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John Joseph O'Connor
John Joseph O'Connor
Chair of the House Rules Committee
	In office; January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1939
Speaker	Joseph W. Byrns Sr.; William B. Bankhead
Preceded by	William B. Bankhead
Succeeded by	Adolph J. Sabath
Member of the; U.S. House of Representatives; from New York's 16th district
	In office; November 6, 1923 – January 3, 1939
Preceded by	William Bourke Cockran
Succeeded by	James H. Fay
Member of the New York State Assembly; from the New York County, 12th district
	In office; January 1, 1921 – November 6, 1923
Preceded by	Martin G. McCue
Succeeded by	Paul T. Kammerer Jr.
Personal details
Born	November 23, 1885; Raynham, Massachusetts
Died	January 26, 1960 (aged 74); Washington, D.C.
Political party	Democratic (until 1938); Republican (1938–1960)
Children	Daniel O'connor
Alma mater	Brown University ; Harvard University School of Law

John Joseph O'Connor (November 23, 1885 – January 26, 1960) was an American lawyer and politician from New York City. From 1923 to 1939, he served eight terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.

A leader of the conservative Democrats, he chaired the powerful House Rules Committee. President Franklin Roosevelt made him a major target of his purge of Democrats who opposed the New Deal, and he was defeated in 1938.^[1]

Early life and education

O'Connor was born in Raynham, Massachusetts. He graduated from Brown University in 1908 and Harvard University School of Law in 1911.

Political career

He was a member of the New York State Assembly (New York Co., 12th D.) in 1921, 1922 and 1923.

Tenure in Congress

He was elected as a Democrat to the 68th United States Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of W. Bourke Cockran, and was re-elected to the seven succeeding Congresses, holding office from November 6, 1923, to January 3, 1939. He was a delegate at large to the 1936 Democratic National Convention. O'Connor was one of the few Democrats targeted in the 1938 primaries by Franklin D. Roosevelt to be defeated.^[2] He eventually switched parties and was the Republican nominee but lost re-election.^[3]

Rules chairman

He was chairman of the House Rules Committee between 1935 and 1938. O'Connor was a spokesman for big business and helped defeat Roosevelt's executive reorganization bill. He tried and failed to keep the Fair Labor Standards Act bottled up in committee. Ridiculing the New Deal Coalition, he mocked the poor people who “go to the public trough to be fed.”^[4]

Death and burial

He died in Washington, and was interred at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Silver Spring, Maryland.^[3]

References

^ Susan Dunn, Roosevelt's Purge: How FDR Fought to Change the Democratic Party (2010) pp. 202-213.
^ James T. Patterson, Congressional Conservatism and the New Deal: The Growth of the Conservative Coalition in Congress, 1933-1939 (Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky, 1967), pp. 278-290.
^ ^a ^b Dodge 2005, p. 1671.
^ Susan Dunn, Roosevelt's Purge: How FDR Fought to Change the Democratic Party (2010) p. 202.

Bibliography

Dodge, Andrew R. (2005). Biographical Directory of the United States Congress: 1774-2005. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. ISBN 9780160731761.
Polenberg, Richard. “Franklin Roosevelt and the Purge of John O’Connor: The Impact of Urban Change on Political Parties.” New York History 49#3 (1968), pp. 306–26, online

External links

Media related to John J. O'Connor (politician) at Wikimedia Commons

United States Congress. "John J. O'Connor (id: O000030)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

New York State Assembly
Preceded by Martin G. McCue	New York State Assembly New York County, 12th District 1921–1923	Succeeded by Paul T. Kammerer Jr.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by W. Bourke Cockran	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 16th congressional district 1923–1939	Succeeded by James H. Fay