Connally, Thomas (Tom) Terry

(1877-1963)

   Texan politician Tom Connally was a graduate of Baylor University in 1896 and the University of Texas Law School at Austin in 1898. He was admitted to the bar and established a law practice in Waco, Texas. During the Spanish-American War, Connally joined the volunteer infantry but did not see service overseas, nor did he see combat during World War I, although he was a captain in the infantry. A Democrat, Connally served in the Texas House of Representatives from 1901 until 1905. In 1917, he was elected to the U.S House of Representatives, and he held his seat until 1929 when he entered the U.S. Senate. He supported most of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, with the exception of the National Recovery Administration. However, he was opposed to the president’s attempt at “court packing” and mobilized opposition against it.

   Connally was chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations from 1941 to 1947 and again from 1949 to 1953. He helped to secure the approval of the United Nations Charter in 1945 and attended the first assembly meeting as a U.S delegate in 1946. Connally also backed President Truman’s Cold War policies and the president’s decision to commit U.S. troops to the Korean War. He chose not to seek reelection in 1953 and established a law practice in Washington, D.C.