Reuben Terrell Wood

Reuben Terrell Wood (August 7, 1884 – July 16, 1955) was an American labor leader and Democratic politician who represented Missouri’s 6th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from March 4, 1933, to January 3, 1941. His congressional career spanned four consecutive terms during the New Deal era, a period of profound economic and political change in the United States.

Wood was born on a farm near Springfield, Greene County, Missouri, where he spent his early years in a rural setting typical of the Ozarks region at the turn of the twentieth century. Coming from modest circumstances, he entered the workforce at a young age and apprenticed as a cigar maker. This trade not only provided his livelihood but also introduced him to the organized labor movement, which would become the central focus of his public life. Through his craft and union involvement, he developed a reputation as an advocate for working men and women in Missouri.

Wood’s prominence in labor circles grew steadily, and in 1912 he became president of the Missouri State Federation of Labor, a position he held for two decades until 1932. In that role he was a leading spokesman for organized labor in the state, working to improve wages, hours, and working conditions for Missouri workers and to advance labor’s influence in public policy. His long tenure reflected the confidence of union members in his leadership and helped establish him as a significant figure in Missouri’s Democratic Party at a time when labor issues were increasingly central to state and national politics.

Building on his labor leadership and Democratic Party ties, Wood was elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-third Congress and to the three succeeding Congresses, serving from March 4, 1933, to January 3, 1941, as the Representative from Missouri’s 6th congressional district. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, encompassing the Great Depression and the implementation of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. As a member of the House of Representatives, Wood participated in the legislative process and represented the interests of his constituents, bringing a strong pro-labor perspective to national debates. During his tenure he served as chairman of the Committee on War Claims, overseeing matters related to claims arising from past military conflicts, which placed him in a position of responsibility over complex compensation and relief issues.

Wood’s congressional career came to an end when he was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1940 to the Seventy-seventh Congress. After leaving the House in January 1941, he returned to Missouri and resumed his leadership in the labor movement. He again took up the presidency of the Missouri State Federation of Labor, continuing in that capacity until his retirement in 1953. In these post-congressional years he remained an influential voice for organized labor in Missouri, drawing on his legislative experience to shape state and regional labor policy and to mentor a new generation of labor activists.

Reuben Terrell Wood died on July 16, 1955. He was interred in Greenlawn Cemetery in Springfield, Missouri. His career reflected the close ties between organized labor and Democratic politics in the first half of the twentieth century, and he is remembered as both a long-serving labor leader and a four-term Representative who brought the concerns of working people from Missouri’s 6th district to the national stage.