Charles Edgar Mckenzie (October 3, 1896 – June 7, 1956) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Louisiana's 5th congressional district Louisiana's 5th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The 5th district encompasses rural northeastern Louisiana and much of central Louisiana, as well as the northern part of Louisiana's Florida paris ...

, based in the northeastern quadrant of his state, for two terms from 1943 to 1947.

Biography

Born in tiny

Pelican Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before ...

DeSoto Parish DeSoto Parish (; French: ''Paroisse DeSoto'') is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish was formed in 1843. At the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 26,812. Its parish seat and most populous municipality is Mansfield. D ...

in northwestern Louisiana, McKenzie attended public schools in

Monroe Monroe or Monroes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Monroe (surname) * Monroe (given name) * James Monroe, 5th President of the United States * Marilyn Monroe, actress and model Places United States * Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorp ...

Ouachita Parish Ouachita Parish () is a parish located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 160,368. The parish seat and largest city is Monroe. The parish was formed in 1807. Ouachita Parish is par ...

and

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

. He volunteered for service in the Louisiana National Guard and was stationed on the Mexican border in 1916, when

U.S. president The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

sent General

John J. Pershing General of the Armies John Joseph Pershing (September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948), nicknamed "Black Jack", was an American army general, educator, and founder of the Pershing Rifles. He served as the commander of the American Expeditionary For ...

in an unsuccessful attempt to capture the bandit

Pancho Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa ( , , ; born José Doroteo Arango Arámbula; 5 June 1878 – 20 July 1923) was a Mexican revolutionary and prominent figure in the Mexican Revolution. He was a key figure in the revolutionary movement that forced ...

. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, McKenzie was mustered into the

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on April 1, 1917, and commissioned a second lieutenant in the

156th Infantry The 156th Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in Mesopotamia in May 1918 during the First World War. It moved to India in June where it remained until disbanded in 1919. Background Heavy losses suffered ...

, which saw service overseas in the 39th and 89th divisions from June 1918, to September 1919. From 1919 to 1921, McKenzie engaged in

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring un ...

drilling at

Wichita Falls Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita Counties. According to ...

and nearby

Burkburnett Burkburnett () is a city in Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Wichita Falls, Texas metropolitan statistical area. Its population was 10,939 at the 2020 census. History Originally settled by ranchers as early as 1856, thi ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. He returned to Monroe and operated businesses relating to oil,

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

, finance-brokerage, trucking, and

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...

. He also had agricultural pursuits. From 1940 to 1942, McKenzie served as executive assistant director in the former Louisiana Department of Highways, now the

Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) is a Federated state, state government organization in the United States, in charge of maintaining public transportation, roadways, bridges, canals, select levees, floodplain mana ...

. Thereafter, he was the director of planning, housing, and aeronautics in the Louisiana Department of Public Works in 1942 and 1943. Both assignments were during the administration of

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Sam H. Jones Samuel Houston Jones (July 15, 1897 – February 8, 1978) was an American lawyer and 46th Governor of Louisiana for the term from 1940 to 1944. He defeated the renowned Earl Kemp Long in the 1940 Democratic runoff primary election. Eight years ...

, a figure in the anti-Long faction.

Congress

In 1943, McKenzie challenged incumbent congressman Newt V. Mills for the Democratic nomination and won by a small margin. The election results were challenged by Mills. Ultimately, Mills dropped the challenge and conceded to McKenzie. McKenzie 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 (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to the 78th and 79th Congresses (January 3, 1943–January 3, 1947). McKenzie was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1946, having lost to Otto E. Passman, a favorite of the Long faction.Billy Hathorn, "Otto Passman, Jerry Huckaby, and Frank Spooner: The Louisiana Fifth Congressional District Campaign of 1976", ''Louisiana History: The Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association,'' Vol. LIV, No. 3 (Summer 2013), p. 334

Later career and death

McKenzie then resumed supervision of his business enterprises in Monroe, where he died at the age of fifty-nine. He is interred there at Riverview Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKenzie, Charles E. 1896 births 1956 deaths Politicians from Monroe, Louisiana People from DeSoto Parish, Louisiana People from Wichita Falls, Texas Businesspeople from Louisiana United States Army officers United States Army personnel of World War I 20th-century American businesspeople Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana Military personnel from Texas 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives