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Leonidas C. Dyer
Leonidas Carstarphen Dyer (June 11, 1871 – December 15, 1957) was an American politician, reformer, civil rights activist, and military officer. A Republican, he served eleven terms in the U.S. Congress as a U.S. Representative from Missouri from 1911 to 1933. In 1898, enrolling in the U.S. Army as a private, Dyer served notably in the Spanish–American War; and was promoted to colonel at the war's end.
Working as an attorney in St. Louis, Dyer started an anti-usury campaign and was elected to Congress as a Republican in 1910. As a progressive reformer, Dyer authored an anti-usury law in 1914 that limited excessive loan rates by bank lenders in the nation's capital, then still governed by Congress.
Horrified by the East St. Louis riots in 1917 and the high rate of reported lynchings in the South, Dyer introduced the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill in 1918. In 1920, the Republican Party supported such legislation in its platform from the National Convention. In January 1922, Dyer's bill was passed by the House, which approved it by a wide margin due to "insistent countrywide demand". The bill was defeated by filibusters by white conservative, Southern Democrats in the U.S. Senate in December 1922, in 1923, and 1924.
In 1919, Dyer authored the motor-vehicle theft law, which made transporting stolen automobiles across state lines a federal crime. By 1956, the FBI reported that the law had enabled the recovery of cars worth more than $212 million. In terms of Prohibition, Dyer voted against various anti-liquor laws, including the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Dyer served in Congress from the 62nd Congress to the 72nd Congress. He was defeated for re-election in 1932.
Dyer was born near Warrenton in Warren County, Missouri, the son of James Coleman Dyer and Martha E. (Camp) Dyer. His father's family had roots in Virginia, where his uncle David Patterson Dyer was born; he was elected as a Republican Congressman from Missouri (1869–71).
Leonidas attended common schools and Central Wesleyan College. He studied law at Washington University in St. Louis, received his LL.B. degree in 1893, and was admitted to the bar.
When the Spanish–American War began, Dyer joined the United States Army and served in combat during the Santiago campaign as a private in 1898. He was promoted to colonel during the war, and served as a member of the staff of Herbert S. Hadley, future Governor of Missouri.
After the war, the young Dyer served as assistant circuit attorney in St. Louis, where he championed an anti-usury reform campaign that eventually gained national attention. Dyer successfully represented a railroad clerk who was being charged 34% monthly (408% annual) interest on a $100 loan after having paid $480 interest in 14 months. None of the interest payment to the money lender was used to pay off the principal. The money lender, in front of Att. Dyer, tore up the railroad worker's loan. Dyer organized a group of wealthy merchants in St. Louis who through investigations were able to keep interest rates low in Missouri.
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Leonidas C. Dyer
Leonidas Carstarphen Dyer (June 11, 1871 – December 15, 1957) was an American politician, reformer, civil rights activist, and military officer. A Republican, he served eleven terms in the U.S. Congress as a U.S. Representative from Missouri from 1911 to 1933. In 1898, enrolling in the U.S. Army as a private, Dyer served notably in the Spanish–American War; and was promoted to colonel at the war's end.
Working as an attorney in St. Louis, Dyer started an anti-usury campaign and was elected to Congress as a Republican in 1910. As a progressive reformer, Dyer authored an anti-usury law in 1914 that limited excessive loan rates by bank lenders in the nation's capital, then still governed by Congress.
Horrified by the East St. Louis riots in 1917 and the high rate of reported lynchings in the South, Dyer introduced the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill in 1918. In 1920, the Republican Party supported such legislation in its platform from the National Convention. In January 1922, Dyer's bill was passed by the House, which approved it by a wide margin due to "insistent countrywide demand". The bill was defeated by filibusters by white conservative, Southern Democrats in the U.S. Senate in December 1922, in 1923, and 1924.
In 1919, Dyer authored the motor-vehicle theft law, which made transporting stolen automobiles across state lines a federal crime. By 1956, the FBI reported that the law had enabled the recovery of cars worth more than $212 million. In terms of Prohibition, Dyer voted against various anti-liquor laws, including the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Dyer served in Congress from the 62nd Congress to the 72nd Congress. He was defeated for re-election in 1932.
Dyer was born near Warrenton in Warren County, Missouri, the son of James Coleman Dyer and Martha E. (Camp) Dyer. His father's family had roots in Virginia, where his uncle David Patterson Dyer was born; he was elected as a Republican Congressman from Missouri (1869–71).
Leonidas attended common schools and Central Wesleyan College. He studied law at Washington University in St. Louis, received his LL.B. degree in 1893, and was admitted to the bar.
When the Spanish–American War began, Dyer joined the United States Army and served in combat during the Santiago campaign as a private in 1898. He was promoted to colonel during the war, and served as a member of the staff of Herbert S. Hadley, future Governor of Missouri.
After the war, the young Dyer served as assistant circuit attorney in St. Louis, where he championed an anti-usury reform campaign that eventually gained national attention. Dyer successfully represented a railroad clerk who was being charged 34% monthly (408% annual) interest on a $100 loan after having paid $480 interest in 14 months. None of the interest payment to the money lender was used to pay off the principal. The money lender, in front of Att. Dyer, tore up the railroad worker's loan. Dyer organized a group of wealthy merchants in St. Louis who through investigations were able to keep interest rates low in Missouri.