1915 and served until 1943. He voted in favor of the 1941 Lend Lease act to provide military aid to the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
in World War II. He died while in office on November 22, 1943, in
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, ...
He was inducted into the Alabama Lawyers' Hall of Fame in 2002.
Pronunciation
Asked how to say his name, he told ''The
Literary Digest
''The Literary Digest'' was an influential American general interest weekly magazine published by Funk & Wagnalls. Founded by Isaac Kaufmann Funk in 1890, it eventually merged with two similar weekly magazines, ''Public Opinion'' and '' Current ...
'' that it was ''stee-gall'' (like the words ''tea'' and ''gall''), with equal stress on each syllable. He added, "This pronunciation is generally used throughout the South, and rarely used in the North. American northerners persist in stressing the first syllable and rhyming the name with 'eagle'." He was known by African-Americans in Alabama as "Marse Henry."
See also
*
References
Further reading
*.
1873 births
1943 deaths
People from Dale County, Alabama
Democratic Party members of the Alabama House of Representatives
University of Alabama School of Law alumni
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Alabama
{{Alabama-politician-stub