Representative Theodore Leo Moritz

Theodore Leo Moritz (February 10, 1892 – March 13, 1982) was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania who served one term in Congress from 1935 to 1937. He represented a Pennsylvania district during the Seventy-fourth Congress, participating in the legislative process at the height of the New Deal era and seeking to advance the interests of his constituents during a period of significant economic and political change in the United States.

Moritz was born in Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio, on February 10, 1892. He spent much of his youth in Ohio and pursued his early education in Catholic institutions. He attended St. Mary’s Institute in Dayton, Ohio, from which he graduated in 1913. Even before completing his formal studies there, he began working in education, reflecting an early commitment to teaching and parochial school service.

Following his graduation from St. Mary’s Institute, Moritz continued his higher education at the University of Dayton, where he completed his degree in 1919. During these years he combined study with teaching positions in Catholic schools. From 1910 to 1913 he taught in parochial schools in Dayton, and from 1913 to 1916 he taught in parochial schools in Cleveland, Ohio. After moving to Pennsylvania, he joined the faculty of the Duquesne University Prep School in Pittsburgh, where he taught from 1918 to 1923. While teaching in Pittsburgh, he pursued legal studies at the law department of Duquesne University from 1920 to 1923, preparing for a transition from education to the legal profession.

Moritz was admitted to the bar in 1924 and commenced the practice of law in Pittsburgh in 1925. Establishing himself as an attorney in Allegheny County, he became involved in local civic and political affairs. His legal practice in Pittsburgh provided the foundation for his later public service, and he gained experience in municipal government when he was appointed secretary to the Mayor of Pittsburgh, a position he held from 1933 to 1935. In that role he worked within city administration during the early years of the New Deal, a time when local governments were closely engaged with federal relief and recovery programs.

Building on his legal and municipal experience, Moritz was elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-fourth Congress and served in the U.S. House of Representatives from January 3, 1935, to January 3, 1937. As a member of the House of Representatives from Pennsylvania, he participated in the democratic process during a critical phase of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, contributing to debates and legislation addressing the Great Depression. His single term in Congress placed him among those lawmakers grappling with issues of economic recovery, social welfare, and federal intervention in the national economy.

In 1936, Moritz chose not to seek renomination as a Democrat. Instead, he attempted to continue his congressional career through a change in party affiliation and electoral strategy. He was an unsuccessful candidate for nomination as a Republican and, after failing to secure that nomination, ran for reelection as an Independent candidate in 1936. These efforts were unsuccessful, and his service in Congress concluded at the end of his term in January 1937.

After leaving Congress, Moritz returned to private life, resuming his legal career in Pennsylvania. He continued to be identified with the Pittsburgh legal community and remained part of the generation of public figures shaped by the political and economic upheavals of the 1930s. Theodore Leo Moritz died on March 13, 1982, closing a long life that had encompassed careers in education, law, municipal administration, and national legislative service.