John James Flynt Jr. (November 8, 1914 – June 24, 2007) was an American Democratic Party politician who served in the

United States House of Representatives 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 ...

for two congressional districts in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

from 1954 to 1979. Upon his retirement from the House, he was succeeded by future

House Speaker The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hung ...

Newt Gingrich, whom Flynt had narrowly defeated in the two previous elections.

Early life and education

John James Walker Flynt, Jr. was born on November 8, 1914, in

Griffin, Georgia Griffin is a city in and the county seat of Spalding County, Georgia, Spalding County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a po ...

, the only son of John James Flynt and Susan Winn Banks Flynt. He attended Spalding County public schools, before enrolling in Georgia Military Academy. He then attended the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

where he was a member of the

Phi Kappa Literary Society The Phi Kappa Literary Society is a College literary societies (American), college literary society, located at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, and is one of the few active literary societies left in America. Originally founded in ...

. After graduating with an A.B. degree in 1936. In 1936, he received his commission in the

United States Army Reserves The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. History Origi ...

. Lt. Flynt was assigned to the 6th Horse Cavalry Regiment at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. He served from 1936 to 1937. In World War II, Flynt served as Aide-de-Camp for Brigadier General Robert W. Grow in the 3rd Armored Division in France and was awarded the

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

Medal in 1944. In 1945, Flynt joined the U.S. Army Reserve, where he later retired a Colonel. Flynt attended law schools at the

Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...

, and received an LLB from

George Washington University Law School The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest law school in Washington, D. ...

in 1940. He was a lawyer in private practice and was assistant

United States attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for northern district of Georgia from 1939 to 1941 and again in 1945 and 1946.

Early political career

Flynt was a member of the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republican Party (United States), Repu ...

1947–1948, and was

solicitor general A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...

for Griffin Judicial Circuit from 1949 to 1954. In 1952–1954, he was president of the Georgia Bar Association. Flynt was a delegate to the Georgia State Democratic conventions in 1946, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, and 1966, and was a delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

s of 1960 and 1968.

Tenure in Congress

Flynt 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 Eighty-third Congress by special election to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Representative A. Sidney Camp, and at the same time was elected to the Eighty-fourth Congress. He was reelected to the eleven succeeding Congresses, serving from November 2, 1954, to January 3, 1979. While in Congress, he was chair of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct ( Ninety-fourth and Ninety-fifth Congresses). Jack Flynt was the focus of two books by the political scientist,

Richard Fenno Richard Francis Fenno Jr. (December 12, 1926 – April 21, 2020) was an American political scientist known for his pioneering work on the U.S. Congress and its members. He was a Distinguished University Professor Emeritus at the University of Roc ...

: ''Home Style'' and ''Congress at the Grassroots''. He was one of the most conservative Democrats in the House. Flynt cast votes against

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms and ammunition by civilians. Most countries allow civilians to own firearms, bu ...

, the

Equal Rights Amendment The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was a proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States, United States Constitution that would explicitly prohibit sex discrimination. It is not currently a part of the Constitution, though its Ratifi ...

, Medicare, and public housing. Flynt opposed reciprocal trade agreements fearing that they would hurt the textile industry in his district, and supported price support for agriculture. A staunch segregationist, in 1956, Flynt signed the ''

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 ...

''. Flynt voted against the Civil Rights Acts of 1957,

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

, and

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the

Voting Rights Act of 1965 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights move ...

. Flynt was reelected nine times without serious difficulty, eight of those times unopposed. He faced a Republican only once during this time, in 1966. The Republican Party was more or less nonexistent in most of Georgia well into the 1970s. However, in 1974, he was nearly defeated by political newcomer

Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1 ...

, a professor at the

University of West Georgia The University of West Georgia is a public university in Carrollton, Georgia, United States. The university offers a satellite campus in Newnan, Georgia, Newnan, Georgia, select classes at its Douglasville Center, and off-campus Museum Studies c ...

. This came as a considerable surprise, as 1974 was a very bad year for Republicans nationally due to fallout from

Watergate The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Nixon's resignation in 1974, in August of that year. It revol ...

. After an equally close rematch against Gingrich in 1976 (despite former

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 ...

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

's bid for president), Flynt opted not to run for reelection in 1978, when his district was finally won by Gingrich. Gingrich's eventual success was largely due to changing demographics. By the early 1970s, the southern and western suburbs of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

had begun spilling into the district, and gradually swamped the native-born farming and small-town population in the voting booth.

Later years

After leaving Congress, Flynt resumed the practice of law and farming operations. He engaged in banking and real estate, and lived in

, until his death in 2007.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flynt, John James Jr. 1914 births 2007 deaths United States Army colonels Democratic Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives University of Georgia alumni George Washington University Law School alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) Woodward Academy alumni United States Army reservists United States Army personnel of World War II Signatories of the Southern Manifesto 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Georgia General Assembly