Carl Atwood Elliott (December 20, 1913 – January 9, 1999) was a U.S. Congressman from the state of Alabama. He was elected to eight consecutive terms in office, serving from January 1949 to January 1965.
Elliott was born in rural Franklin County in the hills of northwest Alabama. He graduated from high school at the age of 16 from Vina High School in Vina, AL, but few people expected him to be able to afford college. Due to the Depression-era policies of University President George H. Denny, Elliott was able to attend the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa by working a variety of jobs around campus to pay for his education. He received his undergraduate degree from the University in 1933 and subsequently enrolled in the University of Alabama School of Law.
While a law student, Elliott ran for the high-profile position of Student Government President at the University of Alabama. With the support of the growing number of out-of-state students and women, Elliott became the first person ever to defeat "the Machine", a select coalition of fraternities and sororities that to this day dominates campus politics at the University. In 1936, Elliott completed his term as SGA President and graduated with his law degree.
Elliott then began his law practice in Russellville, Alabama, near his hometown, but soon moved to the town he would call home for the remainder of his life: Jasper, Alabama. During his career as an attorney in Jasper, Elliott spent most of his time representing coal miners and their families, foreshadowing his long political career of fighting for Alabama's poorest, most disadvantaged people. He served in the U.S. Army from 1942–1944. He was twice elected a local judge in Jasper before running for U.S. Congress in 1948. His "Farm Boy to Congress" persona proved to be very popular among the working class in his district, and he unseated incumbent Rep. Carter Manasco, to the surprise of many political observers. Upon winning the election, Elliott and his wife purchased a residence in the nation's capitol, and they would spend the next 16 years of their lives traveling back and forth between Washington, D.C. and Jasper.
Elliott represented the old Seventh District in the U.S. Congress. He served on the House Veterans Committee, the Education and Labor Committee, and the Rules Committee. He chaired the Select Committee for Government Research. In 1956, Elliott authored the Library Services Act, which brought mobile libraries (Bookmobiles) and continuing library service to millions of rural Americans. In 1958, he co-authored the National Defense Education Act (NDEA), which, in the wake of the U.S.S.R.'s early post-Sputnik lead in the Space Race, improved science, foreign language and technology education nationwide and provided low-interest loans for college and graduate school for needy students. Both laws have been extended; more than 30,000,000 college students nationwide have obtained loans under Elliott's NDEA legislation.
Elliott was defeated in the runoff primary election in 1964. Alabama had failed to redistrict itself from 9 to 8 districts in 1962, so they held a primary in their nine districts and a statewide runoff where the field of nine was narrowed to eight. By the time of the 1964 primaries, a redistricting plan had not passed, so Elliott defeated future Congressman Tom Bevill in a primary. Then in the statewide runoff, Elliott was the Congressman defeated. His defeat was credited to his conflicts with then-governor George C. Wallace over various policies. Alabama would actually pass a redistricting plan after the runoff primary, averting a second statewide general election.
Elliott ran for Alabama governor in 1966 on a platform of federal assistance to the needy, better education, and racial tolerance. He lost the election, which was fraught with racial tension and characterized by bomb threats, defaced campaign billboards, and Ku Klux Klan appearances at several of his campaign speeches, to Lurleen Wallace, running as a proxy for her husband George C. Wallace, who was prohibited by the state constitution from succeeding himself. After Elliott's defeat, he slipped into political obscurity and poverty, having spent his Congressional pension on the gubernatorial race. He resumed practicing law, writing books about local history, producing columns and book reviews for area newspapers, and publishing books by local authors. His books include five volumes of Annals of Northwest Alabama, a history of Red Bay, Alabama, and seven volumes of histories of coal miners.
Elliott received new recognition of his achievements in 1990, when he became the first recipient of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. In the twilight of his life, he received long-sought vindication when he was able to travel to Boston to accept the award from Sen. Ted Kennedy. His autobiography, The Cost of Courage: The Journey of An American Congressman, published in 1992, was recently reprinted by the University of Alabama Press.
A one-hour TV special, Conscience of a Congressman: The Life and Times of Carl Elliott, was produced as an episode of The Alabama Experience documentary series by The University of Alabama Center for Public Television & Radio. Only weeks before her death, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis watched "Conscience of a Congressman." She had met Elliott when he had served in Congress with her husband. Ms. Onassis was also the editor of Elliott's memoirs. In a letter to Elliott, she wrote that the program's power "was going to be in what it does to young people."
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Carter Manasco |
U.S. Congressman, Alabama 7th District 1949—1965 |
Succeeded by James D. Martin |