Joel Thomas Broyhill was an American politician aligned with the Republican Party who served as a Congressman from Virginia for 11 terms, from 1953 to 1974.
26 Facts About Joel Broyhill
2.
Joel Broyhill represented Virginia's 10th congressional district, consisting of suburbs of Arlington, Falls Church and sections of Fairfax County and Alexandria, and became known for his advocacy for federal workers as well as his opposition to integration in the 1950s and 1960s.
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Thomas Broyhill became a carpenter and millwright, then leading citizen of the area as he established sawmills and other businesses.
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Joel Broyhill occasionally worked for DuPont, as well as established a real estate business which thrived until the plant closed.
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Joel Broyhill then attended George Washington University from 1939 to 1941.
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In February 1942, Joel Broyhill enlisted in the United States Army.
7.
Joel Broyhill served in European Theater as a captain in the 106th Infantry Division.
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Joel Broyhill narrowly escaped death when Allied planes bombed the Nazis, and suffered what proved to be lifetime partial hearing loss from the explosions.
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Joel Broyhill was released from active duty November 1,1945.
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Joel Broyhill was president of the Arlington County Chamber of Commerce and chairman of the Arlington County Planning Commission.
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In 1952 he ran for Congress in a bid to become the first representative of Virginia's new, located in the inner suburbs of Washington, DC Broyhill won on his 33rd birthday, defeating Democrat Edmund D Campbell by 322 votes and riding the coattails of the Dwight D Eisenhower and Republican Party landslide that year.
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Joel Broyhill won his next ten elections but lost during the Democratic landslide in 1974 in the wake of the Watergate scandal and the resignation of President Richard Nixon.
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Joel Broyhill sponsored legislation that led to the construction of the Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson bridges across the Potomac River and the second span of the 14th Street Bridge.
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Joel Broyhill sponsored a measure that led to the widening of Shirley Highway.
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Joel Broyhill fought for better pay and working conditions for federal employees, federal aid to local school systems and financial support for Metro.
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Joel Broyhill was an unrelenting and outspoken opponent of home rule for the District, arguing that the US Constitution placed ultimate responsibility for the nation's capital with Congress, and he battled for years against measures to increase the authority of city residents to manage DC affairs.
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Joel Broyhill supported the 23rd Amendment to the Constitution, which allowed DC residents to vote for president and vice president, and the 26th Amendment, which gave 18-year-olds the right to vote.
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Joel Broyhill backed aid to grandparents who cared for their grandchildren.
19.
Joel Broyhill served on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, as well as the House Post Office and Civil Service Committee.
20.
On national issues, Joel Broyhill supported the Republican legislative programs of Eisenhower and Nixon.
21.
Joel Broyhill voted against the Civil Rights Acts of 1957,1960,1964, and 1968, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, but voted in favor of the 24th Amendment to the US Constitution.
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Joel Broyhill ended up losing to Democrat Joseph L Fisher, as the GOP suffered landslide defeats in reaction to the Watergate scandal.
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Joel Broyhill's defeat was considered one of the biggest upsets nationally that year.
24.
Joel Broyhill's firm developed several neighborhoods in Northern Virginia, including Broyhill McLean Estates, Broyhill Forest, and Sterling Park.
25.
Joel Broyhill died at his home in Arlington, Virginia, of congestive heart failure and pneumonia on September 24,2006.
26.
Joel Broyhill's papers are held among the special collections of George Mason University.