Background
John Stephens Wood was born on February 8, 1885, in Ball Ground, Georgia, United States. He was a son of Jessie L. Wood, a farmer, and Sarah (Holcomb) Wood.
82 College Cir, Dahlonega, GA 30597, United States
In his early years, Wood attended North Georgia Agricultural College (present-day University of North Georgia) in Dahlonega.
1501 Mercer University Dr, Macon, GA 31207, United States
In 1910, John attained a Bachelor of Laws degree from Mercer University.
John Stephens Wood was born on February 8, 1885, in Ball Ground, Georgia, United States. He was a son of Jessie L. Wood, a farmer, and Sarah (Holcomb) Wood.
After attending public schools, John worked in a factory and later as a teacher. He then attended North Georgia Agricultural College (present-day University of North Georgia) in Dahlonega and Mercer University, receiving a Bachelor of Laws degree from the latter educational establishment in 1910.
Admitted to the bar in 1910, Wood practiced law in Jasper County and later in Canton. He entered politics, when he served as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1912. Later, between 1915 and 1916, Wood was a city attorney in Canton. In 1917, he was made a member of the Georgia House of Representatives, resigning from his post in 1918 for duty with the Army Air Service.
Wood afterward combined law and politics, serving as solicitor general of the Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit from 1921 to 1926 and as superior court judge of the Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit from 1926 to 1931.
In 1931, Wood was elected as a Democrat from Georgia's 9th congressional district to the 72nd United States Congress and was then reelected to the 73rd Congress. He remained in the position from March 4, 1931, to January 3, 1935. Although generally a loyal Democrat, he opposed some home- and farm-relief legislation, which probably contributed to his defeat for renomination in 1934.
After being unsuccessful in seeking renomination in 1934, Wood resumed law practice in Canton. When B. Frank Whelchel, who had narrowly defeated him in 1934 and again in 1936, announced his retirement in 1944, Wood successfully sought election to Congress again. He was reelected in 1946, 1948 and 1950. In general, Wood was in the position from January 3, 1945 to January 3, 1953.
It was in 1945, that a chance propelled Wood to prominence. He quickly established himself as a conservative member of the House, except on international affairs, voting more often with Republicans, than with his fellow Democrats. Wood allied himself with one of the leading conservative Democrat congressmen, John E. Rankin of Mississippi. In particular, he supported Rankin's successful crusade to establish the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) as a standing committee. When the chairman of that committee, Edward J. Hart of New Jersey, resigned, Wood was chosen to fill his place. It was unusual for a junior member of the House to become chairman of a standing committee, but Rankin, who did not want to surrender his chairmanship of the Veterans Affairs Committee, dictated the move. In Wood he found a compliant man, who let Rankin do whatever he wanted with HUAC.
The House Un-American Activities Committee became notorious for the broad scope of its investigations and its sensationalism in 1945-1946. Wood contributed to this by probing radio news commentators and introducing legislation, designed to control their remarks.
It's worth mentioning, that Wood was also a member of the House Education and Labor and, briefly, Foreign Affairs committees. During his last three terms in Congress, he moderated his position on some economic issues. He was particularly known for his unsuccessful effort in 1949 to modify the terms of the Labor-Management Relations (Taft-Hartley) Act. Although he now more often voted with other Democrats, Wood was still considered a conservative, albeit an independent one. He was also a staunch opponent of civil rights legislation.
As for Wood's reputation, it was based primarily on his connection with the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). Although he was not chairman of the committee during the Republican Eightieth Congress (1947-1949), he resumed that role in the late 1940's, serving to the early 1950's. Rankin had left the committee because of a new rule in 1949, that the chairman of another House committee could not serve on HUAC.
As chairman of the House Un-American Activities Committee, Wood contributed to the formulation of the controversial Internal Security Act of 1950 (popularly known as the McCarran Act). More important, he toned down his committee's sensationalism, allowed witnesses to make statements and be accompanied by counsel and restrained somewhat the issuance of contempt citations. His handling of the committee's proceedings was usually gentlemanly. Wood sometimes was unable, however, to control the aggressive behavior of some of his fellow members. Moreover, Wood acquiesced in and even initiated controversial investigations of alleged subversion in government, labor unions, academic life, entertainment and the medical profession.
It's worth noting, that, upon becoming chairman of HUAC in the mid-1940s, Wood announced, that he would not engage in either "whitewashing" or "witch-hunting". Personally, he strove to adhere to this, although he made it clear, that the committee's rules in getting maximum exposure of subversive activities in American life would be enforced.
When the playwright Lillian Hellman, in 1952, declared, that there were limits to what she would tell the committee, Wood replied, that "the committee cannot permit witnesses to set forth the terms under which they will testify". This exchange was part of HUAC's most publicized action, an investigation in 1951-1952 of subversive influences in the motion-picture industry. The subsequent public hearings were sometimes covered on television. One result was that the film industry blacklisted at least two dozen actors, writers and other employees. Twenty-three of these people later sued Wood, the committee and various motion-picture studios for $51 million, without success.
Wood did not run for reelection to Congress in 1952. He resumed his law practice in Canton the following year and he returned to public notice only once, in 1955, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower nominated him for a three-year term on the Subversive Activities Control Board. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, among others, strenuously objected to his appointment. After Wood admitted, that, as a young man, he had applied for membership in the Ku Klux Klan, although he had not joined the group, the Senate failed to act on his confirmation.
In his later years, illness forced him to retire from law practice.
Wood opposed racial equality, adopted an independent and often conservative position on economic questions and ardently defended what he regarded as American national security. He was also a staunch opponent of civil rights legislation.
Wood was typical of many southern Democratic congressmen of his time, mild-mannered and even courtly in person, but outspoken on issues, often controversial, of concern to white southerners.
Wood married Marguerite (Roberts) Wood on September 3, 1913. After her death, he married Louise (Jones) Wood on May 23, 1926. Wood had one child with his first wife and three children with his second wife.