Lee Slater Overman

Lee Slater Overman
Lee Slater Overman
United States Senator
from North Carolina
In office
1903–1930
Preceded by Jeter Connelly Pritchard
Succeeded by Cameron A. Morrison
Personal details
Born January 3, 1854(1854-01-03)
Salisbury, North Carolina
Died December 12, 1930(1930-12-12) (aged 76)
Washington, D.C.
Resting place Chestnut Hill Cemetery
Political party Democratic

Lee Slater Overman (January 3, 1854 – December 12, 1930) was a Democratic U.S. senator from the state of North Carolina between 1903 and 1930. He was born in Salisbury, N.C., the son of William H. and Mary E. Slater Overman. He attended Trinity College (now Duke University), Class of 1874, where he was a member of the Chi Phi Fraternity. He served in the North Carolina House of Representatives.

In 1914, Overman became the first U.S. senator from North Carolina to be elected by popular vote, having been previously appointed to the seat by the state legislature in 1902 and again in 1909.

He wrote and sponsored the Overman Act of 1918, which gave President Woodrow Wilson extraordinary powers to coordinate government agencies in wartime. Overman chaired a Senate committee after World War I, which many see as a precursor to the House Un-American Activities Committee.

In 1922, Overman was one of the leaders of a 1 hour, 45 minute filibuster that helped defeat the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill. Among his claims was that the bill was a partisan attempt to solidify the Republican hold on the northern black vote, that the bill had been written by a black person, and that ignorant black people in the South would interpret the bill as permission to "commit the foulest of outrages."[1]

In World War II, the United States liberty ship SS Lee S. Overman was named in his honor.

Contents

Overman Committee

Main article: Overman Committee

Overman chaired the Overman Committee, a subcommittee that investigated foreign propaganda and Bolshevism in the United States during the first Red Scare.

References

  1. ^ "Filibuster Kills Anti-Lynching Bill", New York Times, December 3, 1922

Further reading

External links

United States Senate
Preceded by
Jeter Connelly Pritchard		 United States Senator (Class 3) from North Carolina
1903–1930
Served alongside: Furnifold McLendel Simmons		 Succeeded by
Cameron A. Morrison
Class 2: Johnston • Martin • Franklin • Turner • Stokes • Branch • Brown • Mangum • Reid • Bragg • Abbott • Ransom • Butler • Simmons • Bailey • Umstead • Broughton • F. Graham • Smith • Lennon • Scott • Jordan • Helms • Dole • Hagan
Class 3: Hawkins • Bloodworth • Stone • Franklin • Stone • Locke • Macon • Iredell • Mangum • Strange • W. Graham • Haywood • Badger • Biggs • Clingman • Pool • Merrimon • Vance • Jarvis • Pritchard • Overman • Morrison • Reynolds • Hoey • Ervin • Morgan • East • Broyhill • Sanford • Faircloth • Edwards • Burr
Committee on Rules
1870–1947
Ferry • Blaine • Morgan • Frye • Aldrich • Blackburn • Aldrich • Spooner • Knox • Crane • Overman • Knox • Curtis • Moses • Copeland • Neely • Byrd
Committee on Rules and Administration
1947–
Brooks • Hayden • Jenner • Green • Hennings • Mansfield • Jordan • Cannon • Pell • Mathias • Ford • Stevens • Warner • McConnell • Dodd • McConnell • Dodd • Lott • Feinstein • Schumer
Hanna (1901) • Spooner (1905) • Knox (1909) • Crane (1913) • Overman (1917) • Knox (1921) • Curtis (1925) • Moses (1929) • Robinson (1933) • Neely (1937) • Neely (1941) • Byrd (1945) • Hayden (1949) • Bridges (1953) • Bridges (1957) • Sparkman (1961) • Jordan (1965) • Dirksen (1969) • Cannon (1973) • Cannon (1977) • Hatfield (1981) • Baker (1985) • Ford (1989) • Ford (1993) • Warner (1997) • McConnell (2001) • Lott (2005) • Feinstein (2009)