By Ray Hill Malcolm Rice Patterson, the “gamecock” of Tennessee politics, had left the governor’s mansion in 1911 as a hugely controversial figure and bitterly hated by many inside his own party. To make matters worse, a combine of “fusionists,” Democrats opposed to Patterson and Republicans, had elected Ben W. Hooper governor in the 1910 […]
By Ray Hill James Beriah Frazier had been elected governor of Tennessee in 1902. A tall, stately man with an elegant appearance, James B. Frazier certainly looked the part of a governor. Despite his aristocratic appearance, James B. Frazier had worked his way through law school. The future governor taught school for two years and […]
By Ray Hill Andrew Jackson once said, “A man who is born and reared among this people deserves but little credit for being a soldier and a gentleman, for he can’t help it.” That description fit William Brimage Bate. Bate had certainly lived a full life and had been a soldier, lawyer, newspaperman and politician. […]
By Ray Hill Only nine men have made the transition from governor of Tennessee to United States senator. One of those nine was one of the most successful politicians to take part in Tennessee’s turbulent politics: Andrew Johnson. In fact, Andrew Johnson prospered politically during the Civil War, the most tempestuous time in Tennessee’s history. […]
By Ray Hill All across the nation governors or former governors frequently attempt to make the transition to the United States Senate. Former governor Phil Bredesen, who is running for the Senate this year, is just one such an example. Nor is it particularly odd, at least in Tennessee, for a governor to wait some […]
By Ray Hill Dan Kuykendall (pronounced Kirk-en-dall) was the first Republican to be elected to Congress from West Tennessee since 1882. Kuykendall was also the first Republican to represent E. H. Crump’s former domain of Memphis in the House of Representatives; Kuykendall was also the last Republican to represent the area in Congress. Kuykendall was […]
By Ray Hill After Congressman J. Will Taylor died suddenly on November 14, 1939, there was not unexpectedly, a fight inside the Republican Party to succeed him. The nominee was to be named in a convention by the counties comprising Tennessee’s Second Congressional district and would go on to compete in a special election. There […]
By Ray Hill When Congressman J. Will Taylor died on November 14, 1939, it sent shock waves through Tennessee’s political community. Taylor had long been enormously popular inside Tennessee’s Second Congressional district and “Hillbilly Bill” had exercised considerable influence throughout the state, especially when the GOP dominated the White House. Taylor’s influence lessened somewhat with […]
By Ray Hill Former three-term Prentice Cooper, consigned to the political sidelines following his defeat for the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate by Albert Gore in 1958, lived in the beautiful red brick mansion built by his father in 1904. Cooper shared his home with his wife and three young sons. Evidently Cooper […]
By Ray Hill Prentice Cooper had served as governor of Tennessee for six years, the only man ever to be elected to three consecutive two-year terms in modern history. Cooper’s tenure covered the entire period when the United States was fighting a bloody war all across the globe. Diminutive, less than five and a half […]