Byrd's
Bookshelf
Books
by Robert C. Byrd
Robert
C. Byrd: A Lifelong Student
Growing up, Robert Byrd pushed himself to learn, to read, and to excel.
He graduated from Mark Twain High School as valedictorian of his 28-student
class. It was in those early lessons that Senator Byrd found inspiration
among the founders of the nation: George Washington, Benjamin
Franklin, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson.
"After winning the Revolution, this generation put their vision
of America into a workable form, a government that embodied the principles,
ideas, and values for which they had fought and died," Byrd stated.
While Byrd was his high school class' valedictorian, it was 16 years
before he could start college. He worked as a gas station attendant,
grocery store clerk, shipyard welder, and butcher before he ran in 1946
for his first public office, winning election to the West Virginia House
of Delegates. But election did not mean an end to Byrd's education.
Beginning in 1950, he took classes at Morris Harvey College and at Marshall
College (now the University of Charleston and Marshall University).
When he started in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1953, Byrd decided
to enroll in law school. But convincing law schools to accept
him without an undergraduate degree was a challenge. Eventually,
Byrd's persistence paid off and he earned his law degree from American
University in 1963 -- ten years after he took his first law class.
No other Member of Congress before or since has started and completed
law school while also serving in office.
The importance of an education has never been lost on Byrd, finally
completing his baccalaureate degree in 1994 at Marshall University.
As he has never stopped learning, the Senator strives to help young
people get ahead, as well.
"Across this country, we need to instill a passion for education
in our students. We must cultivate a bumper crop of excellent
students if we are to keep pace in this rapidly changing global environment,"
Byrd said.
Books
by Robert C. Byrd
The Senate, 1789-1989, Vol. I: Addresses on
the History of the United States Senate (US Government Printing
Office, 1989).
The Senate, 1789-1989, Vol. II: Addresses on
the History of the United States Senate (US Government Printing
Office).
The Senate, 1789-1989, Vol. III: Classical
Speeches, 1830-1993 (US Government Printing Office).
The Senate, 1789-1989, Vol. IV: Historical
Statistics, 1789-1992 (US Government Printing Office).
The Senate and the Roman Republic: Addresses on
the History of Roman Constitutionalism (US Government Printing Office,
1995).
Losing America: Confronting a Reckless and
Arrogant Presidency (W.W. Norton & Company, 2004)
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