Walter Franklin George

Walter Franklin George served as a Senator from Georgia in the United States Congress from 1922 to 1957. A member of the Democratic Party, Walter Franklin George contributed to the legislative process during 6 terms in office.

Walter Franklin George’s service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history. As a member of the Senate, Walter Franklin George participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of constituents.

Walter Franklin George (January 29, 1878 – August 4, 1957) was an American politician from the state of Georgia. He was a longtime Democratic United States Senator from 1922 to 1957 and was President pro tempore of the United States Senate from 1955 to 1957. Born near Preston, Georgia, George practiced law after graduating from Mercer University. He served on the Supreme Court of Georgia from 1917 to 1922, resigning from the bench to successfully run for the Senate. Philosophically a conservative Democrat, George refrained from endorsing the 1932 presidential nomination of Franklin D. Roosevelt and openly objected to the President’s 1937 court packing plan. However, despite his philosophical views, George supported much of Roosevelt’s domestic policy and led the implementation of the President’s foreign policy. He served as Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee from 1941 to 1946 in which he generally supported Roosevelt’s handling of World War II. George also served as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1940 to 1941 and 1955 to 1957. Throughout his political career, George was generally viewed as more moderate on civil rights than other Southern U.S. Senators. Nevertheless, George not only signed the Southern Manifesto opposing integration, he formally presented it to the Senate. By the end of his Senate career, George was one of the most powerful U.S. Senators and was well-regarded by both political parties and by liberals and conservatives. George was an early and leading champion of vocational education, a strict constitutionalist who believed in limited federal government, a fiscal conservative. During the course of his Senate career, he transitioned from being a foreign isolationist to a fervent supporter of internationalism, including playing an important role in the Senate’s 1945 approval of the United Nations Charter. George retired from the Senate in 1957 and died later that same year. Reflecting the esteem with which George was held, 40 members of Congress, including Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson, attended his funeral in Vienna, Georgia, and President Dwight Eisenhower ordered flags at all U.S. federal buildings lowered to half-mast.