Speedy Oteria Long (June 16, 1928 – October 5, 2006) was an American politician who served in the

United States House of Representatives 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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

for

Louisiana's 8th congressional district Louisiana's 8th congressional district is a defunct congressional district and no longer exists after Louisiana lost its eighth congressional seat in the 1990 U. S. Census. For its entire existence, it was based in Alexandria and included much ...

from January 3, 1965, until January 3, 1973. He was a member of the

Long family The Long family is a family of politicians from the United States. Many have characterized it as a political dynasty. After Huey Long's 1935 assassination, a family dynasty emerged: his brother Earl was elected lieutenant-governor in 1936, and gov ...

, a cousin of

Huey Long Huey Pierce Long Jr. (August 30, 1893September 10, 1935), nicknamed "the Kingfish", was an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932 and as a United States senator from 1932 until his assassination ...

Earl K. Long Earl Kemp Long (August 26, 1895 – September 5, 1960) was an American politician and the List of governors of Louisiana, 45th governor of Louisiana, serving three nonconsecutive terms. Long, known as "Uncle Earl", connected with voters th ...

Russell Long Russell Billiu Long (November 3, 1918 – May 9, 2003) was an American Democratic politician and United States Senator from Louisiana from 1948 until 1987. Because of his seniority, he advanced to chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, servin ...

, and

Gillis William Long Gillis William Long (May 4, 1923 – January 20, 1985) was an American politician and lawyer who served as a U.S. representative from Louisiana. He was a member of the Long family and was the nephew of former governors Huey Long and Earl Long a ...

."Long, Speedy Oteria"
United States House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives

Life and career

Speedy Oteria Long was born in

Tullos, Louisiana Tullos is a town in LaSalle and Winn parishes in the U.S. state of Louisiana, along Castor Creek. The population was 385 at the 2010 census. Geography Tullos is located in northwestern LaSalle Parish at (31.819556, -92.327501) and has an elev ...

, in

La Salle Parish LaSalle Parish (French: ''Paroisse de La Salle'') is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 14,791. The parish seat is Jena. The parish was created in 1910 from the western sect ...

on June 16, 1928. He was given the name Speedy because he was born prematurely. He attended public schools in LaSalle and

Winn Parish Winn Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 15,313. Its seat is Winnfield. The parish was founded in 1852. It is last in alphabetical order of Louisiana's sixty-four parishes ...

, graduating in 1945 from Winnfield High School. He 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 ...

from April 1946 to February 1948. Long attended college at Northeast Junior College in

Monroe, Louisiana Monroe (historically french: Poste-du-Ouachita) is the eighth-largest city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and parish seat of Ouachita Parish. With a 2020 census-tabulated population of 47,702, it is the principal city of the Monroe metropolita ...

, graduating in 1950, and then at

Northwestern State College Northwestern State University of Louisiana (NSU) is a public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Polk and Alexandria. It is a part of the Unive ...

Natchitoches, Louisiana Natchitoches ( ; french: link=no, Les Natchitoches) is a small city and the parish seat of Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. Established in 1714 by Louis Juchereau de St. Denis as part of French Louisiana, the community was named ...

, from which he graduated in 1951. He was recalled to active duty in the Navy from September 1951 to December 1952, then graduated from Louisiana State University Law School in

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...

in February 1959. Long was admitted to the Louisiana bar in 1959 and began the practice of law in

Jena, Louisiana Jena is a town in and the parish seat of LaSalle Parish, Louisiana, La Salle Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 3,398 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. History Jena was named for Jena, Germany, where France, Fre ...

. Long was elected to the

Louisiana State Senate The Louisiana State Senate (french: Sénat de Louisiane) is the upper house of the state legislature of Louisiana. All senators serve four-year terms and are assigned to multiple committees. Composition The Louisiana State Senate is compose ...

and served from May 1956 to May 1964, after which he ran in the primary to be the Democratic nominee for election to

representing

. His opponent in the primary was the incumbent, his cousin

Gillis Long Gillis William Long (May 4, 1923 – January 20, 1985) was an American politician and lawyer who served as a U.S. representative from Louisiana. He was a member of the Long family and was the nephew of former governors Huey Long and Earl Long ...

. Both of the Longs were

segregationists Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Internati ...

but Gillis Long was less outspoken in his views than Speedy Long was, and Gillis had also, according to Speedy, aided the passage of the

Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...

by voting to increase the size of the

House Rules Committee The Committee on Rules, or more commonly, the Rules Committee, is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is responsible for the rules under which bills will be presented to the House of Representatives, unlike other commit ...

from 12 to 15 members, thus diluting the South's influence on the committee. Speedy used the slogan "Vote Against the Man Who Voted Against the South" in the campaign against Gillis. A state senator from

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

described the difference between the two Longs: Speedy was "a redneck" with a regional focus, while Gillis was "a cosmopolitan". In the primary, Speedy Long easily beat Gillis Long. Speedy's campaign in the general election was limited to a single 150-second television appearance. Although the Republican Presidential candidate,

Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and United States Air Force officer who was a five-term U.S. Senator from Arizona (1953–1965, 1969–1987) and the Republican Party nominee for presiden ...

, carried the district, Democrat Speedy Long won election handily, becoming the sixth member of the

to serve in the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

. Long served in the 89th (1965–1967), 90th (1967–1969), 91st (1969–1971), and 92nd (1971–1973) Congresses, but did not stand for re-election in 1972. From January 4, 1973, to January 3, 1985, Long was the

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

for Louisiana's 28th Judicial District. Long died on October 5, 2006, in

Trout, Louisiana Trout is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in La Salle Parish, Louisiana, United States. The community is located on U.S. Route 84, west of Jena. Trout has a post office A post office is a public facility and a retaile ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Speedy Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana 20th-century American politicians People from LaSalle Parish, Louisiana Northwestern State University alumni Democratic Party Louisiana state senators District attorneys in Louisiana 20th-century American lawyers

Speedy Speedy refers to something or someone moving at high speed. Speedy may refer to: Ships * HMS ''Speedy'', nine ships of the Royal Navy * ''Speedy''-class brig, a class of naval ship * ''Speedy'' (1779), a whaler and convict ship despatched i ...

1928 births 2006 deaths