{"id":97,"featured":0,"modified":"2026-04-17 19:32:47","latitude":31.2665058539455600339351803995668888092041015625,"longitude":-94.742124080657958984375,"title":"Representative Martin Dies Jr.","subtitle":"","fullsize":"https://easttexashistory.org/files/fullsize/dde9d4595aff3deb18a1713af93ef867.jpg","address":"","all_locations":[],"zoom":17,"creator":["Scott Thormaehlen"],"description":"Martin Dies Jr. (1900-1972) was a second-generation Congressman who served nine terms in the U.S. House of Representatives between 1931 and 1959. His time in Congress proved controversial due to his role as chairman of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). <br /><br />Born in Colorado City, Texas, on November 5, 1900, Dies split time as a child between East Texas and Washington D.C. As a young man, he attended Cluster Springs Academy in Virginia and graduated from Beaumont High School on the Texas gulf coast in 1918. He then enrolled for one year at the University of Texas and earned a law degree from National University in Washington, D.C., in 1920. <br /><br />Upon completion of his formal education, Dies followed closely in his father's footsteps, moving to Orange, Texas, and taking a position in the family law office. Later, in 1930, he ran a successful campaign for his father's former congressional post as a representative of Texas' Second District. Although this victory made Dies the youngest member of Congress, he was soon able to parlay relationships with powerful Texans, including Vice President John Garner, to secure important posts for himself. <br /><br />In 1938, Dies created and secured appointment as the first chairman of the House Un-American Activities Committee, which was tasked with investigating subversive groups within the United States. Initially, the committee focused on domestic extremism and the Ku Klux Klan. Over time, however, the committee re-oriented its attention to suspected communists and civil rights supporters. Many critics of the committee complained that its members violated the rights of suspects and publicly ruined the careers of many good people for political reasons. <br /><br />In 1944, after enduring public criticism and a personal health scare, Dies decided not to seek reelection. He and his family moved to Lufkin, Texas, and Dies continued his law practice. He soon tired of private life, however, and won re-election to an at-large seat in Congress in 1952. He served in Washington D.C. until 1959, and then returned to Texas. <br /><br />The congressman died from a heart attack in 1972. Dies authored two books, <em>The Trojan Horse</em> (1940) and <em> Martin Dies' Story</em> (1963), although the latter was ghostwritten by J.B. Matthews. Dies was laid to rest in the Garden of Memories Mausoleum in Lufkin.","sponsor":null,"accessinfo":"","lede":"","website":"","related_resources":[],"factoids":[],"files":{"https://easttexashistory.org/files/fullsize/dde9d4595aff3deb18a1713af93ef867.jpg":{"id":1146,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Representative Martin Dies","description":"As the first chairman of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), Dies was a staunch anti-communist. His influence fueled the government&#039;s blacklist, the names of suspected communists who came under investigation during the 1950s.<br />\r\n | Library of Congress","thumbnail":"https://easttexashistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/dde9d4595aff3deb18a1713af93ef867.jpg"},"https://easttexashistory.org/files/fullsize/bb55668d0e18ca513e8283ff6cd74fba.jpg":{"id":1147,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"House Bill 7120-Deportation of Aliens","description":"Rep. Martin Dies, left, Texas Democrat authored H.R. 7120 to deport some six million aliens now said to be in the U.S. discussed the bill with Rep. Joe Starnes, a Democrat from Alabama. Starnes reported the bill for Dies. Picture taken on June, 24 1935. | Library of Congress","thumbnail":"https://easttexashistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/bb55668d0e18ca513e8283ff6cd74fba.jpg"},"https://easttexashistory.org/files/fullsize/cc3da2cbfd3209b2254fd888c11c7614.jpg":{"id":1148,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Speaking to Texans","description":"Martin Dies Jr. speaking in Wooldridge Square Park inTravis County, Texas, May 28, 1941. Dies stood at a podium with his fist raised into the air. | Portal to Texas History","thumbnail":"https://easttexashistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/cc3da2cbfd3209b2254fd888c11c7614.jpg"},"https://easttexashistory.org/files/fullsize/6a954289c6b0a92124dd73f8216084e0.jpg":{"id":1149,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Star Witness","description":"Martin Dies Jr. and star witness, William C. McCuistion, in Washington, D.C. on November 2, 1939 after McCuistion was arrested by New Orleans authorities on a murder charge. Dies took it upon himself to investigate the charges brought against his witness in New Orleans. | Library of Congress","thumbnail":"https://easttexashistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/6a954289c6b0a92124dd73f8216084e0.jpg"},"https://easttexashistory.org/files/fullsize/9d88616493d29124faeaaae21cf084b9.jpg":{"id":1150,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Support for Soldier&#039;s Bonus Bill","description":"This group of congressmen is organized in 1935 for a vigorous fight to put the soldier&#039;s bonus bill through the House. On the back row and to the left is Martin Dies. Dies supported funding to veterans of World War I that failed to pass under President Hoover. | Library of Congress","thumbnail":"https://easttexashistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/9d88616493d29124faeaaae21cf084b9.jpg"}}}