By Ray Hill It seems highly unlikely anyone could be elected to any office today if he or she exhibited just a few of the eccentricities that were a part of James Hamilton Lewis.  Lewis was even for his time somewhat eccentric in his appearance and dress, but he...

By Ray Hill Ellison DuRant Smith was one of the more colorful figures in South Carolina’s oftentimes turbulent political history.  It was frequent said, “His name is Ellison DuRant Smith and he sure do rant.”  More commonly, he was known simply as “Cotton Ed.” E. D....

By Ray Hill In a time when the South had some of the most flamboyant politicians in the country, few exceeded Robert Rice Reynolds of North Carolina for his flair.  Over time, Reynolds’s penchant for flair degenerated into buffoonery, a condition few politicians can...

By Ray Hill Walter F. George was, during his time, one of the most respected and powerful members of the United States Senate. Senator George was a man of innate, if not somewhat exaggerated, dignity; even his wife, Miss Lucy, referred to him as “Senator George.”...

By Ray Hill During his time, Alben W. Barkley was one of the most famous public officials in the country. Barkley was renowned for his oratory and could be depended upon to give a rousing speech just about anywhere, at any time and on most any topic. Barkley was the...

By Ray Hill When folks think in terms of Texas and Connally, the late Governor John Connally usually comes to mind, but there was another Connally who enjoyed a much longer political career: Thomas Terry Connally.  Tom Connally was no relation to John Connally and...

By Ray Hill When folks think of successful Irish politicians from Massachusetts, they tend to think in terms of the Kennedys, John and Ted.  Yet the first and most enduring Irish-Catholic politician from Massachusetts was not a Kennedy; it was David Ignatius Walsh. ...

  By Ray Hill On January 29, 1952, Kenneth McKellar celebrated his eighty-third birthday. He had served as Tennessee’s United States Senator for quite nearly thirty-six years after almost six years spent in the House of Representatives. McKellar was photographed...

  By Ray Hill Richard Riedel was a veteran employee of the United States Senate, working almost fifty years in one capacity or another.  Riedel first came to the Senate as a nine-year old Page on September 27, 1918.  At the time, Riedel was in the fourth grade...

  By Ray Hill Kenneth McKellar, Tennessee’s eighty-year-old senior U. S. Senator, had resumed his positions of power and influence inside the Senate. His relations with his new and younger colleague, Estes Kefauver, had not improved. The origin of the dispute had...