Jackson B. Davis
Encyclopedia
Jackson Beauregard Davis (born March 27, 1918) is an American
attorney
based in Shreveport
, Louisiana
, who served as a Democrat
in the Louisiana State Senate
from 1956 to 1980. Now in his nineties, Davis still practices law and is active in community affairs, often addressing public gatherings. He is a survivor of the World War II
Japan
ese attack on Pearl Harbor
.
Davis was born near Lecompte
in south Rapides Parish
. After he procured his law degree from Louisiana State University
in 1940, Jackson volunteered for service of his country and received an officer's commission in the United States Navy
. Assigned to naval intelligence, he was stationed at Pearl Harbor
, Hawaii
, for the duration of World War II. Davis arrived in Hawaii on September 7, 1941, on the . Though personally spared injury, he was awakened in his hotel room to the first wave of bombing by the Japanese that was unleashed on the morning of December 7, 1941. He worked in traffic analysis, codebreaking, and communications in the basement of the Fourteenth Naval District headquarters building there. He was discharged as a lieutenant commander
in January 1946.
Davis's law office is located at 920 Pierremont Road, Suite 100. In 2009, he entered his 63rd year as a practicing attorney.
Davis is not related to two-term Governor Jimmie Davis
, who had also resided in Shreveport for a period of time prior to 1944. In 1956, Jackson Davis launched a political career with election to the first of six consecutive four-year terms in the state Senate. Though a Democrat, Davis was uncomfortable with the national party nominees. In 1964, he refused to endorse the election of U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson
and joined a number of Louisiana Democratic officeholders who, along with Caddo Parish Sheriff
J. Howell Flournoy
, endorsed the Republican
presidential choice, then U.S. Senator Barry M. Goldwater of Arizona
. Davis and Flournoy timed their announcement with Goldwater’s campaign stop in Shreveport.
A supporter of right-to-work legislation and business expansion, Jackson was considered a fiscal conservative in his long legislative career. He also worked to expand higher education in the northwest Louisiana corridor, including the establishment in 1967 of Louisiana State University in Shreveport
.
In his first three Senate terms, Davis served at-large with Senator B.H. "Johnny" Rogers of De Soto Parish
. In his fourth term, his colleagues were future U.S. Senator J. Bennett Johnston, Jr., and Joe LeSage
, both attorneys in Shreveport. In his fifth term, Davis's Caddo Parish colleagues were Don W. Williamson
, then of Vivian
, and Cecil K. Carter, Jr.
, of Shreveport. In his last term, he served alongside Williamson and Virginia Shehee
of Shreveport, a prominent businesswoman and the first woman elected to the Louisiana State Senate. When Davis did not seek a seventh term in the 1979 nonpartisan blanket primary, he was succeeded in a single-member Caddo and Bossier Parish district by attorney Sydney B. Nelson
of Shreveport.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
based in Shreveport
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, who served as 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...
in the Louisiana State Senate
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
from 1956 to 1980. Now in his nineties, Davis still practices law and is active in community affairs, often addressing public gatherings. He is a survivor of the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
.
Davis was born near Lecompte
Lecompte, Louisiana
Lecompte is a town in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the Alexandria, Louisiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,366 at the 2000 census....
in south Rapides Parish
Rapides Parish, Louisiana
-Military Installations:*Camp Beauregard *Esler Airfield *England Air Force Base *Camp Claiborne *Camp Livingston -Demographics:...
. After he procured his law degree from Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
in 1940, Jackson volunteered for service of his country and received an officer's commission in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. Assigned to naval intelligence, he was stationed at Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, for the duration of World War II. Davis arrived in Hawaii on September 7, 1941, on the . Though personally spared injury, he was awakened in his hotel room to the first wave of bombing by the Japanese that was unleashed on the morning of December 7, 1941. He worked in traffic analysis, codebreaking, and communications in the basement of the Fourteenth Naval District headquarters building there. He was discharged as a lieutenant commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
in January 1946.
Davis's law office is located at 920 Pierremont Road, Suite 100. In 2009, he entered his 63rd year as a practicing attorney.
Davis is not related to two-term Governor Jimmie Davis
Jimmie Davis
James Houston Davis , better known as Jimmie Davis, was a noted singer of both sacred and popular songs who served two nonconsecutive terms as the 47th Governor of Louisiana...
, who had also resided in Shreveport for a period of time prior to 1944. In 1956, Jackson Davis launched a political career with election to the first of six consecutive four-year terms in the state Senate. Though a Democrat, Davis was uncomfortable with the national party nominees. In 1964, he refused to endorse the election of U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
and joined a number of Louisiana Democratic officeholders who, along with Caddo Parish Sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
J. Howell Flournoy
J. Howell Flournoy
Joseph Howell Flournoy was the sheriff of Caddo Parish based in Shreveport, Louisiana, from 1940 until his death in office...
, endorsed the 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...
presidential choice, then U.S. Senator Barry M. Goldwater of Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
. Davis and Flournoy timed their announcement with Goldwater’s campaign stop in Shreveport.
A supporter of right-to-work legislation and business expansion, Jackson was considered a fiscal conservative in his long legislative career. He also worked to expand higher education in the northwest Louisiana corridor, including the establishment in 1967 of Louisiana State University in Shreveport
Louisiana State University in Shreveport
Louisiana State University in Shreveport is a branch of the Louisiana State University System in Shreveport, Louisiana. Opened in 1967, LSUS is the only public four-year university in the Shreveport-Bossier metro area....
.
In his first three Senate terms, Davis served at-large with Senator B.H. "Johnny" Rogers of De Soto Parish
De Soto Parish, Louisiana
-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 26,656 people, 9,691 households, and 6,967 families residing in the parish. The population density was 29 people per square mile . There were 11,204 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile...
. In his fourth term, his colleagues were future U.S. Senator J. Bennett Johnston, Jr., and Joe LeSage
Joe LeSage
Joseph Carnahan LeSage, Jr., known as Joe LeSage , is an attorney in Shreveport, Louisiana, who served as a Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate for a single term from 1968 to 1972....
, both attorneys in Shreveport. In his fifth term, Davis's Caddo Parish colleagues were Don W. Williamson
Don W. Williamson
Donald Wayne Williamson, usually known as Don Williamson , is a semiretired American businessman in Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish and the largest city in north Louisiana, who served in both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature between 1968 and 1980...
, then of Vivian
Vivian, Louisiana
Vivian, is a town in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, United States and is home to the Red Bud Festival. The population was 4,031 at the 2000 census...
, and Cecil K. Carter, Jr.
Cecil K. Carter, Jr.
Cecil Kay Carter, Jr., known as C. Kay Carter, Jr., or C. K. Carter , is a businessman from Shreveport, Louisiana, who served as a Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate from 1972 to 1976....
, of Shreveport. In his last term, he served alongside Williamson and Virginia Shehee
Virginia Shehee
Virginia Kilpatrick Shehee is a Shreveport businesswoman and civic leader and the first female state senator from District 38. She won her seat in the 1975 general election by 23 votes over incumbent Cecil K. Carter, Jr. and served a single term until 1980. She was defeated in 1979 by fellow...
of Shreveport, a prominent businesswoman and the first woman elected to the Louisiana State Senate. When Davis did not seek a seventh term in the 1979 nonpartisan blanket primary, he was succeeded in a single-member Caddo and Bossier Parish district by attorney Sydney B. Nelson
Sydney B. Nelson
Sydney Banks Nelson is a retired attorney in Shreveport, Louisiana, who served from 1980 to 1992 as a Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate, representing District 37 .-Early years:...
of Shreveport.