Omar Truman Burleson (March 19, 1906 – May 14, 1991) was an attorney, judge, FBI agent and veteran of World War II when he was first elected in 1946 as a Democratic

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

Texas's 17th congressional district Texas's 17th congressional district of the United States House of Representatives includes a strip of Central Texas and Deep East Texas stretching from Nacogdoches, Texas, Nacogdoches to Waco, Texas, Waco and Round Rock, Texas, Round Rock, incl ...

. He was re-elected to Congress from this rural district for more than 30 years, resigning on December 31, 1978 after having decided not to run again for office.

Early life and education

Born in Anson, the seat of Jones County, north of Abilene, Texas, Burleson attended the public schools there. He received his higher education at Abilene Christian College and Hardin-Simmons University, both in Abilene. Burleson went to Tennessee for law school, graduating in 1929 from

Cumberland University Cumberland University is a private university in Lebanon, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1842. The oldest campus buildings were constructed between 1892 and 1896. History 1842–1861 The university was founded by the Cumberl ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. He returned to Texas, where he was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

the same year. He set up a practice in

Gorman Gorman may refer to: People * Gorman (surname) and list of people with the surname Places Canada * Gorman, Edmonton, Alberta United States * Gorman, California * Gorman, Maryland * Gorman, North Carolina * Gorman, South Dakota * Gorman, Texas ...

in Eastland County. With business slowing because of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, Burleson sought public office.

Legal and related career

In 1930 Burleson was elected to his first public office, as County Attorney of

Jones County, Texas Jones County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 19,663. Its county seat is Anson, Texas, Anson. The county was created in 1858 and organiz ...

, serving from 1931 to 1934. He next was elected as a judge in Jones County, serving from 1934 to 1940. In 1940 Burleson was hired as a special agent of the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

, serving into 1941. He entered politics, serving as a secretary and staff member to U.S. Representative Sam Russell of

in 1941 and 1942. With Russell's support, Burleson was appointed as general counsel for the Housing Authority in the

District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

in 1942; at that time, the District did not have

home rule Home rule is the government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governan ...

and was controlled by Congress through its committees. After the United States entered

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Burleson served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

from December 1942 to April 1946. He was assigned to the South Pacific Theater.

Political career

Following the war, in 1946 Burleson was elected to national office 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 ...

from the area where he had established his reputation:

to the Eightieth Congress. He was reelected to the fifteen succeeding Congresses from this rural district, and served from January 3, 1947, until his resignation, December 31, 1978. Because of his seniority, Burleson gained the chairmanships of the Committee on House Administration ( Eighty-fourth through Ninetieth Congresses), the Joint Committee on the Library (Eighty-fourth through Ninetieth Congresses), and the Joint Committee on Printing (Eighty-fourth Congress). Burleson was one of the majority of the Texan delegation to decline to sign 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 ...

opposing the desegregation of public schools as ordered by the Supreme Court in its ruling on ''

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 ...

''. It had determined that segregated public schools were unconstitutional. Delegations of other Southern states, particularly Virginia and some in the Deep South, did sign the manifesto and actively resisted such desegregation for years. But Burleson 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 ...

, which were directed at enforcing constitutional rights for African Americans and other minorities. He also opposed ratification of the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and passage of 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 ...

, which gave the federal government oversight and enforcement over state practices that discriminated against minority voters. Burleson chose against running for reelection in 1978. He was succeeded by the election of fellow conservative Democrat

Charles Stenholm Charles Walter Stenholm (October 26, 1938 – May 17, 2023) was an American businessman and Democratic Party politician from a rural district of the state of Texas. After establishing himself as owner-operator of a large cotton farm, he entere ...

of Stamford, which is also in Jones County. Stenholm owned and operated a large cotton farm there, but lived in

Abilene, Texas Abilene ( ) is a city in Taylor County, Texas, Taylor and Jones County, Texas, Jones counties, Texas, United States. Its population was 125,182 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Abilene metropolitan ar ...

. After resigning from Congress, Burleson resided in Abilene until his death there on May 14, 1991. He is interred at the Mount Hope Cemetery in Anson, his hometown.

Legacy

A statue of Burleson was installed in his hometown of Anson at the Jones County Courthouse. He had also served there in his early career as County Attorney and judge of the County Circuit Court.

References

External links

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burleson, Omar Truman 1906 births 1991 deaths American members of the Churches of Christ Hardin–Simmons University alumni Abilene Christian University alumni Samford University alumni Cumberland School of Law alumni Federal Bureau of Investigation agents People from Anson, Texas Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives