Sheppard, Morris

Sheppard, Morris, 1875–1941, American legislator, b. Morris co., Tex. He practiced law in Texas and was elected (1902) to Congress to succeed his father. He was in the House until his election (1913) to the Senate, where he served until his death. A Democrat, his name is connected with the Sheppard-Towner Act, which provided for federal and state cooperation toward maternity and infant welfare. Sheppard was an ardent prohibitionist and helped draw up the Webb-Kenyon Act (1913) to control interstate shipment of liquor and also wrote the Sheppard Bill (1916) to make the District of Columbia dry. He fathered the Senate resolution that eventually became the Eighteenth Amendment, and he helped frame the Volstead Act.