Date of Award
Spring 2012
Degree Type
Masters Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
History
School
Humanities
Committee Chair
Chester Morgan
Committee Chair Department
History
Committee Member 2
Max Grivno
Committee Member 2 Department
History
Committee Member 3
Deanne Nuwer
Committee Member 3 Department
History
Abstract
William (Bill) Colmer first entered Congress in 1933, the same year that President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal began to reshape the role of government in the United States. While the New Deal's efforts to combat the Great Depression proved popular in the beginning, by 1935 many congressmen, especially southerners, began to distance themselves from the administration's attempts at social reform. Although many of his colleagues refused to endorse the increasingly liberal agenda of the New Deal, Congressman Colmer remained loyal throughout the decade. His loyalty to the administration was due in part to the south Mississippi district he represented. District Six was Mississippi's melting pot and contained the largest labor force and the most diverse industries in the state. Also, the presence of organized labor set District Six apart from other Mississippi congressional districts. While the conservatism of Colmer's later career has been well documented, his earliest years in Congress have not. This thesis will focus on the liberal Bill Colmer, and his record regarding labor legislation helps measure and explain his New Deal liberalism.
Copyright
2012, Zachary Wyatt Moulds
Recommended Citation
Moulds, Zachary Wyatt, "William Colmer and the Politics of the New Deal Labor Legislation 1933-1940" (2012). Master's Theses. 488.
https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/488