By Ray Hill Clearly, one of the most important and powerful positions in the American system of government is Speaker of the U. S. House of Representatives. The last Tennessean to occupy this vital post was Joseph W. Byrns. Joseph Wellington Byrns was born July 20, 1869 in Cedar Hill, Tennessee. Byrns graduated from Vanderbilt […]
By Ray Hill From 1931 until 1947, the Republican Party had suffered shattering defeats largely brought on by the Great Depression. Following the 1936 election, where GOP presidential candidate Alf Landon only won the electoral votes of Vermont and Maine, Republicans in the House of Representatives constituted only 88 members. Throughout the decade of the […]
By Ray Hill Reed Smoot is a name long since forgotten by most, save for those few who remember the Smoot – Hawley tariff legislation. Yet, Reed Smoot was the first Mormon ever to be elected to the United States Senate, setting off a firestorm that consumed much of his first six-year term. Fear and […]
By Ray Hill Most Knoxvillians have heard of the Webb School, but few remember William Robert Webb, the founder and headmaster of the first Webb School. R. Webb was a formidable character by any standard; he was a professional educator throughout his life, as well as a community activist and briefly, served as United States […]
By Ray Hill Perhaps the best lesson for aspiring politicians is that fame and success are fleeting; despite whatever heights one might attain, once out of office, one usually receives little attention and it is not long before one is forgotten. How many Tennesseans remember Congressman Joe L. Evins? Likely very few, but Joe L. […]
By Ray Hill While now an apparently Republican “red” state, Texas was once solidly Democratic. Like Tennessee, Texas has produced some interesting political personalities; Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn, Senator Tom Connally, Governor John Connally (no relation to Tom), Governor Ann Richards, George Bush and not least of all, Lyndon Baines Johnson. Ralph Yarborough […]
By Ray Hill New Mexico entered the union on January 6, 1912 and it became fertile ground for rough and tumble politics that swung from the outrageous to the brutal. Elections routinely were influenced by money and there were frequent charges of voter fraud. One of New Mexico’s first U. S. senators was Albert […]
By Ray Hill Every state in the nation has seen the rise of a particular politician who comes from nowhere to capture the imagination and votes of citizens; some are demagogues, others are reformers and many are just plain showmen. Wilbert Lee O’Daniel of Texas may have been a little bit of all three. […]
By Ray Hill Joseph Lister Hill did not emerge from the hills of Alabama, nor did he have to rise above poverty; in fact he was born into a well-to-do family. Hill’s father was Dr. Luther Leonidas Hill and the future senator was named for his father’s friend, Dr. Joseph Lister, who pioneered the […]
Tennessee Senator Bill Frist was not the first physician to serve in the United States Senate; almost sixty years before Dr. Frist took the oath of office, a physician left the Senate through death. Royal S. Copeland was an unusual person and for that matter, an unusual sort of physician, especially for the times. Born […]
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