by Ray Hill | Aug 10, 2014 | Archives, Columnist, Hill, Ray Hill's Archives
By Ray Hill One of the lesser-known political dynasties in the country was birthed in the hollows and coal fields of West Virginia. The Kee family dominated the politics of Bluefield, West Virginia and father, mother, and son represented the Fifth Congressional...
by Ray Hill | Aug 3, 2014 | Archives, Columnist, Hill, Ray Hill's Archives
By Ray Hill Tennessee has been quite fortunate in oftentimes having an excellent Congressional delegation. The landscape and economic condition of Tennessee would be much different had it not been for the ability of some of our Congressional delegation to...
by Ray Hill | Jul 27, 2014 | Archives, Columnist, Hill, Ray Hill's Archives
By Ray Hill For years, Ben W. Hooper was the most successful Republican politician in the state of Tennessee, if the measure was the ability to win a statewide election. A fiery and dynamic speaker, Hooper was a successful lawyer, yet he had overcome serious adversity...
by Ray Hill | Jul 13, 2014 | Archives, Columnist, Hill
By Ray Hil By the decade of the 1940s, E. H. Crump, master of the Shelby County political machine, completely dominated Tennessee politics in partnership with Senator Kenneth D. McKellar. Many historians have made the mistake of overestimating Crump’s influence and...
by Ray Hill | Jul 6, 2014 | Archives, Columnist, Hill, Ray Hill's Archives
By Ray Hill Governor Gordon Browning had unleashed a fierce assault on the Memphis political machine, as well as its leader, E. H. Crump. Browning proposed to institute a county unit bill to render the huge voting majorities produced in Shelby County meaningless in...
by Ray Hill | Jun 29, 2014 | Archives, Columnist, Hill, Ray Hill's Archives, Stories In This Week's Focus:
By Ray Hill Edward Hull Crump, in partnership with U. S. Senator Kenneth McKellar, began his domination of Tennessee politics in 1932. Crump was then a member of Congress, although he served for only four years. The Memphis Boss announced he would not be a candidate...
