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Whitten's district was renumbered as the 1st District after the 1970 Census.
===Tenure as leader in agricultural policy===
Whitten had the support of the Democratic caucus and served as chair of the Appropriations subcommittee on agriculture (1949-1978, except 1953-54). He was chair of the entire committee 1979-1992. Throughout that period he had a decisive voice on agricultural spending and to a large extent on policies.<ref>Sidney E. Brown, "An Analysis of the Federal Extension Service Appropriations," ''Journal of the Northeastern Agricultural Economics Council'' vol 8 (April 1979) DOI: 10.1017/s0163548400004611 </ref><br>
His service from November 4, 1941, to January 3, 1995 set a record for [[List of U. S. Congressmen By Longevity of Service#Uninterrupted Congressional Service (House only)|length of service in the House]], which remained unbroken until February 11, 2009, when [[Michigan]] [[United States Congress|Congressman]] [[John Dingell]] surpassed it. Whitten is also the [[List of members of the United States Congress by longevity of service#Combined U.S. House and Senate time|5th longest-serving Congressman]] (House and/or Senate) behind [[Daniel Inouye]], [[Carl T. Hayden]], [[Robert Byrd]] and John Dingell.▼
Whitten was a [[New Deal Coalition|New Dealer]] who supported most liberal spending issues. In the 1980s he clashed with the conservative Reagan administration on policy matters. He voted against Reagan's economic plans, tax cuts, increased defense spending, balanced budget initiative, [[tort reform]], welfare reform, abortion restrictions, missile defense system, and the [[Gulf War|Persian Gulf War]]. Although Whitten represented a district that grew increasingly suburban and [[History of the Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] from the 1970s onward, his opposition to Reagan's program did not affect him at the ballot box. Indeed, his seniority and popularity resulted in his facing only "[[sacrificial lamb]]" opponents on the occasions he faced any opposition at all, even in years when Republican presidential candidates carried the district in landslides. Nonetheless, it was taken for granted that he would be succeeded by a Republican when he retired.<br>▼
Whitten was originally a segregationist, as were many of his colleagues from Mississippi and the rest of the South. He signed the [[Southern Manifesto]] condemning the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] decision [[Brown vs. Board of Education]], which desegregated public schools. Along with virtually the entire Mississippi congressional delegation, he voted against the Civil Rights Acts of [[Civil Rights Act of 1957|1957]], [[Civil Rights Act of 1960|1960]], [[Civil Rights Act of 1964|1964]], [[Voting Rights Act of 1965|1965]] and [[Civil Rights Act of 1968|1968]]. Whitten later apologized for these votes, calling them a "mistake" caused by severe misjudgment. He voted for the [[Civil Rights Act of 1991]].<br>
▲Declining to run for reelection to a historic 28th term in 1994, Whitten retired from the House as America's longest-serving Congressman (53 years and two months). He retired to his home in [[Oxford, Mississippi]] and died there on September 9, 1995, aged 85, eight months. His service from November 4, 1941, to January 3, 1995 set a record for [[List of U. S. Congressmen By Longevity of Service#Uninterrupted Congressional Service (House only)|length of service in the House]], which remained unbroken until February 11, 2009, when [[Michigan]] [[United States Congress|Congressman]] [[John Dingell]] surpassed it. Whitten is also the [[List of members of the United States Congress by longevity of service#Combined U.S. House and Senate time|5th longest-serving Congressman]] (House and/or Senate) behind [[Daniel Inouye]], [[Carl T. Hayden]], [[Robert Byrd]] and John Dingell.<br>
▲Whitten had the support of the Democratic caucus and served as chair of the Appropriations subcommittee on agriculture (1949-1978, except 1953-54). He was chair of the entire committee 1979-1992. Throughout that period he had a decisive voice on agricultural spending and to a large extent on policies. In 1977 his subcommittee lost control of environmental issues. He lost his power after suffering a debilitating stroke in February 1992.<ref>Michael Barone and Grant Ujifusa, ''The Almanac of American Politics 1996'' (1995) pp. 751–752.</ref> As a champion for American farmers, he fought against the FDA's early 1970s recommendation of restricting the use of antibiotics in livestock.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/fda-farmers-still-debate-the-use-of-antibiotics-in-animals/2014/10/12/f4d93e38-508e-11e4-babe-e91da079cb8a_story.html|title=FDA, farmers still debate the use of antibiotics in animals|work=Washington Post|access-date=14 April 2015}}</ref> He required that scientists prove the danger of antibiotic use.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McKenna |first1=Maryn |title=Big Chicken |date=2017 |publisher=National Geographic |isbn=9781426217661}}</ref>
▲Whitten was a New Dealer who supported most liberal spending issues. In the 1980s he clashed with the conservative Reagan administration on policy matters. He voted against Reagan's economic plans, tax cuts, increased defense spending, balanced budget initiative, [[tort reform]], welfare reform, abortion restrictions, missile defense system, and the [[Gulf War|Persian Gulf War]]. Although Whitten represented a district that grew increasingly suburban and [[History of the Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] from the 1970s onward, his opposition to Reagan's program did not affect him at the ballot box. Indeed, his seniority and popularity resulted in his facing only "[[sacrificial lamb]]" opponents on the occasions he faced any opposition at all, even in years when Republican presidential candidates carried the district in landslides. Nonetheless, it was taken for granted that he would be succeeded by a Republican when he retired.
===Committee assignments===
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