The Fall of Congressman John Jennings, III By Ray Hill John Jennings had represented Tennessee’s Second Congressional District since 1940 and as 1950 dawned, the congressman faced the greatest threat to his continued tenure in office in a decade. Carroll Reece, who...

The Fall of Congressman John Jennings, II By Ray Hill Guy Smith, editor of the Knoxville Journal, was left seething with anger following the 1948 election. For the first time since 1916, Tennessee Republicans had nominated serious candidates for both the governorship...

The Fall of Congressman John Jennings, I For the decade from 1940-1951, the congressman from Tennessee’s reliably Republican Second Congressional District was John Jennings.  Bald on top, bespectacled, a very good speaker and an equally good lawyer who had once served...

Carroll Reece and Jimmy Quillen By Ray Hill From 1921 until 1997, two men occupied the seat in the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee’s First District, with the exception of six years.  Carroll Reece served 36 years, as did Jimmy Quillen; however, Reece’s...

The Gentleman From Connecticut: William J. Miller By Ray Hill William Jennings Miller made the most of his short life, fighting for his country, overcoming a serious handicap at a time when there were little or no concessions to people with disabilities, and serving...

The Gentleman From Minnesota: Melvin Maas By Ray Hill I would be surprised if a single reader has ever heard of Melvin J. Maas, but his was a truly remarkable life.  A pilot during both World Wars, Maas was at various times a soldier, a congressman and a businessman. ...

A Missionary In Politics: Walter Judd of Minnesota By Ray Hill Walter Judd lived a remarkable life, long in years and purpose. Judd was by profession a doctor and a good one. Judd was also a man of deep and abiding faith who worked as a medical missionary amongst the...

‘Sunny Jim’ James E. Watson of Indiana By Ray Hill For half a century, James Eli Watson was an important factor in Indiana politics. For most of that time, Watson occupied a seat in either the U.S. House of Representatives or the United States Senate. A jovial fellow...

The Gentleman From Oregon: Rufus Holman By Ray Hill Oftentimes the success of a candidate for public office has as much to do with the particular times, the mood of the public at a given moment. One of the advantages of being a United States senator is the length of a...

The Senator From Arkansas John L. McClellan By Ray Hill John Little McClellan remains the longest serving United States senator from Arkansas.  Not one to waste words, John L. McClellan had the appearance of a fierce church elder merely waiting to spot the first...