J.T. Rutherford
Encyclopedia
J. T. Rutherford was a United States Representative
from the state
of Texas
. He was a Democrat
.
He was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas
, but moved to Odessa, Texas
, in 1934, where he attended public schools. He served as an enlisted man in the United States Marine Corps
from 1942 to 1946, of which twenty-eight months were spent overseas. He was awarded the Purple Heart
. As an assault amphibian vehicle crewman, he landed in the first waves on D-Day
at Tarawa, Saipan
, where he was wounded, and Tinian
. He retired as a major in the United States Marine Corps Reserve
.
He studied at San Angelo College
in San Angelo
from 1946–1947 and at Sul Ross State College
in Alpine
, from 1947 to 1948. He attended Baylor University
Law
School in Waco
from 1948 to 1950.
He was a businessman and a partner in an industrial electrical construction firm as well as the owner of an advertising
company prior to serving elected office.
He served in the Texas House of Representatives
from 1948 to 1952 and was a member of the Texas State Senate from 1953 to 1954. He was elected to the 84th to 87th United States Congress
es from January 3, 1955 to January 3, 1963. He was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election in 1962 to the 88th United States Congress
; he was unseated by Republican
Ed Foreman
, later of Dallas
. His loss to Foreman was attributed to the Billy Sol Estes scandal. He missed only one floor vote of the several thousand cast while he was a congressman.
He was the first chairman of the House Subcommittee on National Parks. He was awarded the U. S. Department of Interior's Conservation Service Award in 1962 for his efforts to spearhead conservation legislation including laws that created a new national seashore on Padre Island
, Cape Cod National Seashore
, and Point Reyes
in California
.
Rutherford's district was the old jumbo 16th district, Midland
being its eastmost point and El Paso
at its westmost. It also stretched hundreds of miles along the border with Mexico. The 19 counties it embraced covered 42,067 square miles—making it geographically larger than the states of Ohio or Tennessee, among others.
After leaving Congress, he formed J. T. Rutherford & Associates, a government relations consulting firm to work on issue before Congress.
He died in Arlington, Virginia.
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from the state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. He was a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
.
He was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs is the 10th most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Garland County, and the principal city of the Hot Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area encompassing all of Garland County...
, but moved to Odessa, Texas
Odessa, Texas
Odessa is a city in and the county seat of Ector County, Texas, United States. It is located primarily in Ector County, although a small portion of the city extends into Midland County. Odessa's population was 99,940 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Odessa, Texas Metropolitan...
, in 1934, where he attended public schools. He served as an enlisted man in the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
from 1942 to 1946, of which twenty-eight months were spent overseas. He was awarded the Purple Heart
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...
. As an assault amphibian vehicle crewman, he landed in the first waves on D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
at Tarawa, Saipan
Saipan
Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
, where he was wounded, and Tinian
Tinian
Tinian is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.-Geography:Tinian is about 5 miles southwest of its sister island, Saipan, from which it is separated by the Saipan Channel. It has a land area of 39 sq.mi....
. He retired as a major in the United States Marine Corps Reserve
United States Marine Corps Reserve
The Marine Forces Reserve is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. It is the largest command in the U.S...
.
He studied at San Angelo College
Angelo State University
Angelo State University is a public, coeducational, doctoral level degree-granting university located in San Angelo, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1928 as San Angelo College. It gained University status and awarded its first baccalaureate degrees in 1967 and graduate degrees in 1969, the...
in San Angelo
San Angelo, Texas
San Angelo is a city in the state of Texas. Located in West Central Texas it is the county seat of Tom Green County. As of 2010 according to the United States Census Bureau, the city had a total population of 93,200...
from 1946–1947 and at Sul Ross State College
Sul Ross State University
Sul Ross State University , a public university in Alpine, Texas, is named for former Texas governor, Civil War general Lawrence Sullivan Ross. It was founded in 1917 as Sul Ross Normal College and was made a university in 1969....
in Alpine
Alpine, Texas
Alpine is a city in and the county seat of Brewster County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,786 people at the 2000 census, and had increased to 5,905 by 2010.-History:...
, from 1947 to 1948. He attended Baylor University
Baylor University
Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...
Law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
School in Waco
Waco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
from 1948 to 1950.
He was a businessman and a partner in an industrial electrical construction firm as well as the owner of an advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
company prior to serving elected office.
He served in the Texas House of Representatives
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
from 1948 to 1952 and was a member of the Texas State Senate from 1953 to 1954. He was elected to the 84th to 87th United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
es from January 3, 1955 to January 3, 1963. He was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election in 1962 to the 88th United States Congress
88th United States Congress
The Eighty-eighth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1963 to January 3, 1965, during the last year of...
; he was unseated by Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Ed Foreman
Ed Foreman
Edgar Franklin "Ed" Foreman is a motivational speaker in Dallas. He served one term representing a district in west Texas in the United States House of Representatives in 1963-65 and he served one term representing the southern district of New Mexico in Congress from 1969-71.-Early years in New...
, later of Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
. His loss to Foreman was attributed to the Billy Sol Estes scandal. He missed only one floor vote of the several thousand cast while he was a congressman.
He was the first chairman of the House Subcommittee on National Parks. He was awarded the U. S. Department of Interior's Conservation Service Award in 1962 for his efforts to spearhead conservation legislation including laws that created a new national seashore on Padre Island
Padre Island
Padre Island is part of the U.S. state of Texas. The island is located on Texas' southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico and is famous for its white sandy beaches at the south end...
, Cape Cod National Seashore
Cape Cod National Seashore
The Cape Cod National Seashore , created on August 7, 1961 by President John F. Kennedy, encompasses on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. It includes ponds, woods and beachfront of the Atlantic coastal pine barrens ecoregion...
, and Point Reyes
Point Reyes
Point Reyes is a prominent cape on the Pacific coast of northern California. It is located in Marin County approximately WNW of San Francisco. The term is often applied to the Point Reyes Peninsula, the region bounded by Tomales Bay on the northeast and Bolinas Lagoon on the southeast...
in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Rutherford's district was the old jumbo 16th district, Midland
Midland, Texas
Midland is a city in and the county seat of Midland County, Texas, United States, on the Southern Plains of the state's western area. A small portion of the city extends into Martin County. As of 2010, the population of Midland was 111,147. It is the principal city of the Midland, Texas...
being its eastmost point and El Paso
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
at its westmost. It also stretched hundreds of miles along the border with Mexico. The 19 counties it embraced covered 42,067 square miles—making it geographically larger than the states of Ohio or Tennessee, among others.
After leaving Congress, he formed J. T. Rutherford & Associates, a government relations consulting firm to work on issue before Congress.
He died in Arlington, Virginia.