Robert Love Taylor

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Robert Love Taylor signature

Robert Love Taylor (born July 31, 1850 in Carter County , Tennessee , † March 31, 1912 in Washington, DC ) was an American politician and multiple governor of Tennessee. He also represented this state in both chambers of Congress .

Early years and political advancement

Taylor was born into a family of politicians. His uncle was Speaker of the Tennessee Parliament, his father Nathaniel Green Taylor was a member of the United States House of Representatives and Commissioner of Indian Affairs under President Andrew Johnson . When the Civil War broke out, the family left Tennessee and moved to Washington via Philadelphia . In 1869, after Johnson's presidency ended, the family moved to Happy Valley, Tennessee. Robert attended Pennington Seminary in New Jersey and the Buffalo Institute in Milligan and earned the money he needed by helping out on farms or in the logging business. He then studied law in Jonesboro and was admitted to the bar in 1878. He practiced in Elizabethton and Jonesboro.

His political career also began in 1878 when he was elected to the House of Representatives in Washington for the Democratic Party . There he only served one term from 1879 to 1881 because he could not defend his seat in the next election. Another attempt to return to Congress also failed in 1882; Taylor is the last Democrat to date to move into the US House of Representatives for Tennessee's first congressional electoral district. In the meantime he devoted himself to his law firm and tried unsuccessfully in the newspaper business. In the presidential election of 1884 he was elector for Grover Cleveland in Electoral College ; a little later he was given the post of pension agent in Knoxville .

Governor of Tennessee

In 1887 Taylor became a Democratic candidate for the Tennessee gubernatorial election. His opponent was, of all people, his own brother Alfred , who belonged to the Republican Party . The election campaign has been called the "Tennessee version" of the English Wars of the Roses of the 15th century. In fact, the supporters of both parties wore a red and a white rose. Robert Taylor eventually won the election. His brother was also elected governor in 1920, eight years after Robert's death.

Robert Taylor had a total of three terms as governor. The first two were related and lasted from 1887 to 1891, later the term of office from 1897 to 1899 followed. Outstanding events during his term of office were a tightening of the poll tax . This made it more and more difficult for poor people to exercise the right to vote that was linked to taxes. A prohibition law for Tennessee was withdrawn. In his final term in 1897, the great Tennessee Exposition was held to mark the state's centenary. The celebration would actually have been due in 1896, but for organizational reasons it could not take place until 1897.

Old age and death

After the end of his first two terms, his health was in poor health, but he recovered quickly and made a living as a lawyer in Chattanooga and lecturing. The same thing was repeated after the end of his last term in office in 1899. Several attempts to be elected to the US Congress failed before he succeeded in 1907 in gaining a seat in the US Senate . He stayed there until his death on March 31, 1912.

literature

  • Robert Sobel and John Raimo (Eds.): Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978 . Volume 4, Meckler Books, Westport 1978. 4 volumes.
  • The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Vol. 8. James T. White & Company, New York.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Taylor, Robert Love
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH July 31, 1850
PLACE OF BIRTH Carter County , Tennessee
DATE OF DEATH March 31, 1912
Place of death Washington, DC