Cecil Morgan
Encyclopedia
Cecil Morgan, Sr. was a leader of the legislative forces that in 1929 attempted to impeach
Louisiana
Governor
Huey Pierce Long, Jr.
Later, Morgan was an executive of Long's nemesis, the former Standard Oil Company, and the dean of the Tulane University Law School
in New Orleans.
-Winnebago Indian
Reservation
in northeastern Nebraska
. His father, Howell Morgan, was an employee of the Bureau of Indian Affairs
, and his 3rd great grandfather was Richard Howell
, a governor of New Jersey. When Cecil was about six years of age, Howell Morgan purchased the family home called Linwood Plantation, located approximately twenty miles north of Baton Rouge, and began to renovate it. Howell Morgan, meanwhile, got involved in politics and was elected state treasurer
in 1920 on the Democratic
ticket of successful gubernatorial candidate John M. Parker
, a former member of the Progressive Party
.
Morgan graduated from Louisiana State University
Law School in Baton Rouge in 1919 and moved to Shreveport
to participate in the area oil
boom. He also wanted to succeed on his own without his father's assistance. In 1921, Huey Long, also practicing law in Shreveport, asked Morgan to become his law partner. Morgan declined on the grounds that "I didn't think he was ethical." While attending Louisiana, he also joined Lambda Chi Alpha
Fraternity.
from Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish and the largest city in north Louisiana. In the same election, Long was chosen governor. Morgan soon found himself at odds with the self-designated "Kingfish
" of Louisiana politics.
The attempt to impeach Long touched off fistfights on the state House floor. Anti-Long elements were horrified when Long seized power and spent state funds in questionable ways. For Morgan, Long's plan to impose a nickel per barrel tax on oil refined in Louisiana was the breaking point. A legislative group known as the "Dynamite Squad", whose members were from old aristocratic families and friendly with the Old Regulars faction in New Orleans, drafted nineteen allegations against Long.
Among other infractions, Long was accused of attempting to arrange the murder of state Representative Jared Y. Sanders, Jr.
, the son of a former governor, Jared Y. Sanders, Sr.
, whom Long grappled with earlier in the lobby of the Roosevelt Hotel
in New Orleans; bribing lawmakers to get bills approved; carrying concealed weapons; demolishing the previous governor's mansion without proper authorization, and; attending a drunken party in which a stripper
entertained.
Morgan was assigned by the "Dynamite Squad" to read the charges before the House. When word of the plan leaked out, pro-Long forces tried to adjourn the House for the day. Speaker
John Baptiste Fournet
of St. Martinville
in St. Martin Parish in south Louisiana, selected for the post by Long himself, ruled that the motion for adjournment had majority support. Morgan and others in the anti-Long faction loudly objected. They claimed that the voting machine was rigged. To his death, Fournet denied any involvement in a plot to rig the machines. A brawl known thereafter as "Bloody Monday" broke out on the House floor. Some lawmakers reportedly used brass knuckles in the scuffle. Morgan rounded up witnesses for a hearing on the charges against Long. The House finally voted to impeach the Kingfish on eight counts.
The impeachment proceedings were ruled constitutional by Attorney General Percy Saint
, one of the few statewide officials to survive the Long tide in the election of 1928.
However, Long persuaded fifteen of the thirty-nine state senators (one more than one-third of the membership needed to defeat an impeachment) to sign a "Round Robin" document declaring that under no circumstances would they ever vote to convict Long of any violation. The "Round Robin" sealed the fate of the anti-Long forces, and Long finished his term as governor. He was even elected to the United States Senate
in 1930 but remained as governor until January 1932, five months before the end of his term.
In 1928, Long warned Morgan that he would fire Morgan's father, Harold Morgan, the former state treasurer, from his job as a state bank examiner if Cecil Morgan opposed Long's legislative proposals. Long fired Harold Morgan, who moved to Shreveport to be with his son. Cecil Morgan told an interviewer that Long "was as cold-blooded in his desire for power as a human being could be."
Fournet would not speak to Morgan for almost a half century after their dispute. At a meeting of the Louisiana Bar Association in Biloxi, Mississippi
, not that long before Fournet's death, the two were finally reconciled. For much of the time, Fournet and Morgan had both resided in New Orleans.
After his single term in the state House, Morgan was elected to the Louisiana State Senate
in 1932. He resigned midway in the term to accept a judgeship to which he was elected in 1934. He served as judge for only two years.
Later he held the title of associate general counsel and vice president of the Esso
Company (later Exxon
), a subsidiary
of Standard Oil of New Jersey. In 1952, Morgan assumed an office in New York City
in a high position in Standard Oil management.
on the Louisiana Civil Service
Commission. He later received the Monte E. Lemann Award from the Louisiana State Civil Service League.
From 1963 to 1968, Morgan was the Tulane Law School dean. The university awarded him an honorary doctorate degree.
Morgan also helped to organize the "good-government" group known as the Public Affairs Research Council and was a past president of the National Municipal League, a vice chairman of the Committee For A National Trade Policy, a board member of Radio Free Europe
, and a member of the American Law Institute. He also held membership in the American Legion
, International House, the Boston Club, the Metropolitan Club, and the Economic Club.
In retirement, Morgan did an interview on file with the T. Harry Williams
Center for Oral History
at LSU.
Survivors included a son, Cecil Morgan, Jr., M.D.
, a urologist from Birmingham, Alabama
, who retired from his practice in 2001; a daughter, Margaret Morgan Harbison of New York City, six grandchildren; five great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild. Services were held on June 19, 1999, in the chapel of Trinity Episcopal Church, 1329 Jackson Avenue in New Orleans. Interment was in Magnolia Cemetery
in Baton Rouge.
, in a Ken Burns
documentary
about Huey Long in the middle 1980s, reported that Morgan did not regard Long as evil. "I don't pretend that he didn't do some things that were good, such as providing free textbook
s to schools." However, Morgan added that "everything he did cost more than it should have. It was necessary for the state for somebody with his qualities to come forward, and I think he muffed it. He left us with a heritage from which we have not recovered."
Another Long legacy was the skyscraper
state Capitol, which was built in a year for $5 million and dedicated in 1932. The castlelike older Capitol held stronger emotional ties for Morgan, not because of the impeachment fight which occurred there, but because Morgan's ancestral home, Hickey House, once stood on the site. In 1845, the land was sold to the City of Baton Rouge and donated to the state.
Impeachment
Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....
Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
Huey Pierce Long, Jr.
Huey Long
Huey Pierce Long, Jr. , nicknamed The Kingfish, served as the 40th Governor of Louisiana from 1928–1932 and as a U.S. Senator from 1932 to 1935. A Democrat, he was noted for his radical populist policies. Though a backer of Franklin D...
Later, Morgan was an executive of Long's nemesis, the former Standard Oil Company, and the dean of the Tulane University Law School
Tulane University Law School
Tulane University Law School is the law school of Tulane University. It is located on Tulane's Uptown campus in New Orleans, Louisiana. Established in 1847, it is the 12th oldest law school in the United States....
in New Orleans.
Biography
Morgan was born on the OmahaOmaha (tribe)
The Omaha are a federally recognized Native American nation which lives on the Omaha Reservation in northeastern Nebraska and western Iowa, United States...
-Winnebago Indian
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
Reservation
Indian reservation
An American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs...
in northeastern Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
. His father, Howell Morgan, was an employee of the Bureau of Indian Affairs
Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the US Department of the Interior. It is responsible for the administration and management of of land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans in the United States, Native American...
, and his 3rd great grandfather was Richard Howell
Richard Howell
Richard Howell was Governor of New Jersey from 1794 to 1801.-Biography:Howell was born in Newark, Delaware. He was a lawyer and soldier of the early United States Army. He served as captain and later major of the 2nd New Jersey Regiment from 1775 to 1779. Richard was a twin, his twin brother was...
, a governor of New Jersey. When Cecil was about six years of age, Howell Morgan purchased the family home called Linwood Plantation, located approximately twenty miles north of Baton Rouge, and began to renovate it. Howell Morgan, meanwhile, got involved in politics and was elected state treasurer
Treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...
in 1920 on the Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
ticket of successful gubernatorial candidate John M. Parker
John M. Parker
John Milliken Parker was an American Democratic politician from Louisiana, who served as the state's 37th Governor from 1920–1924. He was a friend and admirer of President Theodore Roosevelt....
, a former member of the Progressive Party
Progressive Party (United States, 1912)
The Progressive Party of 1912 was an American political party. It was formed after a split in the Republican Party between President William Howard Taft and former President Theodore Roosevelt....
.
Morgan graduated from Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
Law School in Baton Rouge in 1919 and moved to Shreveport
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
to participate in the area oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
boom. He also wanted to succeed on his own without his father's assistance. In 1921, Huey Long, also practicing law in Shreveport, asked Morgan to become his law partner. Morgan declined on the grounds that "I didn't think he was ethical." While attending Louisiana, he also joined Lambda Chi Alpha
Lambda Chi Alpha
Lambda Chi Alpha is one of the largest men's secret general fraternities in North America, having initiated more than 280,000 members and held chapters at more than 300 universities. It is a member of the North-American Interfraternity Conference and was founded by Warren A. Cole, while he was a...
Fraternity.
Political career
Morgan was elected as a Democrat in 1928 to the Louisiana House of RepresentativesLouisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
from Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish and the largest city in north Louisiana. In the same election, Long was chosen governor. Morgan soon found himself at odds with the self-designated "Kingfish
Kingfish
-Fish:* King mackerel Scomberomorus cavalla* Kingcroaker Menticirrhus spp.* Narrow-barred Spanish mackerel Scomberomorus commerson * White croaker Genyonemus lineatus * Cobia Rachycentron canadum...
" of Louisiana politics.
The attempt to impeach Long touched off fistfights on the state House floor. Anti-Long elements were horrified when Long seized power and spent state funds in questionable ways. For Morgan, Long's plan to impose a nickel per barrel tax on oil refined in Louisiana was the breaking point. A legislative group known as the "Dynamite Squad", whose members were from old aristocratic families and friendly with the Old Regulars faction in New Orleans, drafted nineteen allegations against Long.
Among other infractions, Long was accused of attempting to arrange the murder of state Representative Jared Y. Sanders, Jr.
Jared Y. Sanders, Jr.
Jared Young Sanders, Jr. , was a prominent Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, the Louisiana State Senate, and the United States House of Representatives, perhaps best known for his conservative opposition to legendary Governor and U.S...
, the son of a former governor, Jared Y. Sanders, Sr.
Jared Y. Sanders, Sr.
Jared Young Sanders, Sr. , was a journalist and attorney from Franklin, the seat of St. Mary Parish in south Louisiana, who served as his state's House Speaker , lieutenant governor , the 34th Governor , and U.S. representative...
, whom Long grappled with earlier in the lobby of the Roosevelt Hotel
The Fairmont Hotel New Orleans
The Roosevelt New Orleans Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana, was built by Louis Grunewald, a German immigrant, and opened in 1893 as "The Grunewald". In 1908, a major 400 room expansion was added which is shown as the main portion in the postcard. This expansion was designed by the Milwaukee...
in New Orleans; bribing lawmakers to get bills approved; carrying concealed weapons; demolishing the previous governor's mansion without proper authorization, and; attending a drunken party in which a stripper
Stripper
A stripper is a professional erotic dancer who performs a contemporary form of striptease at strip club establishments, public exhibitions, and private engagements. Unlike in burlesque, the performer in the modern Americanized form of stripping minimizes the interaction of customer and dancer,...
entertained.
Morgan was assigned by the "Dynamite Squad" to read the charges before the House. When word of the plan leaked out, pro-Long forces tried to adjourn the House for the day. Speaker
Speaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
John Baptiste Fournet
John B. Fournet
John Baptiste Fournet was a Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives, lieutenant governor of his state, and associate justice and Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court...
of St. Martinville
St. Martinville, Louisiana
St. Martinville is a city in and the parish seat of St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on Bayou Teche, sixteen miles south of Breaux Bridge, eighteen miles southeast of Lafayette, and nine miles north of New Iberia. The population was 6,989 at the 2000 census. It is part of the...
in St. Martin Parish in south Louisiana, selected for the post by Long himself, ruled that the motion for adjournment had majority support. Morgan and others in the anti-Long faction loudly objected. They claimed that the voting machine was rigged. To his death, Fournet denied any involvement in a plot to rig the machines. A brawl known thereafter as "Bloody Monday" broke out on the House floor. Some lawmakers reportedly used brass knuckles in the scuffle. Morgan rounded up witnesses for a hearing on the charges against Long. The House finally voted to impeach the Kingfish on eight counts.
The impeachment proceedings were ruled constitutional by Attorney General Percy Saint
Percy Saint
Percy D. Saint was an lawyer and politician who served as the Louisiana attorney general from 1924 until 1932. He was an intraparty Democratic critic of Governor and U.S. Senator Huey Pierce Long, Jr.-Background:...
, one of the few statewide officials to survive the Long tide in the election of 1928.
However, Long persuaded fifteen of the thirty-nine state senators (one more than one-third of the membership needed to defeat an impeachment) to sign a "Round Robin" document declaring that under no circumstances would they ever vote to convict Long of any violation. The "Round Robin" sealed the fate of the anti-Long forces, and Long finished his term as governor. He was even elected to the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
in 1930 but remained as governor until January 1932, five months before the end of his term.
In 1928, Long warned Morgan that he would fire Morgan's father, Harold Morgan, the former state treasurer, from his job as a state bank examiner if Cecil Morgan opposed Long's legislative proposals. Long fired Harold Morgan, who moved to Shreveport to be with his son. Cecil Morgan told an interviewer that Long "was as cold-blooded in his desire for power as a human being could be."
Fournet would not speak to Morgan for almost a half century after their dispute. At a meeting of the Louisiana Bar Association in Biloxi, Mississippi
Biloxi, Mississippi
Biloxi is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, in the United States. The 2010 census recorded the population as 44,054. Along with Gulfport, Biloxi is a county seat of Harrison County....
, not that long before Fournet's death, the two were finally reconciled. For much of the time, Fournet and Morgan had both resided in New Orleans.
After his single term in the state House, Morgan was elected to the Louisiana State Senate
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
in 1932. He resigned midway in the term to accept a judgeship to which he was elected in 1934. He served as judge for only two years.
Post-political career
In 1936, Morgan left the bench to become the general counsel for Standard Oil. In 1943, he was named a vice president and member of the board of directors.Later he held the title of associate general counsel and vice president of the Esso
Esso
Esso is an international trade name for ExxonMobil and its related companies. Pronounced , it is derived from the initials of the pre-1911 Standard Oil, and as such became the focus of much litigation and regulatory restriction in the United States. In 1972, it was largely replaced in the U.S. by...
Company (later Exxon
Exxon
Exxon is a chain of gas stations as well as a brand of motor fuel and related products by ExxonMobil. From 1972 to 1999, Exxon was the corporate name of the company previously known as Standard Oil Company of New Jersey or Jersey Standard....
), a subsidiary
Subsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...
of Standard Oil of New Jersey. In 1952, Morgan assumed an office in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in a high position in Standard Oil management.
Other services to Louisiana
From 1944 to 1948, Morgan served at the request of anti-Long Governor James Houston "Jimmie" DavisJimmie Davis
James Houston Davis , better known as Jimmie Davis, was a noted singer of both sacred and popular songs who served two nonconsecutive terms as the 47th Governor of Louisiana...
on the Louisiana Civil Service
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
Commission. He later received the Monte E. Lemann Award from the Louisiana State Civil Service League.
From 1963 to 1968, Morgan was the Tulane Law School dean. The university awarded him an honorary doctorate degree.
Morgan also helped to organize the "good-government" group known as the Public Affairs Research Council and was a past president of the National Municipal League, a vice chairman of the Committee For A National Trade Policy, a board member of Radio Free Europe
Radio Free Europe
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is a broadcaster funded by the U.S. Congress that provides news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East "where the free flow of information is either banned by government authorities or not fully developed"...
, and a member of the American Law Institute. He also held membership in the American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
, International House, the Boston Club, the Metropolitan Club, and the Economic Club.
Death
Morgan was the last surviving Louisiana legislator from the 1929 session and the last to have served in the old state Capitol building. He was one hundred years old when he died at his home in New Orleans.In retirement, Morgan did an interview on file with the T. Harry Williams
T. Harry Williams
Thomas Harry Williams was an award-winning historian at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge whose career began in 1941 and extended for thirty-eight years until his death at the age of seventy...
Center for Oral History
Oral history
Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews...
at LSU.
Survivors included a son, Cecil Morgan, Jr., M.D.
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
, a urologist from Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
, who retired from his practice in 2001; a daughter, Margaret Morgan Harbison of New York City, six grandchildren; five great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild. Services were held on June 19, 1999, in the chapel of Trinity Episcopal Church, 1329 Jackson Avenue in New Orleans. Interment was in Magnolia Cemetery
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
in Baton Rouge.
Legacy
The Public Broadcasting ServicePublic Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
, in a Ken Burns
Ken Burns
Kenneth Lauren "Ken" Burns is an American director and producer of documentary films, known for his style of using archival footage and photographs...
documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
about Huey Long in the middle 1980s, reported that Morgan did not regard Long as evil. "I don't pretend that he didn't do some things that were good, such as providing free textbook
Textbook
A textbook or coursebook is a manual of instruction in any branch of study. Textbooks are produced according to the demands of educational institutions...
s to schools." However, Morgan added that "everything he did cost more than it should have. It was necessary for the state for somebody with his qualities to come forward, and I think he muffed it. He left us with a heritage from which we have not recovered."
Another Long legacy was the skyscraper
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
state Capitol, which was built in a year for $5 million and dedicated in 1932. The castlelike older Capitol held stronger emotional ties for Morgan, not because of the impeachment fight which occurred there, but because Morgan's ancestral home, Hickey House, once stood on the site. In 1845, the land was sold to the City of Baton Rouge and donated to the state.