Lewis L. Morgan
Encyclopedia
Lewis Lovering Morgan was an American lawyer
and politician
form the state
of Louisiana
.
He served in the United States House of Representatives
from November 5, 1912, to March 4, 1917, from Louisiana's 6th congressional district
, which then included part of the New Orleans area. He is best remembered as the candidate of the Earl Long
faction
, which lost the pivotal Democratic
nomination for governor of Louisiana to James Houston "Jimmie" Davis
in the 1944 Louisiana gubernatorial election
.
in St. Tammany Parish
. He was a descendant of David Bannister Morgan (1773–1848), a pioneer in the settlement of Louisiana who was also a brigadier general
in the Battle of New Orleans
in the War of 1812
. Morgan attended public schools and St. Eugene's College in St. Tammany Parish. In 1899, he graduated from the Tulane University Law School
in New Orleans.
in 1902 and began his law practice in Covington
, the seat
of St. Tammany Parish. He married the former Lenora Cefalu. They had two children.
Morgan was the president of the St. Tammany Parish Board of Election Supervisors from 1900 to 1908, and the president of the parish school board as well from 1904 to 1908. He served briefly in the Louisiana House of Representatives
in 1908 but resigned to become the St. Tammany Parish district attorney
. He served in that position from 1908 to 1912, when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in a special election to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Representative Robert C. Wickliffe
. He did not seek a third term in Congress
in 1916 but resumed his law practice in both Covington and New Orleans in 1917.
Morgan was a delegate to the 1912
and 1936 Democratic National Convention
s. He was also a delegate to the Democratic State Convention in 1912, 1916, 1920, and 1924.
Morgan was an unsuccessful candidate for governor in the election of 1944, having been backed by New Orleans Mayor Robert Maestri
as the choice of the Long faction. Former Governor Earl Long was running for lieutenant governor
that year, and Long had a plurality in the first primary election. Morgan was pressured to withdraw from the runoff against Davis. Had he done so, Earl Long would have become lieutenant governor without the need of a party runoff primary. By contesting the second balloting with Davis, Morgan set the stage inadvertently for J. Emile Verret
of New Iberia, the seat of Iberia Parish, to defeat Earl Long for the nomination to the state's second highest office. (See Wade O. Martin, Jr.
for more details on the 1944 election.)
Davis received 251,228 votes (53.6 percent) to Morgan's 217,915 ballots (46.5 percent). At sixty-eight, Morgan was one of the oldest major candidates to have sought the Louisiana governorship. In 1964, the Republican
nominee, Charlton H. Lyons, Sr.
, of Shreveport
, sought the office at the age of sixty-nine, and his successful Democratic opponent, John J. McKeithen
, made age an issue in that race.
Morgan died in New Orleans. He is interred in Covington Cemetery in Covington. He was Episcopalian
.
Law of the United States
The law of the United States consists of many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the United States Constitution, the foundation of the federal government of the United States...
and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
form the state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of 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...
.
He served in the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from November 5, 1912, to March 4, 1917, from Louisiana's 6th congressional district
Louisiana's 6th congressional district
Louisiana's 6th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located in south-central Louisiana, the district contains the state capital of Baton Rouge and its suburbs and the western half of the Florida Parishes and areas west and south of Baton Rouge...
, which then included part of the New Orleans area. He is best remembered as the candidate of the Earl Long
Earl Long
Earl Kemp Long was an American politician and the 45th Governor of Louisiana for three non-consecutive terms. Long termed himself the "last of the red hot poppas" of politics, referring to his stump-speaking skills...
faction
Political faction
A political faction is a grouping of individuals, such as a political party, a trade union, or other group with a political purpose. A faction or political party may include fragmented sub-factions, “parties within a party," which may be referred to as power blocs, or voting blocs. The individuals...
, which lost the pivotal 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...
nomination for governor of Louisiana to James Houston "Jimmie" Davis
Jimmie 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...
in the 1944 Louisiana gubernatorial election
Louisiana gubernatorial election, 1944
The Louisiana gubernatorial election of 1944 was held in two rounds on January 18 and February 29, 1944. Like most Southern states between Reconstruction and the civil rights era, Louisiana'sRepublican Party was virtually nonexistent in terms of electoral...
.
Early life and education
Morgan was born in MandevilleMandeville, Louisiana
Mandeville is a city in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 12,421 in 2008. Mandeville is located on the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain, south of Interstate 12. It is across the lake from the city of New Orleans and its southshore suburbs...
in St. Tammany Parish
St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana
St. Tammany Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana, in the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area. The parish seat is Covington....
. He was a descendant of David Bannister Morgan (1773–1848), a pioneer in the settlement of Louisiana who was also a brigadier general
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
in the Battle of New Orleans
Battle of New Orleans
The Battle of New Orleans took place on January 8, 1815 and was the final major battle of the War of 1812. American forces, commanded by Major General Andrew Jackson, defeated an invading British Army intent on seizing New Orleans and the vast territory the United States had acquired with the...
in the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
. Morgan attended public schools and St. Eugene's College in St. Tammany Parish. In 1899, he graduated from 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.
Career
Morgan was admitted to the barAdmission to the bar in the United States
In the United States, admission to the bar is the granting of permission by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice law in that system. Each U.S. state and similar jurisdiction has its own court system and sets its own rules for bar admission , which can lead to different admission...
in 1902 and began his law practice in Covington
Covington, Louisiana
Covington is a city in and the parish seat of St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 8,483 at the 2000 census. It is located at a fork of the Bogue Falaya and the Tchefuncte River....
, the seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of St. Tammany Parish. He married the former Lenora Cefalu. They had two children.
Morgan was the president of the St. Tammany Parish Board of Election Supervisors from 1900 to 1908, and the president of the parish school board as well from 1904 to 1908. He served briefly in the Louisiana House of Representatives
Louisiana House of Representatives
The Louisiana House of Representatives is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Louisiana. The House is composed of 105 Representatives, each of whom represents approximately 42,500 people . Members serve four-year terms with a term limit of...
in 1908 but resigned to become the St. Tammany Parish district attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
. He served in that position from 1908 to 1912, when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in a special election to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Representative Robert C. Wickliffe
Robert C. Wickliffe
Robert Charles Wickliffe was Lieutenant Governor and the 15th Governor of Louisiana from 1856-60.-Early life and education:...
. He did not seek a third term in Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
in 1916 but resumed his law practice in both Covington and New Orleans in 1917.
Morgan was a delegate to the 1912
1912 Democratic National Convention
The 1912 Democratic National Convention was held at the Fifth Regiment Armory in Baltimore from June 25 to July 2, 1912. It proved to be one of the more memorable United States presidential conventions of the twentieth century. The main candidates were House Speaker Champ Clark of Missouri and...
and 1936 Democratic National Convention
1936 Democratic National Convention
The 1936 Democratic National Convention was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from June 23 to 27, 1936. The convention resulted in the re-nomination of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Vice President John Nance Garner....
s. He was also a delegate to the Democratic State Convention in 1912, 1916, 1920, and 1924.
Morgan was an unsuccessful candidate for governor in the election of 1944, having been backed by New Orleans Mayor Robert Maestri
Robert Maestri
Robert Sidney Maestri was mayor of New Orleans from 1936 to 1946 and a key ally of Huey P. Long, Jr., and Earl Kemp Long.- Early life :...
as the choice of the Long faction. Former Governor Earl Long was running for lieutenant governor
Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana
The Office of Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana is the second highest state office in Louisiana. The current Lieutenant Governor is Jay Dardenne, a Republican...
that year, and Long had a plurality in the first primary election. Morgan was pressured to withdraw from the runoff against Davis. Had he done so, Earl Long would have become lieutenant governor without the need of a party runoff primary. By contesting the second balloting with Davis, Morgan set the stage inadvertently for J. Emile Verret
J. Emile Verret
J. Emile Verret was the Democratic lieutenant governor of Louisiana from 1944 to 1948, having served under the first of the two nonconsecutive gubernatorial terms of James Houston "Jimmie" Davis. Verret defeated former Governor Earl Kemp Long in the party's runoff election for the second-ranking...
of New Iberia, the seat of Iberia Parish, to defeat Earl Long for the nomination to the state's second highest office. (See Wade O. Martin, Jr.
Wade O. Martin, Jr.
Wade Omer Martin, Jr. was the Democratic Secretary of State of Louisiana under five governors, having served from 1944 to 1976...
for more details on the 1944 election.)
Davis received 251,228 votes (53.6 percent) to Morgan's 217,915 ballots (46.5 percent). At sixty-eight, Morgan was one of the oldest major candidates to have sought the Louisiana governorship. In 1964, the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
nominee, Charlton H. Lyons, Sr.
Charlton Lyons
Charlton Havard Lyons, Sr., also known as Big Papa Lyons , was a Shreveport oilman who in 1964 waged the first determined Republican bid for the Louisiana governorship since Reconstruction. Lyons also made a strong but losing bid for the United States House of Representatives in a special election...
, of 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....
, sought the office at the age of sixty-nine, and his successful Democratic opponent, John J. McKeithen
John McKeithen
John Julian McKeithen was the 49th Governor of Louisiana, serving from 1964 to 1972. A Democrat from the town of Columbia, he was the first governor of his state in the twentieth century to serve two consecutive terms...
, made age an issue in that race.
Morgan died in New Orleans. He is interred in Covington Cemetery in Covington. He was Episcopalian
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
.