Louis Charles Rabaut (December 5, 1886-November 12, 1961) was politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. He was a Democratic congressman representing Michigan's 14th congressional district from 1935 to 1947, and from 1949 to 1961. He is best known for introducing legislation that added the words "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance. December 5 is the 339th day (340th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1886 (MDCCCLXXXVI) is a common year starting on Friday (click on link to calendar) // Events January 18 - Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England. ... November 12 is the 316th day of the year (317th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 49 days remaining. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... Federal courts Supreme Court Chief Justice Associate Justices Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures State Courts Counties, Cities, and Towns Other countries Politics Portal      A state of the United States is any one of the fifty subnational entities referred to... Official language(s) None (English, de-facto) Capital Lansing Largest city Detroit Area  Ranked 11th  - Total 97,990 sq mi (253,793 km²)  - Width 239 miles (385 km)  - Length 491 miles (790 km)  - % water 41. ... The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States; the other being the Republican Party. ... A Congressman or Congresswoman (generically, Congressperson) is a politician who is a member of a Congress. ... United States House of Representatives, Michigan District 14 is a district in Michigan, encompassing part of Detroit and all of its western suburbs. ... It has been suggested that Pledge of Allegiance criticism be merged into this article or section. ...

Family and early life

Louis Charles Rabaut, the grandson of immigrants from West Flanders, was born in Detroit, Michigan to Louis Aloysius and Clara Lenau Reid Rabaut, who operated a wholesale toy and fireworks store. In 1911, he married Stella Marie Petz, with whom he had nine children. In 1912, Rabaut graduated from Detroit College in 1909 and from the Detroit College of Law in 1912. He was admitted to the bar in 1912 and commenced practice in Detroit. West Flanders (Dutch: West-Vlaanderen) is the westernmost province of Flanders and of Belgium. ... Nickname: Motto: Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus (Latin for, We Hope For Better Things; It Shall Rise From the Ashes) Location in Wayne County, Michigan Coordinates: Country United States State Michigan County Wayne County Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick Area    - City 370. ... The Detroit College of Law, established in 1891, was the first law school in the Detroit, Michigan area and the second in the U.S. state of Michigan. ... A bar association is a body of lawyers who, in some jurisdictions, are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession. ...

Political career

In 1934, Rabaut defeated incumbent Carl M. Weideman in the Democratic primary elections for the Michigan's 14th district to the U.S. House of Representatives. He went on to be elected to the 74th Congress and to the five suceeding Congresses, serving from January 3, 1935 to January 3, 1947. In 1946, he was defeated by Republican Harold F. Youngblood. He successfully regained his seat from Youngblood in 1948 to be elected to the 81st Congress and the six succeeding Congresses, serving from January 3, 1949 until his death on November 12, 1961. The House of Representatives is the larger of two houses that make up the U.S. Congress, the other being the United States Senate. ... 74th Congress (1935-1937) Congressional Profile Total Membership: 435 Representatives, 2 Delegates, 3 Resident Commissioners Party Divisions: 322 Democrats, 103 Republicans, 7 Progressives, 3 Farmer-Labor Leadership & Officers Speaker of the House: Joseph W. Byrns (D-Tennessee) Died June 4, 1936. ... January 3 is the 3rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... January 3 is the 3rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... For other uses, see Republican Party (disambiguation) or GOP (disambiguation). ... 81st Congress (1949-1951) Congressional Profile Total Membership: 435 Representatives, 2 Delegates, 1 Resident Commissioner Party Divisions: 263 Democrats, 171 Republicans, 1 American-Labor Leadership & Officers Speaker of the House: Sam Rayburn (D- Texas) Majority Leader: John W. McCormack (D- Massachusetts) Minority Leader: Joseph W. Martin, Jr. ... January 3 is the 3rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... November 12 is the 316th day of the year (317th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 49 days remaining. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ...

In 1951, he argued for price controls, stating: In economics, incomes policies are wage and price controls used to fight inflation. ...

"This Eighty second Congress stands at the threshold of immortality. We have an opportunity that few Congresses have to insure our place in history. If we deny to the Government the authority to roll back prices and maintain firm economic controls, we are sure to be remembered. We will be remembered by the American people as 'the horse-meat Congress' -- the Congress that put the old gray mare on the family dinner table." [1]

On April 20, 1953, prompted by a letter from Brooklyn resident H. Joseph Mahoney, Rabaut submitted a resolution to amend the Pledge of Allegiance with the words "under God". The practice had been adopted several years earlier by the Knights of Columbus. Rabaut's bill was the first of many similar efforts, culminating in Representative Charles Oakman and Senator Homer Ferguson's joint resolution in 1954. Speaking in support of the bill, Rabaut said: April 20 is the 110th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (111th in leap years). ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Brooklyn (named for the Dutch city Breukelen) is one of the five boroughs of New York City, USA. An independent city until its consolidation into New York in 1898, Brooklyn is New Yorks most populous borough, with a 2005 Census Estimate of 2,486,235 residents. ... It has been suggested that Pledge of Allegiance criticism be merged into this article or section. ... The Knights of Columbus is the worlds largest Catholic family, fraternal, service organization and is named in honor of Christopher Columbus. ... Homer Samuel Ferguson (February 25, 1889 – December 17, 1982) was a U.S. Senator from Michigan. ... A joint resolution is a legislative measure of the United States of America, designated as S.J.Res (for the Senate version) and H.J.Res (for the House version), which requires the approval of both chambers of the United States Congress. ...

You may argue from dawn to dusk about differing political, economic, and social systems, but the fundamental issue which is the unbridgeable gap between America and Communist Russia is a belief in Almighty God. From the root of atheism stems the evil weed of communism and its branches of materialism and political dictatorship. Unless we are willing to affirm our belief in the existence of God and His creator-creature relation to man, we drop man himself to the significance of a grain of sand and open the floodgates to tyranny and oppression.[2]

The bill passed and was signed into law by President Eisenhower on June 14, Flag Day. Dwight David Ike Eisenhower (October 14, 1890–March 28, 1969), American soldier and politician, was the 34th President of the United States (1953–1961) and supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II, with the rank of General of the Army. ... June 14 is the 165th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (166th in leap years), with 200 days remaining. ... In the United States, Flag Day (more formally, National Flag Day), is celebrated on June 14. ...

Reflecting on his time in Congress, Rabaut told an interviewer in 1959:

Why, we're the guinea pigs of the country. We have to go back to the country every two years and face the people. The senators can stay down here and do what they want for four years, and then get awful nice the last two years and rely on the short memory of the people. [3]

Rabaut died in Hamtramck, Michigan and in interred in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Detroit. He was succeeded in office by Democrat Harold M. Ryan, who was elected in a special election on February 13, 1962. Hamtramck is a city in Wayne County of the U.S. state of Michigan. ... February 13 is the 44th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ...

References

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• The Political Graveyard
• Biography at Rootsweb