By Ray Hill An imposing statue dominates the State Capitol in Nashville, yet few recognize the figure staring off into the distance, overlooking the street where he was murdered in downtown Nashville. Edward Ward Carmack was by profession a newspaperman, but he was also a successful politician, serving as a Congressman and U. S. […]
By Ray Hill Hill McAlister was governor of Tennessee during one of the most difficult times in our state’s history; McAlister was chief executive of the Volunteer State during the Great Depression. Born July 15, 1875, McAlister was the son of a local judge and attorney and enjoyed a reasonably comfortable upbringing. He attended Vanderbilt […]
By Ray Hill For modern readers it should become quite clear the voting patterns and political preferences of many states have been significantly altered over the passage of time. One such state is Iowa, which was heavily dominated by the Republican Party for decades. Most of the hard fought political contests in Iowa were waged […]
By Ray Hill Jim Nance McCord is yet another figure from Tennessee’s political history who is little remembered today. Yet he was both a Congressman and governor; he also served in the Cabinet of Governor Frank Clement. Jim McCord was born in 1879 in Bedford County, Tennessee. McCord left the family farm when only seventeen […]
By Ray Hill Few politicians enjoyed the lengthy career Hiram W. Johnson carved out in California. Johnson’s time in public office was stormy, yet he remained enduringly popular. By the time of his death in 1945, Hiram Johnson was a living icon in his home state. Johnson was born on September 2, 1866, the […]
By Ray Hill Rixey Smith, Senator Carter Glass’s long-time Secretary, wrote a flattering biography of his boss entitled “Unreconstructed Rebel: Carter Glass” and that Glass certainly was. Indeed, it was President Franklin D. Roosevelt himself who had labeled Glass an “unreconstructed rebel,” emphasizing the Virginian’s frequent dissents from prevailing public policy. Carter Glass was born […]
By Ray Hill For decades the Bankhead family was one of the most politically prominent in the state. Today, perhaps the best-known member of the family is the late actress Tallulah Bankhead, yet Miss Bankhead’s father William was Speaker of the U. S. House of Representatives while her Uncle John was the United States […]
By Ray Hill Few men have lived as colorful and productive a life as did William Gibbs McAdoo, who was, incidentally, a one-time resident of Knoxville. A lawyer, businessman, son-in-law of a President of the United States, member of a President’s Cabinet, U.S. Senator from California, and presidential aspirant, W. G. McAdoo left little […]
By Ray Hill William Edgar Borah was one of the most celebrated members of the United States Senate during his time. Enormously popular in his state of Idaho, Borah was an impressive orator, regularly filling the Senate galleries when he spoke and his speeches were unusual in that his oratory could move colleagues to actually […]
By Ray Hill Few members of the United States Senate had as colorful or stormy a career as Burton Kendall Wheeler of Montana. The fact Wheeler came to represent Montana in the Senate in the first place was an accident of fate, as Wheeler had been born in Hudson, Massachusetts on February 27, 1882. Wheeler […]
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