Porter Hardy Jr. (June 1, 1903 – April 19, 1995) was a farmer, businessman and

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 ...

politician who represented

Virginia's 2nd congressional district Virginia's second congressional district is a List of United States congressional districts, U.S. congressional district in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It currently encompasses all of the counties of Accomack County, Virginia, Accomack, Nort ...

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 more than two decades, including supporting the

Byrd Organization The Byrd machine, or Byrd Organization, was a political machine of the Democratic Party led by former Governor and U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd (1887–1966) that dominated Virginia politics for much of the 20th century. From the 1890s until the ...

during Massive Resistance.

Early and family life

Born in

Bon Air, Virginia Bon Air is a census-designated place (CDP) in Chesterfield County, Virginia, Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States. The population was 18,022 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The community is considered a suburb of the indep ...

, Hardy attended public schools and

Randolph-Macon Academy Randolph-Macon Academy (R-MA) is a coeducational private boarding school in the U.S. state of Virginia with a military leadership component. R-MA serves students in grades 6-12. The 135-acre (0.55 km2) campus overlooks Front Royal, and is 70 m ...

Bedford, Virginia Bedford is an incorporated town and former Independent city (United States)#Virginia, independent city located within Bedford County, Virginia, Bedford County in the U.S. state of Virginia. It serves as the county seat of Bedford County. As of the ...

. He graduated from Boykins High School in 1918, and from Randolph-Macon College,

Ashland, Virginia Ashland is a town in Hanover County, Virginia, United States, located north of Richmond along Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 7,565, up from 7,225 at the 2010 census. Ashland is named after the L ...

, in 1922, then attended the Graduate School of Business Administration at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1923 and 1924.

Career

Hardy worked as an accountant and warehouse manager in New York City and

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

from 1924 to 1927. He then became a wholesaler of electrical equipment in

Salisbury, Maryland Salisbury ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Wicomico County, Maryland, United States. Salisbury is the largest city in Eastern Shore of Maryland, the state's Eastern Shore region, with a population of 33,050 at the 2020 United States census ...

from 1927 to 1932, before moving to

Churchland, Virginia Portsmouth is an independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. It lies across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,915. It is the ninth-most populous city in Virginia and is part of the Ham ...

, in 1932, to farm. Although the Byrd Organization controlled much of the state, the Congressional District that included the cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth and Suffolk and Norfolk, Nansemond, Suffolk, Isle of Hardy and Princess Anne Counties had elected five different congressmen in the previous decade, a national record that Hardy ended. He won election to the Eightieth and ten succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1969) before announcing his retirement after 22 years. Hardy investigated waste in federal operations as chairman of the House Armed Services Sub-committee. As did other Byrd Organization members, Hardy signed 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 ...

''. He also voted against the

Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...

, but unlike any other Byrd Organization member voted for the

Twenty-fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Twenty-fourth Amendment (Amendment XXIV) of the United States Constitution prohibits both US Congress, Congress and the US states, states from requiring the payment of a Poll taxes in the United States, poll tax or any other tax to vote in ...

. After his legislative retirement as the Byrd Organization collapsed, Hardy continued to serve as a director of Dominion Bankshares Corporation and other Virginia financial institutions. He died April 19, 1995, and was interred at Eastern Shore Chapel Cemetery, in

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the most populous city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeastern Virginia. It is the sixth-most populous city in the ...

Electoral history

*1946; Hardy was elected to Congress defeating Republican Sidney H. Kelsey, winning 65.66% of the vote. *1948; Hardy was re-elected defeating Republican Walter E. Hoffman, Independent Jerry O. Gilliam, and Socialist Sidney Moore, winning 61.15% of the vote. *1950; Hardy was re-elected unopposed. *1952; Hardy was re-elected unopposed. *1954; Hardy was re-elected defeating Republican George V. Credle, winning 74.45% of the vote. *1956; Hardy was re-elected defeating Republican William R. Burns, winning 76.43% of the vote. *1958; Hardy was re-elected unopposed. *1960; Hardy was re-elected defeating Republican Louis B. Fine, winning 75.94% of the vote. *1962; Hardy was re-elected defeating Republican Fine, winning 74.96% of the vote. *1964; Hardy was re-elected defeating Republican Wayne Lustig and Independent H. Grady Speers, winning 68.73% of the vote. *1966; Hardy was re-elected unopposed.

References

Sources

1903 births 1995 deaths People from Bon Air, Virginia Randolph–Macon College alumni Harvard Business School alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia Signatories of the Southern Manifesto 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives {{Virginia-Representative-stub