Furnifold McLendel Simmons

Furnifold McLendel Simmons (born January 20, 1854 in Pollocksville , Jones County , North Carolina , † April 30, 1940 in New Bern , North Carolina) was an American politician ( Democratic Party ) who represented the state of North Carolina in both chambers of the Congress represented.

Lawyer and Congressman

Furnifold McLendel Simmons was born on his father's plantation in eastern North Carolina. He attended private school and Wake Forest College before graduating from Trinity College in Durham in 1873 . He then studied law , was admitted to the bar in 1875 and began practicing law in New Bern the following year.

On March 4, 1887, Simmons moved to the United States House of Representatives as a member of the North Carolina Second Electoral District . He spent a two-year term there, but succumbed to Republican Henry P. Cheatham when attempting re-election , making him the only African-American member of Congress at the beginning of its 51st session. In 1890 Simmons ran again, but had no chance, especially since the majority of Democrats supported the candidate James M. Mewborne. But this also lost to Cheatham.

During this time, Simmons was again working as a lawyer in New Bern. In 1893, US President Grover Cleveland appointed him the Collector of Internal Revenue for the fourth district of North Carolina, which he remained until 1897. From 1898 to 1900 he headed the Democratic Party in his state, setting out a strategy of white supremacy . As a result of this policy, North Carolina's African-American population was denied the right to vote for half a century.

US Senator

Even after his election as a US Senator in 1900, Simmons remained the leading head of his party at the state level. While in Washington, DC , AD Watts , a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives , served as his advocate. Simmons entered the Senate on March 4, 1901 and was able to exercise his mandate until March 3, 1931, after being re-elected several times. During this period he was chairman of the influential finance committee from 1913 to 1919 ; he also chaired a number of other committees.

In the run-up to the presidential election in 1920 , Simmons tried to nominate his party for the highest office in the state. But even before the Democratic National Convention he had no chance of running. When Al Smith ran for the Democratic presidency in 1928 , Simmons refused to support him. This fact, together with the effects of the Great Depression, meant that in 1930 he lost the Democratic Primary for his Senate seat to Josiah William Bailey , who was supported by Governor Oliver Max Gardner . Simmons returned to New Bern, where he died in April 1940. Since July 1938, he had been the oldest surviving former US senator.

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personal data
SURNAME	Simmons, Furnifold McLendel
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American politician
DATE OF BIRTH	January 20, 1854
PLACE OF BIRTH	near Pollocksville , North Carolina
DATE OF DEATH	April 30, 1940
Place of death	New Bern , North Carolina