Lee, Josh, Secretary of the Senate Democratic Conference (1937-1943); United States Senator from Oklahoma (1937-1943); U.S. House of Representatives from Oklahoma's 5th district (1935-1937) (Lee, Joshua Bryan), 1892-1967
Person
Biographical:
Josh Lee was born in 1892 in Childersburg, Alabama, and moved with his family to southern Oklahoma when he was three years old. He was educated in Baptist schools and graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1917, where as a senior he won the National Oratorical Council prize. He then served in World War I as a private in the 135th infantry. After the war, he joined the University of Oklahoma as an instructor in public speaking. He received the MA degree in political science from Columbia University in 1925, and an LLB degree from Cumberland Law School in Tennessee in 1926. A Democrat, Lee represented Oklahoma's Fifth District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1935-1937. In 1936, he was elected to the U.S. Senate. As a congressman, Lee served on the Civil Service, Education, Pensions, and World War Veterans' Legislation Committees. As a senator, he served on the Commerce, Education and Labor, Irrigation and Reclamation, Military Affairs, and Public Lands and Surveys Committees. Lee was a strong supporter of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal. Surprisingly in 1942, Lee was defeated in his Senate reelection bid by Edward H. Moore, an anti-New Deal Democrat, who had been nominated by the Republican Party. Lee had aroused the ire of beer forces with a proposed rider to a bill lowering the draft to prevent the sales of intoxicating liquor in the area of army camps. The beer forces campaigned for Moore, but the "drys" did not march for Lee. In 1943, President Roosevelt appointed Lee to an unexpired term on the Civil Aeronautics Board. He later served two additional six-year terms. In 1955, Lee returned to Norman, Oklahoma, to practice law. He died in Norman on August 10, 1967.
Found in 1 Collection or Record:
Joshua B. "Josh" Lee Collection
Collection
Identifier: CAC_CC_033
Scope and Contents
The Lee Collection is a small collection of 24.67 linear feet. It consists most of correspondence, speeches, and scrapbooks which include programs, clippings, publications, and additional correspondence. The material ranges in date from before Lee’s service as a Representative and Senator till after, though the bulk of it is during his tenure as a congressman. A well-known orator, Lee’s speeches are the highlight of the collection.