Thomas Jefferson Steed (March 2, 1904 – June 8, 1983) was an American politician and a

U.S. Congressman 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

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 ...

Early life

Steed was born on a farm near in Eastland County, Texas (near

Rising Star, Texas Rising Star is a town in Eastland County, Texas, United States. Its population as of the 2010 census was 835. Geography Rising Star is located in southwestern Eastland County at (32.096260, –98.966074). U.S. Route 183 passes through the town, ...

) on March 2, 1904. His family later moved to Oklahoma, where he attended school (in

Konawa, Oklahoma Konawa is a city in Seminole County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,298 at the 2010 census. ''Konawa'' is a Seminole word meaning, "string of beads."

). After only one semester of high school, he began working for the "Ada Evening News". He married Hazel Bennett in 1923, and they had two children, Roger and Richard. Roger was a Marine second lieutenant and fighter pilot and was killed in China in 1947.

Career

Continuing to work in journalism, Steed worked for a number of Oklahoma newspapers including the "Daily Oklahoman". Beginning in 1935 he served as an assistant to three of Oklahoma's U.S. congressmen,

Percy Lee Gassaway Percy Lee Gassaway (August 30, 1885 – May 15, 1937) was an American politician and a U.S. Representative from Oklahoma. Biography Born in Waco, McLennan County, Texas, Gassaway was the son of Rev. B. F. and Elizabeth Scoggins Gassaway. He move ...

, Robert P. Hill, and Gomer Griffith Smith. In 1938 he returned to Oklahoma and became managing editor of the ''

Shawnee News-Star ''The Shawnee News-Star'' is an American daily newspaper published in Shawnee, Oklahoma. It is the newspaper of record for Pottawatomie, Lincoln and Seminole counties, in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. It took its current name in 1943 afte ...

''.

Military service

After the outbreak of

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 ...

, Steed enlisted in the U.S. Army on October 29, 1942, and was assigned to the

Anti-aircraft Artillery Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

. Steed was released from active duty in May 1944 with rank of

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

. Steed continued his contribution to the U.S. war effort when he joined the

Office of War Information The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a United States government agency created during World War II. The OWI operated from June 1942 until September 1945. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and other ...

on July 1, 1944. Steed also served with the information division in India-Burma Theater until December 1945. He often stated that his experience in

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

, the military and in the U.S. Congress had taught him "knowledge is power".

Political career

Steed ran for

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

in 1948 and was elected as a

Democrat 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 ...

, taking office on January 3, 1949. He was re-elected in 1950, and was continuously re-elected until 1980, when he decided to retire. (That year, he also received one vote for president at the

1980 Democratic National Convention The 1980 Democratic National Convention nominated President Jimmy Carter and Vice President Walter Mondale for reelection. The convention was held in Madison Square Garden in New York City from August 11 to August 14, 1980. The 1980 convention ...

.) Steed's final congressional race in 1978 was successful although he faced a spirited challenge in the Democratic primary election from M.E. "Cuffie" Waid, a popular Lawton

optometrist Optometry is a specialized health care profession that involves examining the eyes and related structures for defects or abnormalities. Optometrists are health care professionals who typically provide comprehensive primary eye care. In the Uni ...

and

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...

leader. He served a total of 32 years in Congress, longer than any other Oklahoman in Congress at the time, and left office on January 3, 1981. While in Congress, he sat on the Education and Labor, Public Works, Appropriations, and Small Business committees, briefly chairing this last committee during the Ninety-fourth Congress. He also served as chair of the Subcommittee on the Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government and of the Subcommittee on Taxation and Oil Imports. Steed did not 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 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 ...

, 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 Act of 1968 The Civil Rights Act of 1968 () is a landmark law in the United States signed into law by United States President Lyndon B. Johnson during the King assassination riots. Titles II through VII comprise the Indian Civil Rights Act, which applie ...

Accomplishments in office

According to the ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'', Steed's accomplishments while serving in Congress included: *Conducting hearings on price wars affecting the dairy and retail petroleum industries; *Cosponsored the Upstream Conservation Act, enacted in 1954; *Joined with Sen.

Robert S. Kerr Robert Samuel Kerr (September 11, 1896 – January 1, 1963) was an American businessman and politician from Oklahoma. Kerr formed a petroleum company before turning to politics. He served as the 12th governor of Oklahoma from 1943 to 1947 and wa ...

to realize 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 ...

; *Cosponsored the 1956 Library Services Act, which established the bookmobile system; *Brought the Postal Service Institute to

Norman, Oklahoma Norman () is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,097 as of 2021. It is the largest city and the county seat of Cleveland County, Oklahoma, Cleveland County, and the second-largest city in the Oklahoma C ...

in 1968; *Helped obtain funds for the education center at

Rose State College Rose State College is a public community college in Midwest City, Oklahoma. History Rose State College was originally named Oscar Rose Junior CollegeBritton, Terry D.,Rose State College" Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture' (accessed M ...

and the Gordon Cooper Vocational Education School in Shawnee.Kosmerick, Todd J. "Steed, Thomas Jefferson (1904–1983)." ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''.
Accessed July 30, 2016.

Death and legacy

Steed returned to Oklahoma and resided in

Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...

, where he remained until his death on June 8, 1983 (age 79 years, 98 days). He is

interred Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

at Resthaven Cemetery in Shawnee, Oklahoma. After his death, a portion of Interstate 40 near Shawnee was renamed the "Tom Steed Memorial Highway."

Tom Steed Reservoir Created in 1975, Tom Steed Reservoir is a reservoir in Kiowa County, Oklahoma, northwest of the city of Snyder, Oklahoma. The reservoir area was created by damming West Otter Creek and diverting flows of Elk Creek through the Bretch Diversion Ca ...

near Mountain Park is also named after him.

References

External links

Tom Steed at Biographical Directory of the U.S. CongressTom Steed Collection
an
Photograph Series
at the Carl Albert Center *
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steed, Tom 1904 births 1983 deaths 20th-century American newspaper editors 20th-century American politicians People from Eastland County, Texas People from Konawa, Oklahoma People from Shawnee, Oklahoma United States Army officers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Oklahoma Journalists from Oklahoma Journalists from Texas People of the United States Office of War Information American male journalists United States Army personnel of World War II Military personnel from Texas