Albert Sydney Herlong Jr. (February 14, 1909 – December 27, 1995) was an American lawyer and politician from

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

who served ten terms 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 ...

from 1949 to 1969. He was a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

Early life and education

Herlong was born in the small community of

Manistee, Alabama Manistee is an unincorporated community in Monroe County, Alabama, United States. Manistee was a logging town, and was home to the Manistee Mill Company, Bear Creek Mill Company and Runyan-Burgoyne Lumber Company. The Manistee Mill Company built ...

in 1909, and moved with his parents to Marion County, Florida in 1912. He attended the public schools of Sumter and

Lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

counties and graduated from Leesburg High School in

Leesburg, Florida Leesburg is a city in central Florida. The population was 20,117 at the 2010 census. As of 2019, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 23,671. Leesburg is in Lake County, between Lake Harris and Lake Griffin, at the head of the ...

. Herlong attended the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, Alachua County, Florida, and the largest city in North Central Florida, with a population of 141,085 in 2020. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gaine ...

, where he was a member of Pi Kappa Phi

Fraternity A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...

(

Alpha Epsilon Alpha Epsilon () is a scholastic honor society recognizing academic achievement among students in the fields of Agricultural, Food, and Biological Engineering. History Alpha Epsilon Honor Society was founded at the University of Missouri on May ...

Chapter), and graduated in 1930. He was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1930 and started his law practice in Leesburg.

Career

Early political career

Herlong was elected county judge of

Lake County, Florida Lake County is a county in the central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 383,956. Its county seat is Tavares, and its largest city is Clermont. Lake County is included in the Orlando-Kissimmee- Sa ...

, and served from 1937 to 1949. He served as city attorney of Leesburg from 1946 to 1948. He held a reserve commission as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the U.S. Army and was called to active duty in the Judge Advocate General's Department in August 1941. He was discharged in 1942 due to physical disability. He served two enlistments in the Florida State Guard. He served as president of the Florida State Baseball League in 1947 and 1948.

Career in Congress

Herlong 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 ...

to the Eighty-first and to the nine succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1969). In Congress, Herlong was noted for his

anti-communist Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...

advocacy. In 1959, Herlong introduced a bill to establish a federally funded Freedom Academy that would counter-act foreign countries' Communist propaganda. On January 10, 1963, at the request of constituent Patricia Nordman, Herlong read into the ''

Congressional Record The ''Congressional Record'' is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress, published by the United States Government Publishing Office and issued when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record Inde ...

'' a list of 45 goals of communism from the book ''

The Naked Communist ''The Naked Communist'' is a 1958 anti-communist book by W. Cleon Skousen, a former FBI employee. The book has been reprinted several times and it has sold more than one million copies. Content ''The Naked Communist'' is a 1958 anti-communis ...

'' by

W. Cleon Skousen Willard Cleon Skousen (; January 20, 1913 – January 9, 2006) was an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative author with the John Birch Society and a faith-based conspiracy theorist. A notable anti-communist and suppor ...

. Herlong 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''. He was not a candidate for reelection in 1968 to the Ninety-first Congress.

Post-Congressional career

He resumed his practice of law. Appointed in 1969 by President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

,Associated Press,
S.E.C. Member is Sworn
" ''The New York Times'', p. 72 (October 30, 1969). Retrieved August 7, 2010. Herlong served in the

Securities and Exchange Commission The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...

until 1973. In 1985, Herlong formally changed his party affiliation to Republican.

Personal life

In 1967, while Herlong was still a Congressman, his portrait was painted by renowned portraitist

Everett Raymond Kinstler Everett Raymond Kinstler (August 5, 1926 – May 26, 2019) was an American artist, whose official portraits include Presidents Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan.Leesburg, Florida Leesburg is a city in central Florida. The population was 20,117 at the 2010 census. As of 2019, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 23,671. Leesburg is in Lake County, between Lake Harris and Lake Griffin, at the head of the ...

. He was married and had four daughters, Sydney, Dorothy, Mary Alice, and Margaret.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herlong, Syd 1909 births 1995 deaths People from Monroe County, Alabama Florida lawyers Florida state court judges Members of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission People from Lake County, Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Florida United States Army officers 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American judges Nixon administration personnel