Sam Ervin

Sam Ervin
United States Senator
from North Carolina
In office
June 5, 1954 – December 31, 1974
Preceded byClyde R. Hoey
Succeeded byRobert Morgan
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from North Carolina's 10th district
In office
January 22, 1946 – January 3, 1947
Preceded byJoseph Ervin
Succeeded byHamilton C. Jones
Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives
from the Burke County district
In office
1931–1933
Preceded byJohn Mull
Succeeded byFrancis Garrou
In office
1923–1927
Preceded byJoseph Cooper
Succeeded byJohn Giles
Personal details
Born
Samuel James Ervin Jr.

(1896-09-27)September 27, 1896
Morganton, North Carolina, U.S.
DiedApril 23, 1985(1985-04-23) (aged 88)
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Margaret Bruce Bell
(m. 1924)
Children3, including Samuel
EducationUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (BA)
Harvard University (LLB)
Awards
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
Years of service1917–1919
RankPrivate
Unit28th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division
Battles/warsWorld War I

Samuel James Ervin Jr. (September 27, 1896 – April 23, 1985) was an American politician who served as a U.S. Senator from North Carolina from 1954 to 1974. A Southern Democrat, he liked to call himself a "country lawyer", and often told humorous stories in his Southern drawl.[1] During his Senate career, Ervin was at first a staunch defender of Jim Crow laws and racial segregation, as the South's constitutional expert during the congressional debates on civil rights.[2][3] However, unexpectedly, he became a liberal hero for his support of civil liberties.[4] He is remembered for his work in the investigation committees that brought down Senator Joseph McCarthy in 1954 and especially for his leadership of the Senate committee's investigation of the Watergate scandal that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974.[5][6]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference countrylawyer was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Campbell (2007)
  3. ^ Sawyer, Logan (2021). "Originalism from the Soft Southern Strategy to the New Right: The Constitutional Politics of Sam Ervin Jr". Journal of Policy History. 33 (1): 32–59. doi:10.1017/S0898030620000238. ISSN 0898-0306. S2CID 231694120.
  4. ^ "Senator Sam Ervin - The Washington Post". The Washington Post.
  5. ^ "Sam Ervin: A Featured Biography". United States Senate.
  6. ^ "Former Sen. Sam Ervin, 88, Watergte Folk Hero, Dies". Los Angeles Times. 24 April 1985. Retrieved 18 August 2019.