George M. Grant

George M. Grant
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Alabama's at-large district
In office January 3, 1963 – January 3, 1965
Preceded by	District inactive
Succeeded by	District inactive
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Alabama's 2nd district
In office June 14, 1938 – January 3, 1963
Preceded by	J. Lister Hill
Succeeded by	District inactive
Personal details
Born	George McInvale Grant (1897-07-11)July 11, 1897 Louisville, Alabama
Died	November 4, 1982(1982-11-04) (aged 85) At sea, aboard the Queen Elizabeth II
Resting place	Arlington National Cemetery
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Matalie Carter ​ (m. 1938)​
Children	2
Alma mater	University of Alabama
Military career
Service / branch	U.S. Army Signal Corps
Battles / wars	World War I

George McInvale Grant (July 11, 1897 – November 4, 1982) was an American lawyer, military veteran, and politician who served 14 terms as a Democratic Representative from Alabama from 1938 to 1965.

Early life

George McInvale Grant was born in Louisville, Alabama, on July 11, 1897. He attended public schools in Louisville. He obtained a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Alabama School of Law in 1922. He was admitted to the bar the same year and opened a law practice in Troy, Alabama, near Montgomery. He served as the national secretary of Pi Kappa Phi in 1922.

Career

He was a private and aviation cadet in the aviation section of the Signal Corps of the United States Army in 1918 and 1919. He was county solicitor (district attorney) of Pike County, Alabama from 1927 to 1937.

Political career

When Representative Lister Hill was appointed to the U.S. Senate in 1938, Grant won the Democratic nomination to succeed him in the special election. Then, Democratic nomination was tantamount to election in Alabama, and he took office on June 14, 1938. He won a full term that November. Grant's foreign policy views were described as "pro-British, anti-communist and otherwise indifferent to the world outside of the United States." Grant voted in favor of the 1941 Lend Lease Act to provide material aid for the British military. This act provided "ammunition, tanks, airplanes, trucks, and food" to the British army. Grant was reelected 11 more times from the Montgomery-based district until January 3, 1965. Having signed the 1956 Southern Manifesto that opposed the desegregation of public schools ordered by the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education, in 1957 he voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1957. He was a member of the United States House Committee on Agriculture and was the author of the Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960.

In 1964, Grant faced credible opposition in the Democratic primary for only the third time in his career when former Rear Admiral John G. Crommelin challenged him. Crommelin ran well to Grant's right, giving speeches full of racist and anti-Semitic rhetoric. Grant defeated Crommerlin by a more than 2-to-1 margin. In November, he faced a Republican for the first time ever in William Louis Dickinson. Grant lost by a shocking 25-point margin, which was all the more remarkable since most of the district's living residents had never been represented by a Republican.

Affiliations

He was a member of the board of trustees at Bob Jones University. He was president of the Dixie Amateur League in 1935 and served as the head of Alabama–Florida League until 1938.

Personal life

Grant married Matalie Carter, a schoolteacher from Munford, Alabama, on December 5, 1938. Together, they had a son and a daughter, George and Alicia.

Later life and death

Grant returned to his law practice in Troy, but later moved to Washington, D.C., and became a lobbyist. He lived in Washington until the time of his death on November 4, 1982, at sea, aboard the Queen Elizabeth II. He was interred at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.

Awards

Grant was awarded an honorary L.L.D. at Bob Jones University in 1950.

References

• United States Congress. "George M. Grant (id: G000381)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress