George W. Norris
Born in Ohio, July 11, 1861.
School teacher in Indiana, where he earned a law degree.
Moved to Beaver City, Nebraska in 1885.
Furnas County attorney for three terms.
14th District judge, 1895-1902.
Moved to McCook in 1899.
Served in Congress: 10 years in House (1903-March 3, 1913); 30 years in Senate (1912-1942).
Known for:
Proactive vision, an ability to formulate ideas and solutions, then help see them through.
Commitment to “common people” and the underprivileged, a humanitarian spirit.
Devotion to civic duty and public interests.
Cooperative spirit and dedication to the ideal of democracy.
Work ethic, productively, constructive action and accomplishment.
Independence, speaking up and taking action, regardless of political risks.
Pivotal in guiding the Tri-County Project (irrigation) through federal bureaucracy.
Primary Senate promoter and enabler of the Rural Electrification Act that brought power and light to farms across the country.
Helped create and served as vice president the National Progressive Republican League, designed for greater cohesion among progressives and diversity in local reform.
Chaired the Ag and Forestry and Judiciary committees. Helped lead the Farm Bloc, formed in response to agricultural price decreases after WWI.
Wrote the Twentieth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the "Lame Duck" amendment shortening the amount of time between elections and when politicians take office.
Known as the “Father of the TVA” – planned and promoted the Tennessee Valley Authority for flood control and rural electrification in the region drained by the Tennessee River.
In Tennessee, there is a Norris Dam, Norris Highway, and Norris Dam State Park.
Films, books, stage plays, and songs were inspired by the building of Norris Dam and the changes it brought to the region.
Wrote and promoted the Nebraska constitutional amendment that created the Unicameral Legislature in Nebraska (1937), for the purpose of reducing partisan politics and abuses of power. The Unicameral remains unique among the 50 states, though still being considered by many.
The Norris–La Guardia Act (1932), also known as the Anti-Injunction Bill) banned “yellow-dog contracts” (requiring new employees not to join a union), barred federal courts from issuing injunctions against non-violent labor disputes, and created a right of non-interference by employers against workers joining trade unions.
As Judiciary Committee Chairman, Norris led the effort resulting in Senate censorship of Senator Hiram Bingham for his association with a manufacturing lobbyist.
Retired to McCook after forty years in Congress, died September 2, 1944.
Fighting Liberal: The Autobiography of George W. Norris, published in 1945.
One of eight people profiled in John F. Kennedy's Profiles in Courage (1955, winner of thePulitzer Prize). Norris was included for opposing Speaker Cannon's autocratic power in the House, speaking out against arming U.S. merchant ships during the United States' neutral period in World War I, and supporting the Presidential Campaign of Democrat Al Smith.
In 1961, first person inducted into the Nebraska Hall of Fame.
Detailed biographies: