Hatton W. Sumners

Hatton W. Sumners
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's At-Large district
In office March 4, 1913 – March 3, 1915
Preceded by	new district
Succeeded by	A. Jeff McLemore
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 5th district
In office March 4, 1915 – January 3, 1947
Preceded by	James Andrew Beall
Succeeded by	Joseph Franklin Wilson
Personal details
Born	May 30, 1875 Fayetteville, Tennessee
Died	April 19, 1962 (aged 86) Dallas, Texas
Political party	Democratic
Profession	Attorney
Religion	Methodist

Hatton William Sumners (May 30, 1875 – April 19, 1962) was a Congressman from Texas from 1913—1947 and served as Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

Early life and career

Sumners was born near Fayetteville, Tennessee on May 30, 1875. He moved to Garland, Texas, near Dallas in 1893. In 1895, as a 20-year-old newcomer to Dallas County, Sumners persuaded the Dallas City Attorney to let him "read law" in his office, an alternative to law school.^[1] Sumners was admitted to the bar in 1897 and commenced practice in Dallas, where he was elected prosecuting attorney of Dallas County in 1900, serving two non-consecutive terms. As prosecutor, he brought charges against gamblers in an attempt to clean up Dallas. As a result of his investigations and his campaign against drinking and vice, Sumners was not re-elected in 1902^[2] He continued his campaign against gambling and voting irregularaties in Dallas, ultimately influencing state legislation enacted to reform the system, after which, Sumners was elected Dallas County prosecutor again. Instead of continuing in that position, he instead was elected president of the district and county attorney’s association of Texas in 1906 and 1907 where he campaigned against betting interests.^[2]

Service in Congress

Sumners ran for and was elected to an at-large seat as a Democrat to the Sixty-third Congress, taking office on March 4, 1913. He was the first of the 132 freshmen congressmen in that Congress to get a bill through the House; the bill made Dallas a port of entry for customs.^[2] In 1914, he ran for the 5th District congressional seat which included Dallas, Ellis, Rockwall, Hill, and Bosque counties and he was elected.^[2]

Early in his career, he spoke out against the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill, claiming that the bill's sponsors did not have adequate statistics to prove their case, that the bill would increase racial mob violence, and that the bill ultimately impinged on states' rights.^[3]

Speaking on the House floor while some African-Americans watched from the balcony, Sumners continued to attack the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill with racist tropes. "Only a short time ago... their ancestors roamed the jungles of Africa in absolute savagery…[Y]ou do not know where the beast is among them. Somewhere in that black mass of people is the man who would outrage your wife or your child, and every man who lives in the country knows it." ^[4][5]

Sumners served on the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives and was appointed regularly to investigate allegations of corruption among federal judges, serving on the impeachment committees for three federal judges.^[6] Sumners became Chairman of the Judiciary Committee in 1932,^[2] and as a loyal Democrat supported much of President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal legislation. However, when the Supreme Court began invalidating key parts of the New Deal, Roosevelt proposed a plan to expand the Court, his so-called Court-packing plan was announced in 1936. As Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Sumners discreetly worked in opposition, but as the plan was clearly in trouble, Sumners reportedly said, "Boys, here's where I cash in my chips," referring to his waning support for the President.^[2] Ultimately, Chairman Sumners came out formally against the Court-packing plan. As a consequence of this, he faced two serious opponents in the 1938 election, but Sumners was re-elected and was not seriously challenged again. In 1946, Sumners announced he would not seek re-election, therefore, in all, he served seventeen consecutive terms.

He was a member of the Miller group in Washington.^[7]

Final years

After leaving Congress, Sumners was the Director of Research for the Southwestern Legal Foundation. Having never married, Sumners formed the Hatton W. Sumners Foundation in 1949, which still awards loans, and scholarships to worthy students. The foundation is also a sponsor of the Internet Project Vote Smart.^[8]

Sumners received an honorary doctor of laws from Southern Methodist University and the American Bar Association Medal. He died on April 19, 1962, and after services in the Highland Park Methodist Church in Dallas was interred in the Knights of Pythias Cemetery in Garland, Texas.^[2]

Books authored

Sumners wrote The Private Citizen and His Democracy in 1959.

References

1. Old Red Museum, Dallas County Historical Society Archived June 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
2. "SUMNERS, HATTON WILLIAM". Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
3. "Filibuster Delays Anti-Lynching Bill," New York Times, January 5, 1922
4. "Uphill All the Way: The Fortunes of Progressivism, 1919-1929" by Kevin C. Murphy, 2013
5. "At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black America" By Philip Dray, 2007
6. Congressional Biography
7. Caro, Robert A. (1982). The Path to Power. The Years of Lyndon Johnson. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. p. 271. ISBN 0394499735.
8. "Project Vote Smart". votesmart.org. Retrieved July 18, 2010.

Sources

• United States Congress. "Hatton W. Sumners (id: S001072)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Old Red Museum, Dallas County Historical Society
• Handbook of Texas Online - SUMNERS, HATTON WILLIAM
• Hatton W. Sumners Foundation Home