By Ray Hill After Congress had adjourned in 1933, Edward Hull Crump, congressman from Tennessee’s Tenth District, took his wife on a three-month tour of Europe. The Crumps returned on September 26, 1933 and the Congressman stopped off in his Washington office to clear off his desk. Crump had a talk with James A. Farley, […]
By Ray Hill Edward Hull Crump, leader of the Shelby County political machine and congressman from Tennessee’s Tenth District, had been a strong and early supporter of New York governor Franklin D. Roosevelt for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1932. Crump was one of several prominent Tennesseans who worked hard for Roosevelt’s nomination, including senators […]
By Ray Hill Edward H. Crump, undisputed leader of the Shelby County machine and congressman from Tennessee’s Tenth District, was the primary focus during an especially bitter battle for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 1932. Former governor Malcolm Patterson, a highly tarnished figure and seventy-one years old, had the support of the administration of Governor […]
By Ray Hill Edward H. Crump, leader of the Shelby County political machine, had decided to go to Congress in 1930. The incumbent, Hubert Fisher, had not been ready to retire despite the fact he was quite nearly entirely deaf. Relations between Crump and his long-time friend Senator Kenneth McKellar were strained as the Memphis […]
By Ray Hill Edward Hull Crump, master of the machine that ruled Memphis and Shelby County for decades, held a variety of elected offices – – – Mayor of Memphis, county Trustee, but most have forgotten he was also elected to Congress. Elective office was not essential to either Crump’s rule or ego; in […]
By Ray Hill For so many of us, members of Congress from other states are of little interest, yet so many of those faceless individuals have compelling stories and remain in the House of Representatives for decades, accruing seniority and power. Robert Crosser served in Congress for thirty-eight years and it would likely have been […]
By Ray Hill There were several Congressional districts across the country largely populated by immigrants. There were districts in New York City with a heavy Italian population, while similar districts in Illinois and Michigan were inhabited by Polish citizens. Across the Midwest there were states where German-Americans were an important constituency. Most of the Congressional […]
By Ray Hill In February of 1945, a war weary and sick Franklin D. Roosevelt was on his way to Crimea in the Soviet Union. Technically in the Ukraine, the Crimea is on a peninsula on the northern coast of the Black Sea and was once the playground of the Russian Czars and other royalty […]
By Ray Hill The son of Polish immigrants, Sol Bloom was at various times a theatre impresario, real estate magnate, composer and long-time congressman. Bloom was deeply interested in foreign affairs in the House of Representatives and finally achieved his ambition of becoming Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee where he was profoundly concerned […]
By Ray Hill President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, coming off his greatest reelection campaign, had announced he was submitting legislation to Congress to expand the United State Supreme Court. Roosevelt’s proposal was widely and bitterly attacked in much of the press and despite huge Democratic majorities in both Houses of Congress, many Democrats were openly opposed […]
The opinions expressed by Focus columnists and those providing comments are theirs alone, and may not reflect the opinions of The Knoxville Focus or any employee thereof.