Walter Chandler
| Walter "Clift" Chandler | |
|---|---|
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 9th district |
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In office January 3, 1935 – January 2, 1940 |
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| Preceded by | E. H. Crump |
| Succeeded by | Clifford Davis |
| Member of the Tennessee Senate | |
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In office 1921-1923 |
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| Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives | |
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In office 1917 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
October 5, 1887 Memphis, Tennessee |
| Died |
October 1, 1967 (aged 79) Memphis, Tennessee |
| Citizenship |
 United States
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| Political party | Democrat |
| Spouse(s) | Dorothy Wyeth Chandler |
| Children | John Wyeth Chandler |
| Alma mater | University of Tennessee |
| Profession |
teacher reporter politician |
| Religion | Episcopalian |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
United States of America
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| Service/branch | United States Army |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | One Hundred and Fourteenth Field Artillery |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
teacher reporter
Walter "Clift" Chandler (October 5, 1887 – October 1, 1967) was an American politician from Tennessee and a Representative for the ninth district of Tennessee.
Chandler was born in Memphis in 1887 to parents of Scots/English descent, William Henry Chandler and Knoxie (Clift) Chandler. He attended public schools before going on to earn his law degree at the University of Tennessee. He taught school, reported for the Knoxville Sentinel.
city attorney of Memphis 1928-1934; delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1940 and 1944; elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-fourth, Seventy-fifth, and Seventy-sixth Congresses and served from January 3, 1935, until his resignation on January 2, 1940, having been elected mayor of Memphis; reelected mayor in 1943 and served until September 1, 1946; resumed the practice of law; temporary president, Tennessee constitutional convention, in 1953; mayor of Memphis in 1955 for unexpired term
A member of the Tennessee General Assembly, Chandler served in the Tennessee state house of representatives in 1917. He served as a captain in the One Hundred and Fourteenth Field Artillery, Thirtieth Division, American Expeditionary Forces, from July 25, 1917, to April 19, 1919, during World War I. and then was a member of Tennessee state senate from 1921 to 1923. He married Dorothy Wyeth on October 10, 1925.
Chandler was elected U.S. Representative from Tennessee 9th District, and served from January 3, 1935 to January 2, 1940, when he resigned. He was mayor of Memphis, Tennessee, from 1940 to 1946, and served in that capacity again in 1955. He was also a delegate to the Democratic National Convention from Tennessee in 1940 and 1944.
Although supported by the E. H. Crump machine, Chandler made significant contributions to the world on his own. He was the author of Chapter 13 bankruptcy legislation. He filed the original suit in Baker v. Carr, the U.S. Supreme Court case that argued against Tennessee's status quo of seldom changing the boundaries of congressional districts, even though population growth in urban areas far outstripped the growth in rural areas. By 1960, the district lines had not been redrawn since 1900 despite a provision in the Constitution of Tennessee requiring them to be redrawn every 10 years. In some cases one state representative district might be more populous by a factor of ten than another, more rural district. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Baker, viewing the case not as one of legislative jurisdiction, but as a case of insuring each individual's right to equal representation.
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