Hugh Quincy Alexander (August 7, 1911 – September 17, 1989) was a Democratic

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

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

between 1953 and 1963. Born on a farm near

Glendon, North Carolina Glendon is an unincorporated community in Moore County, North Carolina, United States. History Glendon sits at an altitude of 301 feet above sea level. It was originally known as Fair Haven. Residents of the community changed its name to Glen ...

in Moore County in 1911, Alexander attended local public schools and then

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

, graduating in 1932. He then studied law at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

and was admitted to the bar in 1937. Practicing law in

Kannapolis, North Carolina Kannapolis () is a city in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, Cabarrus and Rowan County, North Carolina, Rowan counties, in the U.S. state of North Carolina, northwest of Concord, North Carolina, Concord and northeast of Charlotte, North Carolina, ...

for several years, Alexander then served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

from 1942 to 1946, including thirty-four months of duty overseas. In 1947 and 1949, Alexander served in the

North Carolina House of Representatives The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House, who holds powers similar to those of the President pro-tem in the North Ca ...

. He was a solicitor for the

Cabarrus County Cabarrus County ( )
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

in 1951. In 1952, Alexander was elected to the 83rd U.S. Congress, succeeding former Ways and Means chairman Robert Doughton. He was reelected four times, but never was able to establish a secure foothold in his district due to a somewhat

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

voting record and growing

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

influence in the district. He was 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 ...

''. North Carolina lost a congressional district after the 1960

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

, and the state legislature saw a chance to get rid of

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

-area congressman

Charles R. Jonas Charles Raper Jonas (December 9, 1904 – September 28, 1988) was a U.S. Representative from North Carolina for ten terms (1953–1973). At the time of his election in 1952, he became the first United States Republican Party, Republican to repres ...

, then the only Republican in the North Carolina delegation. In the process, however, they added several Republican-leaning areas to Alexander's district. The plan backfired disastrously in the 1962 elections, in which Jonas won easily in his new district and Alexander lost by less than a percentage point to Republican furniture executive

Jim Broyhill James Thomas Broyhill (born August 19, 1927) is an American former businessman and United States Republican Party, Republican United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative and United States Senator, Senator from the state of North ...

. As of 2020; no Democrat has represented North Carolina's 9th district since Alexander's defeat. After leaving Congress, he was chief counsel to the Senate Rules and Administration Committee from 1963 to 1976. Alexander died in Kannapolis in 1989.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Hugh Quincy 1911 births 1989 deaths Duke University alumni University of North Carolina School of Law alumni North Carolina lawyers Democratic Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American politicians American segregationists