James W. Wadsworth of New York By Ray Hill The name James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr. is rather reminiscent of “Gilligan’s Island” and Thurston Howell III. To say that James Wadsworth was well-connected is likely a gross understatement. His grandfather, James S. Wadsworth,...

By Ray Hill For twenty-eight years, the Fourth Congressional District of Michigan was represented in Congress by Clare E. Hoffman. Known for his acerbic wit, Hoffman was oftentimes characterized as being cantankerous, but when he died, there were constant comments...

By Ray Hill During the eighty-one years that comprised the life of Dewey Jackson Short, folks knew he was here. Short was a true son of the hill country of the Ozarks and a gifted speaker who could hold his audiences spellbound, sometimes referred to as the “Hillbilly...

Harold Knutson of Minnesota By Ray Hill By 1948, Harold Knutson had been in Congress for thirty-two years.  Knutson, a Republican, had risen to perhaps the highest position a congressman could aspire to outside of the speakership; Knutson chaired the immensely...

The Last Campaign: Overton vs. Orgill, Part III By Ray Hill The death of Edward Hull Crump on October 16, 1954, changed Shelby County and Memphis politics forever.  As Memphis was on the cusp of the first mayoral election without the influence of E. H. Crump in half a...

By Ray Hill Virtually anything can happen in politics.  The fight for one man, one vote had finally brought about a change in reapportionment, giving urban counties more representation, since districts were drawn according to population.  The rural domination of...

By Ray Hill Watkins Overton had been the longest-serving mayor of Memphis when he had been called back to office in 1949.  Overton was easily reelected to a four-year term in 1951.  Once again, Overton was thwarted by the personal pique of Edward Hull Crump.  A...

By Ray Hill It is truly rare for a politician to be a fixture of the politics of his or her community, state or nation. It does happen, but those political figures whose influence and or service span generations are rare. Ken Hechler was one of those scarce...

The Last Campaign: Overton vs. Orgill By Ray Hill The story of Samuel Watkins Overton is as interesting as it was turbulent.  Overton came from one of Tennessee’s most aristocratic families; his great-great-grandfather John Overton was one of the Volunteer State’s...

By Ray Hill Henry Clay Evans had been elected to Congress from Tennessee’s Third Congressional District in 1888 as a Republican.  His victory had been a profound shock to local Democrats who promptly gerrymandered his district and castigated the congressman for his...