Claude Pepper | |
---|---|
![]() Pepper, c. 1940 | |
Chair of the House Rules Committee | |
In office January 3, 1983 – May 30, 1989 | |
Preceded by | Richard W. Bolling |
Succeeded by | Joe Moakley |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida | |
In office January 3, 1963 – May 30, 1989 | |
Preceded by | Bob Sikes |
Succeeded by | Ileana Ros-Lehtinen |
Constituency | 3rd district (1963–1967) 11th district (1967–1973) 14th district (1973–1983) 18th district (1983–1989) |
United States Senator from Florida | |
In office November 4, 1936 – January 3, 1951 | |
Preceded by | William Luther Hill |
Succeeded by | George Smathers |
Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the Taylor County district | |
In office 1929–1931 | |
Preceded by | W. T. Hendry |
Succeeded by | Anton H. Wentworth |
Personal details | |
Born | Claude Denson Pepper September 8, 1900 near Dudleyville, Alabama, U.S. |
Died | May 30, 1989 Washington, D.C., U.S. | (aged 88)
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse |
Mildred Webster
(m. 1936; died 1979) |
Education | University of Alabama (AB) Harvard University (LLB) |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Branch/service | United States Army |
Years of service | 1918 |
Rank | Private |
Unit | Student Army Training Corps |
Battles/wars | World War I |
Claude Denson Pepper (September 8, 1900 – May 30, 1989) was an American politician of the Democratic Party. He represented Florida in the United States Senate from 1936 to 1951, and the Miami area in the United States House of Representatives from 1963 until his death in 1989. He was considered a spokesman for left-liberalism and the elderly.[1][2]
Born in Chambers County, Alabama, Pepper established a legal practice in Perry, Florida, after graduating from Harvard Law School. After serving a single term in the Florida House of Representatives, Pepper won a 1936 special election to succeed Senator Duncan U. Fletcher. Pepper became one of the most prominent liberals in Congress, supporting legislation such as the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. After World War II, Pepper's conciliatory views towards the Soviet Union and opposition to President Harry Truman's 1948 re-nomination engendered opposition within the party. Pepper lost the 1950 Senate Democratic primary to Congressman George Smathers, and returned to private legal practice the following year.
In 1962, Pepper won election to a newly created district in the United States House of Representatives. He emerged as a staunch anti-Communist, and strongly criticized Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Pepper served as chairman of the House Committee on Aging, and pursued reforms to Social Security and Medicare. From 1983 to 1989, he served as chairman of the powerful House Rules Committee. He died in office in 1989, and was honored with a state funeral. In 2000, the United States Postal Service issued a 33¢ Distinguished Americans series postage stamp honoring Pepper.
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