Henry Hollis Horton

Henry Hollis Horton (1930)

Henry Hollis Horton (born February 17, 1866 in Princeton , Jackson County , Alabama , † July 2, 1934 in Chapel Hill , Tennessee ) was an American politician and the 40th governor of the state of Tennessee.

Early years and political advancement

Horton graduated from Winchester College in 1888 and then studied law until 1892 at the University of the South at Sewanee , like most of the other later governors of Tennessee. He practiced law in Marshall County and began a political career when he became school district director. From 1907 to 1909 he served a term in the Tennessee House of Representatives for the Democratic Party . He was also a councilor in Winchester . In the following years until 1926 he was again working as a lawyer and farmer in Marshall County. His farm became today's Henry Horton State Park . In 1926, Horton was elected to the Tennessee Senate. There he immediately became chairman ( speaker ). This office was equivalent to the duties of a lieutenant governor . When the incumbent governor Austin Peay died in office in 1927, his post automatically fell to him.

Governor of Tennessee

It was Horton's job to end the term of office of his predecessor. At the time, the country's Democratic Party was split into two factions. One stood behind the late Governor Peay, the other was ruled by the former but still powerful Mayor of Memphis, Edward Crump . Since Horton did not have enough personal experience to exercise the office of governor, he sought help from Luke Lea , a former US senator . Lea owned several newspapers and worked in the banking and real estate business. He was also involved in various other ventures. Lea, like Horton a Prohibitionist , had supported Governor Peay's policies and was a rival of Crump. It soon turned out that Lea was using his consulting work for her own purposes. He took advantage of the strong position of governor created under Peay and ruled the government through Horton. Lea could appoint or dismiss members of the government at her own discretion. In doing so, he used the same means as his rival Crump in Memphis. Governor Horton was becoming more and more of Lea's front man. The latter, in turn, had a close business relationship with a banker named Rogers Caldwell. Lea gave road works to companies owned by Caldwell without public tenders and also invested public money in Caldwell's companies and banks.

When the next elections were due in 1928 Lea found it easy to get Horton re-elected with the help of her own media. Until then, the state had not suffered too much damage from the ongoing economic upswing. Tennessee still benefited from Peay's policies. Lea's rival Crump was reluctant to see this development. He reached a compromise with Lea, who promised to stay out of Crump's affairs in Memphis; he wanted to support Horton in re-election in 1930. So Horton could easily be re-elected.

Since the New York stock market crash of October 1929, dark clouds have also moved over Tennessee. The day after the 1930 election, the Caldwell empire collapsed. With that, almost seven million dollars that Lea had invested in Caldwell disappeared from the state budget of Tennessee in one day. The Tennessee Parliament now set up a committee of inquiry, as a result of which Lea and Caldwell were indicted. Horton was accused of complicity and impeachment was being considered . Crump was one of the most ardent advocates of impeachment. Ironically, this saved the governor's office, because many MPs saw one vote for Horton's impeachment as a vote for Crump. But Crump and his political machinations were viewed by many as no better than Leaa's. Parliament voted 58:41 against impeachment.

End of life and death

However, after these events, Horton could not run again in 1932. He resigned from office and retired to his home at Chapel Hill, where he died of a stroke in 1934. The events of his tenure made him inglorious in Tennessee history.

Web links

• Henry Horton in the National Governors Association (English)
• The governors of Tennessee (English)
• Henry Hollis Horton in the database of Find a Grave (English)