by Ray Hill | May 6, 2018 | Columnist, Hill, Stories In This Week's Focus:
By Ray Hill Republicans were nowhere near a majority in the state of Tennessee in 1920, although they were briefly a force to be reckoned with when the Democrats were torn asunder by strife. Ben W. Hooper had twice been elected governor in 1910 and 1912 following a...
by Ray Hill | Apr 29, 2018 | Columnist, Hill, Stories In This Week's Focus:
By Ray Hill To give one an idea of what life was like during the 1934 campaign, a lamb shoulder roast was 16 cents per pound; bran flakes were 10 cents a box; two pounds of trout fillet was 25 cents. One store advertised a sale of women’s dresses—seersucker,...
by Ray Hill | Apr 22, 2018 | Columnist, Hill, Stories In This Week's Focus:
By Ray Hill By 1934, Republicans were not much of a factor in statewide elections in Tennessee. The political landscape in the Volunteer State had changed with the resignation of Senator Cordell Hull, who had agreed to serve as Secretary of State in the administration...
by Ray Hill | Apr 15, 2018 | Columnist, Hill, Stories In This Week's Focus:
By Ray Hill Clearly, one of the most important and powerful positions in the American system of government is Speaker of the U. S. House of Representatives. The last Tennessean to occupy this vital post was Joseph W. Byrns. Joseph Wellington Byrns was born July 20,...
by Ray Hill | Apr 8, 2018 | Columnist, Hill, Stories In This Week's Focus:
By Ray Hill From 1931 until 1947, the Republican Party had suffered shattering defeats largely brought on by the Great Depression. Following the 1936 election, where GOP presidential candidate Alf Landon only won the electoral votes of Vermont and Maine, Republicans...
by Ray Hill | Apr 2, 2018 | Columnist, Hill, Stories In This Week's Focus:
By Ray Hill Reed Smoot is a name long since forgotten by most, save for those few who remember the Smoot – Hawley tariff legislation. Yet, Reed Smoot was the first Mormon ever to be elected to the United States Senate, setting off a firestorm that consumed much of...
