Watkins Abbitt
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Watkins "Wat" Moorman Abbitt (May 21, 1908 – July 13, 1998) was an
American politician In the United States, politics functions within a framework of a constitutional federal democratic republic with a presidential system. The three distinct branches share powers: Congress, which forms the legislative branch, a bicameral legis ...
and lawyer. He was a member of 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 ...
from
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
from February 17, 1948 to January 3, 1973. He was a top lieutenant within 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 ...
, the political machine named for its leader, U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd.


Early and family life

Abbitt was born in
Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner and Abolitionism, abolitionist John Lynch (1740–1820), J ...
to George Francis Abbitt and Otway C. Moorman Abbitt. He graduated from Appomattox Agricultural High School in
Appomattox, Virginia Appomattox ( ) is a town in Appomattox County, Virginia, Appomattox County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,733 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is the county seat of Appomattox County, Virginia, Appomattox County. ...
in 1925. He earned an
LL.B. A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...
from the
University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia, United States. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approxim ...
in 1931 and began the practice of law in Appomattox. He married Corinne Hancock on March 20, 1937, and they had a son and two daughters who survived infancy.


Career

Upon admission to the Virginia bar, Abbitt had a private legal practice, and was also a bank executive. In 1931 he was elected
Commonwealth's attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...
for Appomattox County and served from 1932 to 1948. He also was elected member of the Virginia Constitutional Convention in 1945.


Congress

When U.S. Representative Patrick H. Drewry died in office, Abbit won the special election to fill the vacancy. 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 ...
, Abbitt won a full term later that year and 11 more times after that (February 17, 1948 – January 3, 1973). He was a member of the agriculture committee, and supported farm subsidies as well as fiscal conservatism and opposed increased federal intervention in state affairs. Abbitt became known for his opposition to school desegregation in the 1950s, supporting Massive Resistance alongside other Byrd Democrats. For instance, he denounced ''
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 ...
'' as "the naked and arrogant declaration of nine men." Abbitt 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 ...
in 1956. Abbitt 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 ...
. He was a delegate to the
1964 Democratic National Convention The 1964 Democratic National Convention of the Democratic Party, took place at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, from August 24 to 27, 1964. President Lyndon B. Johnson was nominated for a full term. Senator Hubert H. Humphrey of Mi ...
, and chairman of the state Democratic party from 1964-1970. Abbitt announced his retirement after being redistricted into the same congressional district as fellow Democrat Dan Daniel, and Republican
Robert Daniel Robert Williams Daniel, Jr. (March 17, 1936 – February 4, 2012) was an American farmer, businessman, teacher, and politician from Virginia who served five terms in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican Party (United States), Re ...
won the seat in a 5-candidate general election field, becoming the first Republican to represent Southside Virginia in the century.


Endorsement of Douglas Wilder

Having long since recanted his segregationist views, Abbitt endorsed L. Douglas Wilder, who became Virginia's first black governor in 1989. According to his son, state delegate Watkins Abbitt Jr., he and his sisters played a role in his father's change of heart. Watkins Jr. noted that in his later years, his father always worked for free for any black church that needed legal services, and a black minister spoke at the funeral.


Death and legacy

Abbitt was married twice. His first wife of 52 years, Corinne, died in 1989 and Abbitt later married Mary Ann Schmidt who survived him when he died from
leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...
in
Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner and Abolitionism, abolitionist John Lynch (1740–1820), J ...
on July 13, 1998. He maintained an active law practice as late as a week before his death. A park in
Appomattox, Virginia Appomattox ( ) is a town in Appomattox County, Virginia, Appomattox County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,733 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is the county seat of Appomattox County, Virginia, Appomattox County. ...
is named for him. His son, Watkins Abbitt Jr., served as a member of the
Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two houses of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...
from 1986 to 2012.


Elections

*1948; Abbitt was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in a special election unopposed and was re-elected in the general election unopposed. *1950; Abbitt was re-elected unopposed. *1952; Abbitt was re-elected unopposed. *1954; Abbitt was re-elected unopposed. *1956; Abbitt was re-elected unopposed. *1958; Abbitt was re-elected with 87.15% of the vote, defeating Independent Frank M. McCann. *1960; Abbitt was re-elected unopposed. *1962; Abbitt was re-elected unopposed. *1964; Abbitt was re-elected after tying Independent Samuel W. Tucker in the general election. *1966; Abbitt was re-elected with 75.3% of the vote, defeating Independent Edward J. Silverman. *1968; Abbitt was re-elected with 71.52% of the vote, defeating now-Republican Samuel W. Tucker. *1970; Abbitt was re-elected with 61.02% of the vote, defeating Independent Ben Ragsdale and Republican James M. Helms.


References


External links

*
The Political Graveyardgovtrack.us
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbitt, Watkins Moorman 1908 births 1998 deaths Politicians from Lynchburg, Virginia People from Appomattox, Virginia County and city commonwealth's attorneys in Virginia Democratic Party of Virginia chairs University of Richmond School of Law alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia Deaths from leukemia in Virginia Baptists from Virginia 20th-century Baptists Signatories of the Southern Manifesto Former white supremacists 20th-century Virginia politicians 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives