Jere Cooper (July 20, 1893 – December 18, 1957) was a
Democratic United States Representative
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, 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 Artic ...
from Tennessee.
Biography
Cooper was born on a
farm
A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...
near
Dyersburg,
Dyer County, Tennessee, son of Joseph W. and Viola May (Cooper) Cooper. He attended
public schools and then was graduated from the
Cumberland School of Law
The Cumberland School of Law is an American Bar Association, ABA-accredited law school at Samford University in Homewood, Alabama, United States. It was founded in 1847 at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee and is the 11th oldest law sch ...
in
Lebanon, Tennessee
Lebanon ( ) is the county seat of Wilson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 38,431 at the 2020 census. Lebanon is located in Middle Tennessee, approximately east of downtown Nashville. Lebanon is part of the Nashville Metro ...
, in 1914. He was admitted to the
bar in 1915 and commenced practice in
Dyersburg, Tennessee. He married Mary Rankley in December 1930; the couple had one son, Leon Jere Cooper, who died as a child.
Career
Upon the
U.S.
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
entry into
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 ...
in 1917, Cooper enlisted in the Second Tennessee Infantry,
National Guard
National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards.
...
, and was commissioned a
first lieutenant
First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment.
The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...
. Later he was transferred, with his company, to Co K, 119th Infantry, Thirtieth Division, and served in
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
. On July 9, 1918, he was promoted to
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
and served as
regiment
A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation.
In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...
al
adjutant
Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...
until discharged from the army on April 2, 1919. After the war he resumed the practice of law in Dyersburg.
Cooper was a member of the
city council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...
and city attorney from 1920 to 1928, and was elected department commander of the
American Legion
The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...
of Tennessee in 1921.
Elected as a Democrat to the
71st, and to the fourteen succeeding,
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
es, Cooper served from March 4, 1929, until his death. He served as chairman of the
U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means
The Committee on Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee has jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures, as well as a number of other program ...
(
84th and
85th Congresses), and on the Joint Committee on Internal Revenue Taxation (Eighty-fifth Congress).
He was a signatory to the 1956
Southern Manifesto
The Declaration of Constitutional Principles (known informally as the Southern Manifesto) was a document written in February and March 1956, during the 84th United States Congress, in opposition to racial integration of public places. The manife ...
that opposed the desegregation of public schools ordered by the Supreme Court in ''
Brown v. Board of Education
''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the ...
''.
Death
Cooper died in
Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Located just northwest of Washington, D.C., it is a major business and government center of the Washington metropolitan region ...
, on December 18, 1957 (age 64 years, 151 days). He is
interred at Fairview Cemetery, Dyersburg, Tennessee.
See also
*
References
External links
Retrieved on 2008-02-10
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Jere
1893 births
1957 deaths
United States Army personnel of World War I
American Presbyterians
United States Army officers
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee
People from Dyer County, Tennessee
Signatories of the Southern Manifesto
20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives