Page Henry Belcher (April 21, 1899 – August 2, 1980) was an American Republican politician and 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

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

Biography

Page Belcher Courthouse, Tulsa, OK (1974)

Belcher was born in

Jefferson Jefferson may refer to: Names * Jefferson (surname) * Jefferson (given name) People * Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States * Jefferson (footballer, born 1970), full name Jefferson Tomaz de Souza, Brazilian foo ...

in northern Oklahoma to George Harvey Belcher and Jessie Ray. He was educated at

public schools Public school may refer to: *State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government *Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England and ...

in Jefferson, and

Medford, Oklahoma Medford is a city in and the county seat of Grant County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 996. History ''The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'' states only that the town name was for Medford, ...

. Belcher attended

Friends University Friends University is a private nondenominational Christian university in Wichita, Kansas. It was founded in 1898. The main building was originally built in 1886 for Garfield University but was donated in 1898 to the Religious Society of Friends ...

, a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

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university in Wichita,

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

. He served as a

in the

Student Army Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

at the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

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 ...

. While in college he studied law and played for the 1918

Oklahoma Sooners football team The Oklahoma Sooners football program is a college football team that represents the University of Oklahoma (variously "Oklahoma" or "OU"). The team is a member of the Big 12 Conference, which is in Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (forme ...

Career

After the war, Belcher worked as manager of his father's Oklahoma car dealership. He was admitted to the bar in 1936 and began a legal practice in Enid. In 1934, he was elected county clerk of Garfield County and served from 1934 to 1938. He also served on the Enid Board of Education and as judge of Enid's municipal court. Belcher served as executive assistant to U.S. Representative

Ross Rizley Ross Rizley (born Roscoe Rizley) (July 5, 1892March 4, 1969) was an American politician and United States Representative from Oklahoma and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. E ...

during Rizley's first term in Congress (1941-1943) and later managed several of Rizley's reelection campaigns. He served as Republican chairman of the 8th congressional district, and was also the executive secretary of the Oklahoma Republican Party. In 1950, Belcher was elected to Congress, where he served for two years as the last representative of Oklahoma's 8th congressional district before it was eliminated in congressional reapportionment. After most of the 8th's territory was merged with the

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

-based

1st district The Innere Stadt (; Central Bavarian: ''Innare Stod'') is the 1st municipal district of Vienna () located in the center of the Austrian capital. The Innere Stadt is the old town of Vienna. Until the city boundaries were expanded in 1850, the Inn ...

, Belcher ran for reelection there, and held the seat until retiring in 1973. After his home in Enid was drawn out of the district during a mid-decade redistricting in 1967, Belcher moved to Tulsa. In Congress, Belcher was a member of the Agriculture Committee and its wheat subcommittee, eventually rising to ranking Republican on that committee. In that role, he facilitated passage of legislation related to the

Arkansas River Navigation System Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage la ...

. Breaking with many of his regional colleagues, Belcher refused 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 he voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and

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 ...

, as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and 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 ...

, but not the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 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 ...

. Belcher usually had easy reelection campaigns because the Tulsa area was friendly to Republicans, but was nearly defeated in 1958 due to discontent over the

Eisenhower administration Dwight D. Eisenhower's tenure as the 34th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1953, and ended on January 20, 1961. Eisenhower, a Republican from Kansas, took office following a landslide victory ov ...

's farm policy. He face another credible challenge in 1970, when former Johnson administration official

James R. Jones James Robert Jones (born May 5, 1939) is an American lawyer, diplomat, Democratic politician, a retired U.S. Congressman from Oklahoma, and a former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico under President Bill Clinton. Jones grew up in Muskogee, Oklahoma, a ...

held him to only 55 percent of the vote. With Jones priming for a rematch in 1972, Belcher announced that June that he was retiring due to age and poor health. Jones then won the seat in the subsequent election.

Personal life

Page Belcher was married on June 16, 1922, to Gladys Collins. The two had a son, Page Jr., and a daughter, Carol. Belcher was a Methodist, a Member of the Kiwanis, American Legion, and Odd Fellows. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. Following his retirement, he moved to

Midwest City Midwest City is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 54,371, making it the eighth largest city in the state. The city was developed in r ...

where he died on August 2, 1980, at the age of eighty-one. He is buried at Memorial Park Cemetery, Enid, Oklahoma. After his retirement from Congress, the federal courthouse in

was named in his honor. In addition, Tulsa is home to the Page Belcher golf course.

References

External links

Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Belcher, Page
*
Page H. Belcher Collection
an
Photograph Collection
at the Carl Albert Center {{DEFAULTSORT:Belcher, Page 1899 births 1980 deaths United States Army personnel of World War I Friends University alumni School board members in Oklahoma Military personnel from Oklahoma Politicians from Enid, Oklahoma People from Grant County, Oklahoma Lawyers from Oklahoma City Oklahoma lawyers Oklahoma Sooners football players University of Oklahoma alumni People from Midwest City, Oklahoma Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Oklahoma People from Medford, Oklahoma 20th-century American politicians Politicians from Oklahoma City 20th-century American lawyers United States Army soldiers