Joseph Landon Evins (October 24, 1910 – March 31, 1984) was an American lawyer and politician who served 15 terms as a

Democratic 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 ...

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 Tennessee from 1947 to 1977.

Early life

Evins was a native of the Blend Community of DeKalb County, Tennessee, the son of James Edgar Evins and Myrtie Goodson Evins. His father was a

Tennessee state senator The Tennessee Senate is the upper house of the U.S. state of Tennessee , Tennessee's state legislature, which is known formally as the Tennessee General Assembly. The Tennessee Senate has the power to pass resolutions concerning essentially any ...

and a successful local businessman. He was also the namesake of Edgar Evins State Park near Smithville. One of his brother's children ran a local bank. Another nephew,

Dan Evins Danny Wood Evins (October 11, 1935 – January 14, 2012) was an American entrepreneur and co-founder of Cracker Barrel, a Southern-themed restaurant chain. Early life Evins was born in Smithville, Tennessee, on October 11, 1935. As a child he grad ...

, was the founder of the

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc., doing business as simply Cracker Barrel, is an American chain of restaurant and gift stores with a Southern country theme. The company was founded by Dan Evins in 1969. Its first store was in Lebanon, ...

restaurant chain. Evins graduated from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee in 1933 and the Cumberland School of Law in

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 ...

in 1934, as well as The George Washington University.Joe L. Evins
at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress; accessed November 26, 2017. He was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in that same year and began practice in Smithville, the county seat of DeKalb County.

Career

In 1935 Evins was named a staff

attorney Attorney may refer to: * Lawyer ** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions * Attorney, one who has power of attorney * ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film See also * Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gove ...

for the

Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction ov ...

, and served in this position until 1938, when he was named the FTC's assistant secretary, a position which he held until 1940. Shortly after U.S. entry into World War II, he was commissioned in the United States Army Judge Advocate General Corps, serving on active duty until 1946, when he resumed his law practice in Smithville. Upon his return, he was also elected chairman of the DeKalb County Democratic Party. Later in that same year, he won the nomination of the Democratic Party for the seat from the 5th District. He won the election easily in this solidly-Democratic area, and was re-elected to fourteen more terms, generally with little or no opposition. His district was renumbered the 4th after the 1950 Census, when Tennessee lost a congressional district. Evins was a powerful figure in Congress. He was chairman of the House Select Committee on Small Business for six years, and for the following Congressional session of the

United States House Committee on Small Business The United States House Committee on Small Business is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It was established in 1941 as the House Select Committee on Small Business. History On December 4, 1941, the U. S. House of ...

, and served on the important House Appropriations Committee. He used his influence to make sure that his district, a mostly rural area east and south of

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

, was well taken-care of; Smithville was the smallest city chosen for participation in the

Model Cities Program The Model Cities Program was an element of U.S. President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society and War on Poverty. The concept was presented by labor leader Walter Reuther to President Johnson in an off-the-record White House meeting on May 20, 1965. In ...

and its major thoroughfare was renamed "Congressional Boulevard". The

Tennessee Technological University Tennessee Technological University, commonly referred to as Tennessee Tech, is a public research university in Cookeville, Tennessee, United States. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, and before that as University of Dixie ...

Appalachian Center for Craft near Smithville was built with a $5 million federal grant that Evins secured as a member of the Appropriations Committee. Evins, a

conservative Democrat In American politics, a conservative Democrat is a member of the Democratic Party with conservative political views, or with views that are conservative compared to the positions taken by other members of the Democratic Party. Traditionally, co ...

, was slow to accept racial desegregation. Although he was one of three Tennessee Democratic congressmen not to sign 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 ...

, and voted in favor of the

Voting Rights Act of 1965 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights movement ...

, he voted against the Civil Rights Acts of 1957,

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

, and

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

, while voting present on the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Evins decided not to stand for re-election in 1976, after serving a total of 15 terms. At the time of his retirement in January 1977, his continuous service in the U.S. House of Representatives was longer than that of any other House member from Tennessee.Carroll Van West,
Joseph Landon Evins, 1910-1984
" ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture''; accessed November 26, 2017. In a spirited

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

to succeed him,

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Part ...

won and began his political career.

Personal life and death

His wife, Ann Smartt, with whom he had three daughters, was the daughter of a McMinnville judge.Joe L. Evins
in Tennessee Blue Book, 1975-1978, page 49 Evins died in Nashville on March 31, 1984, and is buried in the Smithville Town Cemetery in Smithville.

References

External links

* *

DeKalb County, Tennessee website {{DEFAULTSORT:Evins, Joe L. 1910 births 1984 deaths American members of the Churches of Christ Burials in Tennessee Vanderbilt University alumni People from Smithville, Tennessee Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee 20th-century American politicians