Emanuel Celler (May 6, 1888–January 15, 1981) was a politician from New York who served in the United States House of Representatives for almost 50 years, from March of 1923 to January of 1973. For his first twenty-two years in Congress, 1923–1945, Celler represented New York's Tenth Congressional District. Redistricting in 1944 put him into the Fifteenth District from 1945 to 1953; from 1953 to 1963 his district was the Eleventh and for his final decade in Congress, 1963–1973, it was back to its 1922 designation as the Tenth. May 6 is the 126th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (127th in leap years). ... 1888 (MDCCCLXXXVIII) is a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. ... January 15 is the 15th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... State nickname: Empire State Other U.S. States Capital Albany Largest city New York Governor George Pataki Official languages None Area 141,205 km² (27th)  - Land 122,409 km²  - Water 18,795 km² (13. ... The chamber of the United States House of Representatives is located in the south wing of the Capitol building, in Washington, D.C.. This photograph shows a rare glimpse of the four vote tallying boards (the blackish squares across the top), which display each members name and vote as... 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1973 calendar). ... 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... State nickname: Empire State Other U.S. States Capital Albany Largest city New York Governor George Pataki Official languages None Area 141,205 km² (27th)  - Land 122,409 km²  - Water 18,795 km² (13. ... The process known as redistricting in the United States and redistribution in many Commonwealth countries is the changing of political borders (in many countries, specifically the electoral district/constituency boundaries) usually in response to periodic census results. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1953 calendar). ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1953 calendar). ... Template:C20YearInnTopic 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ... A congress is a gathering of people, especially a gathering for a political purpose. ... Template:C20YearInnTopic 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1973 calendar). ... 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

Celler was a native of Brooklyn and of mixed German Catholic and Jewish heritage. A graduate of Columbia Law School, he was the first Democrat to ever serve his district and was one of the longest-serving congressmen in history. A practicing lawyer before entering politics, in Congress he was particularly involved in issues relating to the judiciary and immigration. Main article: New York City A map of New York City, highlighting Brooklyn. ... The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination of these attributes. ... Columbia Law School, located in New York City, is one of the professional schools of Columbia University and one of the leading law schools in the United States. ... The Democratic Party is one of the two major political parties in the United States. ... A congress is a gathering of people, especially a gathering for a political purpose. ...

Celler made his first important speech on the House floor during consideration of the Johnson Immigration Act of 1924. Three years earlier, Congress had imposed a quota that limited immigration for persons of any nationality to 3 percent of that nationality present in the United States in 1910, with an annual admission limit of 356,000 immigrants. This national origin system was structured to preserve the ethnic and religious status quo of the United States by reducing immigration from Eastern and Southern Europe, thereby excluding many Jews and Catholics. Celler was vehemently opposed to the act. The Johnson act passed the isolationist Congress and was signed into law. Celler had found his cause, and for the next four decades he strongly advocated eliminating the national origin quotas as a basis for immigration restriction. The United States Immigration Act of 1924, also known as the National Origins Act or the Johnson-Reed Act, limited the number of immigrants who could be admitted from any country to 2% of the number of people from that country who were already living in the United States in... -1... Current division of Europe into five (or more) regions: one definition of Eastern Europe is marked in orange Eastern Europe as a region has several alternative definitions, whereby it can denote: the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Central Europe and Russia. ... Southern Europe is a region of Europe. ... Isolationism is a diplomatic policy whereby a nation seeks to avoid alliances with other nations. ...

In July 1939, a strongly worded letter from Celler to Secretary of State Cordell Hull helped set in motion an extremely prolonged process of 45 years that finally led in 1984, three years after Celler's death, to full, formal diplomatic relations between the United States and the Vatican.[1] 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... In several countries, Secretary of State is a senior government position. ... Secretary Hull Cordell Hull (October 2, 1871 – July 23, 1955) served as United States Secretary of State from 1933-1944 under Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1945. ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In the 1940s, Celler opposed both the isolationists and the Roosevelt administration by strongly advocating that the United States relax immigration laws on an emergency basis to rescue those fleeing the Holocaust. In 1943, he called FDR's immigration policy "cold and cruel," and blasted "the glacier-like attitude of the State Department". // Events and trends World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrination, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atomic bomb. ... FDR may refer to: Franklin Delano Roosevelt - The 32nd President of the United States, Flight data recorder - device used to record aircraft and pilot behavior in order to analyze accidents (usually called black boxes by the news media). ... Concentration camp inmates during the Holocaust The Holocaust was Nazi Germanys systematic genocide (ethnic cleansing) of various ethnic, religious, national, and secular groups during World War II. Early elements include the Kristallnacht pogrom and the T-4 Euthanasia Program established by Hitler that killed some 200,000 people. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) is a common year starting on Friday. ... FDR may refer to: Franklin Delano Roosevelt - The 32nd President of the United States, Flight data recorder - device used to record aircraft and pilot behavior in order to analyze accidents (usually called black boxes by the news media). ...

In the early 1950s, Celler was the target of attacks by Sen. Joseph McCarthy. At the 1952 Democratic National Convention, Celler gave a speech in which he respnded to Sen. McCarthy, saying: // Events and trends This map shows two essential global spheres during the Cold War in 1959. ... Joseph Raymond McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was a Republican Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 to 1957. ... The 1952 Democratic National Convention was held in Chicago, Illinois. ...

"Deliberately and calculatedly, McCarthyism has set before itself the task of undermining the faith of the people in their Government. It has undertaken to sow suspicion everywhere, to set friend against friend, and brother against brother. It deals in coercion and in intimidation, tying the hands of citizens and officials with the fear of the smear attack." McCarthyism took place during a period of intense suspicion in the United States primarily from 1950 to 1954, when the U.S. government was actively countering American Communist Party subversion, its leadership, and others suspected of being Communists or Communist sympathizers. ...

As Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee in the 1960s, Celler was involved in drafting and passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Civil Rights Act of 1968 and the Voting Rights Act. In January 1965, Celler proposed in the House the Twenty-Fifth Amendment, which clarifies an ambiguous provision of the Constitution regarding succession to the presidency. Also in 1965, he proposed and steered to passage the Hart-Celler Act which eliminated national origins as a consideration for immigration. This was the culminating moment in Celler's 41-year fight to overcome immigration restriction in United States. U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, or (more commonly) the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ... President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964. ... President Johnson signing the Civil Rights Act of 1968 On April 11, 1968, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (also known as CRA 68), which was meant as a follow-up to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. ... The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (Public Law 89-10) outlawed the requirement that would-be voters in the United States take literacy tests to qualify to register to vote, and it provided for federal registration of voters in areas that had less than 50% of eligible voters registered. ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... The chamber of the United States House of Representatives is located in the south wing of the Capitol building, in Washington, D.C.. This photograph shows a rare glimpse of the four vote tallying boards (the blackish squares across the top), which display each members name and vote as... Amendment XXV (the Twenty-fifth Amendment) of the United States Constitution clarifies an ambiguous provision of the Constitution regarding succession to the Presidency, and established procedures both for filling a vacancy in the office of the Vice President as well as responding to Presidential disabilities. ... The word Presidency is often used to describe the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ...

In 1972, Celler unexpectedly lost the Democratic primary to Elizabeth Holtzman, who went on to win the election and serve as a Representative until 1981. Holtzman eked out a victory over the veteran Celler based chiefly on his opposition to feminism and the Equal Rights Amendment. The fact that Celler, who was on good terms with Richard Nixon, was replaced by Peter Rodino as Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee played a role in enabling Congress to pursue the Watergate hearings. 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1972 calendar). ... Elizabeth Holtzman (born August 11, 1941) is an American Democratic politician. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Feminism is a diverse, competing, and often opposing collection of social theories, political movements, and moral philosophies, largely motivated by or concerning the experiences of women, especially in terms of their social, political, and economic inequalities. ... The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution which would have guaranteed equal rights under law for Americans regardless of sex. ... Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. ... Peter Wallace Rodino Jr. ... U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, or (more commonly) the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. ... The Watergate Complex (now the Watergate Hotel) as depicted in Government Exhibit 1. ...

Celler died in his native Brooklyn at the age of 92. Main article: New York City A map of New York City, highlighting Brooklyn. ...

External Links

• Bio of Celler at Jewish Virtual Library

• Bio of Celler with excerpts from his speeches and his autobiography, You Never Leave Brooklyn (1953)

• Passover 1943: A Congressman Who Spoke Out for Rescue by Dr. Rafael Medoff