| Wayne Lyman Morse | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Former U.S. Senator from Oregon From: January 3, 1945 – January 3, 1969 | |||
| Predecessor | Rufus C. Holman | ||
| Successor | Bob Packwood | ||
| Information | |||
| Party | Republican (pre-1952) Independent (1952–1955) Democrat | ||
| Spouse(s) | Mildred Martha "Midge" Downie | ||
| Military Service | |||
| Allegiance | United States | ||
| Service/branch | United States Army | ||
| Service Years | 1923–1929 | ||
| Rank | Second Lieutenant | ||
| Unit | Field artillery | ||
Wayne Lyman Morse (October 20, 1900 – July 22, 1974) was a liberal Republican[1]-turned-Independent-turned-Democrat from Oregon who served as the state's United States Senator from 1945 to 1969. He is partially known for having set one of the longest filibusters ever, at one point speaking for over 22 hours on the Senate floor.[2][3]
United States Senate
Morse opposed the investigations of communist infiltration of the U.S. government led by Joseph McCarthy, being one of six senators to sign Margaret Chase Smith's "Declaration of Conscience" against the Wisconsin Republican.[4]
Morse was the only non-Southern senator to vote against the Civil Rights Act of 1957,[5] though apparently because he merely opposed the weakness of the legislation after it was watered down.[4] When the Senate took up the 1964 Civil Rights Act, he filed a motion to send the legislation to the Judiciary Committee, then chaired by notorious Mississippi segregationist James Eastland;[6] Morse asserted that the reason was to provide ample time for consideration of a coffee bill to bolster Latin-American relations. The attempt was opposed by civil rights activist Clarence Mitchell, who said:
| Surely our country should not ask its colored citizens to stand aside for international coffee problems when they are being arrested, beaten, and bitten by dogs simply because they seek to purchase this beverage at public lunch counters. |
The Morse motion was ultimately defeated.[7]
References
- ↑ Whitman, Alden (July 23, 1974). Wayne Morse Dies; A Senator 24 Years. The New York Times. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
- ↑ Wayne Morse. United States Senate.
- ↑ Longest Filibusters in American History. RealClearPolitics. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Wayne Morse: Oregon’s La Follette. Fascinating Politics. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
- ↑ HR. 6127. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1957.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
- ↑ The Civil Rights Act of 1964: A Long Struggle for Freedom. Library of Congress. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
- ↑ HR. 7152. MANSFIELD MOTION TO TABLE MORSE MOTION TO REFER BILL TO THE JUDICIARY COMM. W/INSTRUCTIONS THAT IT BE REPORTED BACK APRIL 8.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved May 9, 2021.