Hugh M. Dorsey

Hugh Manson Dorsey (born July 10, 1871 in Fayetteville , Georgia , † June 11, 1948 in Atlanta , Georgia) was an American lawyer, politician ( Democratic Party ) and governor of the state of Georgia.

Early years and political advancement

Hugh Dorsey was the son of Rufus Dorsey and Matilda Bennett. His father was a well-known lawyer. After the usual elementary schools, Hugh studied at the University of Georgia (1889-93) and then at the University of Virginia law. Upon graduation, he became an attorney with the law firm Dorsey, Brewster and Howell - the law firm his father was a partner in. He later became a partner there himself. In 1910, he was appointed District Attorney for the Atlanta Judicial District, succeeding his predecessor, who had died in office.

The Leo Frank case

In 1913 the body of the murdered Mary Phagan was found in the basement of a pencil factory in Atlanta. Your Jewish boss Leo Frank was accused of the act. In the trial that followed, Dorsey represented the prosecution. The negotiation itself was characterized by an anti-Semitic mood, which was brought into the process from outside by the conservative and reactionary Congressman Thomas E. Watson . Because of this mood, Dorsey was able to easily win this process, making himself popular with the influential Watson. When outgoing Governor John Slaton reduced Frank's sentence in 1915 , Watson fueled public opinion against Frank. A mob stormed the prison, took control of Frank and eventually lynched him.

Georgia Governor

Through the Frank trial and with the help of Watson, Dorsey gained national recognition, which he used in 1916 for a successful candidacy for governor. During his tenure, the electoral system in Georgia was reformed in favor of the rural areas. With a new labor law, he wanted to compensate for the short-term lost work caused by the war. He began a comprehensive and long overdue school reform. In 1918 he was confirmed in office. A re-election in 1920 was not possible according to the constitution, so he had applied for the post of US Senator in Washington before the end of the legislature . In this case, he ran against his former ally Watson, whose radical views, especially with regard to his racial hatred, he no longer shared. He did not find a majority in what was then Georgia. He was defeated by Watson and ended his tenure as governor in Atlanta.

On leaving office, he published a pamphlet condemning the treatment of blacks in Georgia; he called for an end to lynching in the affected districts, tougher measures against such crimes and a state commission to investigate all kinds of violence. He also called for better education for African Americans in his state. He saw the Georgia system at the time as an eyesore on the world. These suggestions were, however, decades ahead of their time and could not be realized in Georgia around 1920, all the less since the Ku Klux Klan gained power and influence in this state over the next few years .

Old age and death

After leaving office in early 1921, Dorsey returned to practice as a lawyer. From 1926 to 1935 he was a judge in the Atlanta Municipal Court, and thereafter he was a Chief Justice in the Atlanta Judicial District. He died in Atlanta in June 1948 and was buried in Westview Cemetery.

Since 1911 Dorsey was married to Adair Wilkinson, with whom he had two children.

literature

• James F. Cook: The Governors of Georgia, 1754-2004. 3rd edition, revised and expanded. Mercer University Press, Macon GA 2005, ISBN 0-86554-954-0 .
• Leo Dinnerstein: The Leo Frank Case. University of Georgia Press, Athens GA 1966 (Reprint. Ibid 1987, ISBN 0-8203-0965-6 ).
• Amanda Johnson: Georgia as Colony and State. Walter W. Brown, Atlanta GA 1938.
• Steve Oney: And the Dead Shall Rise. The Murder of Mary Phagan and the Lynching of Leo Frank. Pantheon Books, New York NY 2003, ISBN 0-679-42147-5 .

Web links

• The New Georgia Encyclopedia (English)
• Hugh M. Dorsey in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• Hugh Dorsey in the National Governors Association (English)