1861-1944
Legislator

The Fighting Liberal.

During the thirty years that George Norris served in the U.S. Senate, his name became closely associated with a wide range of issues and causes relating to the public development of natural resources, the rights of labor, farm relief, and, to a lesser extent, foreign policy. Lesser known or remembered, however, is the most significant of his many achievements, a contribution he made to this country's history three years before he entered the Senate. In 1910 Norris brought about the most significant procedural changes the House of Representatives, of which he was then a member, had ever experienced; he thus opened the way for the passage of a legislative program with which the Progressive Era became so uniquely identified. A skilled parliamentarian and legislator who valued his independence above almost everything else, Norris rightfully earned his reputation as a champion...