Tom Connally
Encyclopedia
Thomas Terry "Tom" Connally (August 19, 1877 October 28, 1963) was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 politician, who represented 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...

 in both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives
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...

, as a member of the Democratic Party
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 served in the US House of Representative from 1917–1928, and the US Senate from 1929 - 1953.

Professional accomplishments

As Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he was instrumental in the ratification of the treaty creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. He was also a member and vice-chairman to the United Nations Conference on International Organization
United Nations Conference on International Organization
The United Nations Conference on International Organization was a convention of delegates from 50 Allied nations that took place from 25 April 1945 to 26 June 1945 in San Francisco, California. At this convention, the delegates reviewed and rewrote the Dumbarton Oaks agreements...

 in 1945 that chartered
United Nations Charter
The Charter of the United Nations is the foundational treaty of the international organization called the United Nations. It was signed at the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center in San Francisco, United States, on 26 June 1945, by 50 of the 51 original member countries...

 the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

.

Connally was the author of the noted "Connally Reservation," which amended the U.S. ratification of the U.N. charter to bar the International Court of Justice
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands...

 from having jurisdiction over domestic matters '"as determined by the United States"'. The self-defining proviso was and is seen as something of a repudiation of the authority of the world court. From an American perspective, the proviso would protect the U.S. against potential overreach by the international group.

The Connally Hot Oil Act of 1935
Connally Hot Oil Act of 1935
The Connally Hot Oil Act of 1935 was enacted in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision to strike down Section 9 of the National Industrial Recovery Act in Panama Refining Co. v. Ryan, which gave the President authority "to prohibit the transportation in interstate and foreign commerce of...

 bears his name. The bill attempted to circumvent the Supreme Court rejection of a key part of New Deal legislation.

On October 20, 1951, when General Mark Wayne Clark
Mark Wayne Clark
Mark Wayne Clark was an American general during World War II and the Korean War and was the youngest lieutenant general in the U.S. Army...

 was nominated by President Harry Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...

 to be the U.S. emissary to the Holy See
United States Ambassador to the Holy See
A U.S. Ambassador serves as that country's official representative to the Holy See since formal diplomatic relations began in 1984. Before the establishment of official relations, Myron Taylor served during World War II as an emissary for President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1951, President Harry S....

, Connally protested the decision along with other Protestant groups and Clark later withdrew his nomination on January 13, 1952.

Personal life

Connally's first wife was Cincinnati Conservatory trained vocalist Louise Clarkson of Marlin, Texas who died in his senate chamber office of a sudden heart attack in 1935. Their son was Houston attorney Ben Clarkson Connally
Ben Clarkson Connally
Ben Clarkson Connally was a United States federal judge.Born in Marlin, Texas, Connally received a B.A. from University of Texas in 1930, an LL.B. from the University of Texas School of Law in 1933, and an LL.M. from Harvard Law School in 1934. He was in private practice in Houston, Texas from...

, a Federal District Judge. Connally was a widower when he married Lucile Sanderson, who was the widow
Widow
A widow is a woman whose spouse has died, while a widower is a man whose spouse has died. The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed widowhood or occasionally viduity. The adjective form is widowed...

 of the other Texas senator, Morris Sheppard
Morris Sheppard
John Morris Sheppard was a Democratic United States Congressman and United States Senator from Texas. He authored the Eighteenth Amendment and introduced it in the Senate, so that he is referred to as "the father of national Prohibition."-Biography:John Morris Sheppard was born in Morris County...

 http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Senate_Spouses.htm. Connally was the step-grandfather of Lucille's grandson, Connie Mack, III
Connie Mack III
Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy III , popularly known as Connie Mack, is a former Republican politician. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Florida from 1983 to 1989 and then as a Senator from 1989 to 2001. He served as chairman of the Senate Republican...

, a 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...

 U.S. Senator from Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 (1989–2001), and the step-great-grandfather of Mack's son, Connie Mack, IV
Connie Mack IV
Cornelius Harvey McGillicuddy IV popularly known as Connie Mack IV is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district includes Fort Myers and Naples....

, U.S. Representative from Florida. He is buried in Marlin, Texas next to his first wife in Calvary Cemetery
Calvary Cemetery
Calvary Cemetery is a fairly common name for a burial ground and may refer to:United States* Calvary Cemetery, East Los Angeles, California* Calvary Cemetery in San Diego, California* Calvary Cemetery in San Jose, California...

. He was the first cousin twice removed of Governor
Governor of Texas
The governor of Texas is the head of the executive branch of Texas's government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Texas Legislature, and to convene the legislature...

 John B. Connally, Jr.
John Connally
John Bowden Connally, Jr. , was an influential American politician, serving as the 39th governor of Texas, Secretary of the Navy under President John F. Kennedy, and as Secretary of the Treasury under President Richard M. Nixon. While he was Governor in 1963, Connally was a passenger in the car in...

.

While studying at the University of Texas law School, Connally was a close friend of future Governor of Texas Pat Neff and future U. S. Senator Morris Sheppard
Morris Sheppard
John Morris Sheppard was a Democratic United States Congressman and United States Senator from Texas. He authored the Eighteenth Amendment and introduced it in the Senate, so that he is referred to as "the father of national Prohibition."-Biography:John Morris Sheppard was born in Morris County...

.
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