William Jennings Bryan Dorn

Not to be confused with William Jennings Bryan.

William Jennings Bryan Dorn
Chair of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee
In office
January 3, 1973 – December 31, 1974
SpeakerCarl Albert
Preceded byOlin E. Teague
Succeeded byRay Roberts
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from South Carolina's 3rd district
In office
January 3, 1951 – December 31, 1974
Preceded byJames Butler Hare
Succeeded byButler Derrick
In office
January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1949
Preceded byButler B. Hare
Succeeded byJames Butler Hare
Member of the
South Carolina Senate
from Greenwood County
In office
January 14, 1941 – June 20, 1942
Member of the
South Carolina House of Representatives
from Greenwood County
In office
January 10, 1939 – June 8, 1940
Personal details
BornApril 14, 1916
Greenwood County, South Carolina, U.S.
DiedAugust 13, 2005(2005-08-13) (aged 89)
Greenwood, South Carolina, U.S.
PartyDemocratic
SpouseMildred Johnson (m. 1948, d. 1990)
Military service
AllegianceUnited States United States of America
Branch/serviceUnited States Army Air Corps
Years of service1942–1945
Rank Corporal
Battles/warsWorld War II
European Theater

William Jennings Bryan Dorn (April 14, 1916 – August 13, 2005) was a United States politician from South Carolina who represented the western part of the state in the United States House of Representatives from 1947 to 1949 and from 1951 to 1975 as a Democrat.

Early life

Dorn was born near Greenwood, South Carolina on April 14, 1916, the son of Thomas Elbert and Pearl Griffith Dorn.[1] Thomas Dorn was a school teacher, principal, and superintendent who hoped his son would have a political career, so he named the boy after William Jennings Bryan.[1] Bryan Dorn attended the public schools of Greenwood and Greenwood High School, and became a farmer.[1] He attended the University of South Carolina where he was a member of the Clariosophic Society.[2] He was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1938 and to the South Carolina Senate in 1940.[1] He served in the United States Army Air Forces in Europe during World War II.[3]

Dorn wrote, “My original plan was to run for the South Carolina House at age twenty-two, the South Carolina Senate at twenty-four, and the United States Congress when I was twenty-six years old…. Then I planned to run for Governor at age thirty & the United States Senate before I was thirty-five. ... World War II & three and one-half years in the Army Air Corps changed by timetable, but not my ambitions.”[4] In 1984 he told a newspaper, "I never intended to stay in Congress for 26 years if I could avoid it."[5]

Congressional career

Dorn was first elected to Congress in the 1946 election, defeating the four-term incumbent in the primary.[1] In the 1948 election, he unsuccessfully challenged incumbent U.S. Senator Burnet R. Maybank for the Democratic nomination.[1] Maybank won the nomination, and was unopposed in the general election.

Dorn returned to the House in the 1950 election, defeating the Democrat who had replaced him in 1948. He became known for his work on issues related to the military. He was a signatory to the 1956 Southern Manifesto[6] that opposed the desegregation of public schools ordered by the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education. Dorn voted against the Civil Rights Acts of 1957,[7] the Civil Rights Acts of 1960,[8] the Civil Rights Acts of 1964,[9] and the Civil Rights Acts of 1968[10] as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution[11] and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.[12] On the other hand, Dorn opposed efforts to restrict the use of school busing in racial integration,[13] and in 1983 he campaign for the election of African-American Harold Washington as mayor of Chicago.[14]

Dorn served on the Veterans' Affairs Committee for twelve congresses. For nine congresses he was second in seniority behind chair Olin E. Teague. When Teague finally gave up running Veterans' Affairs for chair of the Science and Astronautics Committee, Dorn became chair for his final term but still labored under the continued presence of Teague on Veterans' Affairs. In his tenure in the House Dorn introduced 203 bills about veterans services, but only two were enacted. By contrast, Teague with the prerogatives of chairship, enacted 128 under his name.[15]

In 1966, journalist Drew Pearson reported that Dorn was one of a group of congressmen who had received the "Statesman of the Republic" award from Liberty Lobby for his "right-wing activities".[16] In his final term he was chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee.

Candidacy for governor

He left Congress to run for Governor of South Carolina in 1974. He lost the Democratic primary to Charles 'Pug' Ravenel, who the South Carolina Supreme Court later ruled ineligible on residency grounds required by the state constitution.[17] A special state convention then chose Dorn as the Democratic candidate. He was defeated in the general election by Republican James B. Edwards, one of the few disappointments in what was generally a big year for Democrats. In 1978, Dorn again sought the Democratic nomination for governor but was eliminated in a three-way race won by Richard Riley. In 1980, he was elected chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party, and he served until 1984.

After Congress

In 1978, President Jimmy Carter named the Columbia, South Carolina, Veterans' Affairs Hospital after Dorn as the "William Jennings Bryan Dorn Veterans' Hospital."[18] Dorn died in Greenwood on August 13, 2005. He was buried at Bethel Methodist Church Cemetery in Callison, Greenwood County, South Carolina.

Autobiography

  • Dorn, William Jennings Bryan, and Scott Derks. Dorn: Of the People, A Political Way of Life. Columbia and Orangeburg, S.C.: Bruccoli Clark Layman/Sandlapper Publishing, 1988

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Moore, William V. (October 26, 2016). "Biography, William Jennings Bryan Dorn". SC Encyclopedia. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina.
  2. ^ "Page 84".
  3. ^ "Longtime congressman dies at 89 in Greenwood". The Item. Sumter, South Carolina. AP. August 14, 2005. p. 6A. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
  4. ^ Dorn, William Jennings Bryan (1988). Dorn: of the People, A Political Way of Life. Columbia: Sandlapper. p. 6.
  5. ^ "The Index-Journal". Greenwood, South Carolina. November 11, 1984.
  6. ^ "Southern Manifesto" (PDF). Congressional Record - Senate: 4459–4461.
  7. ^ "HR 6127. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1957. -- House Vote #42 -- Jun 18, 1957". GovTrack.us. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  8. ^ "HR 8601. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1960. APPROVAL BY THE … -- House Vote #106 -- Apr 21, 1960". GovTrack.us. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  9. ^ "H.R. 7152. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964. ADOPTION OF A … -- House Vote #182 -- Jul 2, 1964". GovTrack.us. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  10. ^ "TO PASS H.R. 2516, A BILL TO ESTABLISH PENALTIES FOR … -- House Vote #113 -- Aug 16, 1967". GovTrack.us. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  11. ^ "S.J. RES. 29. CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO BAN THE USE OF … -- House Vote #193 -- Aug 27, 1962". GovTrack.us. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  12. ^ "TO AGREE TO CONFERENCE REPORT ON S. 1564, THE VOTING … -- House Vote #107 -- Aug 3, 1965". GovTrack.us. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  13. ^ Kemple, Arlon (2026). Had Enough? The Congressional Class of 1946, the Continuity of Policy, and the Transience of Public Office. p. 666-7.
  14. ^ Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. April 11, 1983.
  15. ^ Kemple, pp. 700, 729
  16. ^ Pearson, Drew (November 2, 1966). "Judge Rules Against Liberty Lobby". The Free Lance-Star. Fredericksburg, Virginia. p. 6. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
  17. ^ Bass, Jack; DeVries, Walter (1995). The Transformation of Southern Politics: Social Change and Political Consequence Since 1945. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press. p. 268. ISBN 978-0-8203-1728-1.
  18. ^ Administration, US Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health. "Our History – Columbia VA Health Care System". www.columbiasc.va.gov. Retrieved April 8, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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