John H. Bankhead Jr.

John Hollis Bankhead II (June 1938)

John Hollis Bankhead II (born July 8, 1872 in Lamar County , Alabama , † June 12, 1946 in Bethesda , Maryland ) was an American politician who was politically active for the state of Alabama in the United States Senate .

Life

John Hollis Bankhead belonged to an influential political family; his father, John H. Bankhead, was, like his son, a United States Senator from Alabama; Bankhead's brother William B. Bankhead was a member of the US House of Representatives and its speaker from 1936 to 1940 . Bankhead's niece Tallulah Bankhead enjoyed success as a film actress .

Bankhead, who grew up on a farm, attended compulsory schools in Wetumpka and Fayette . He then enrolled at the University of Alabama , where he studied law. After graduating in 1891, he studied political science at Georgetown University in Washington, DC He gained his first political experience as an intern in the office of his father, who was still a member of the House of Representatives at the time. After receiving his license to practice law in the state of Alabama in 1893, he moved to Jasper where he began practicing law.

On December 26, 1894, he and Musa Harkins stepped in front of the altar, a woman with whom he had been friends since school. Over time, the couple had three children, son Walter Will and daughters Marion and Louise.

As a lawyer, Bankhead mostly represented companies, including the railroad and coal mines. In 1901 he represented his district, Walker County , at the Constitutional Convention in Montgomery . Here he became known nationwide to a wide range of voters. In 1903 he ran as a member of the Democratic Party with success for a seat in the House of Representatives from Alabama , which, however, only served for one legislative period, from 1904 to 1905. With his father and brother, Bankhead acquired the Caledonia Coal Company , a company they renamed the Bankhead Coal Company . Bankhead was its president from 1911 to 1925.

In 1926, Bankhead ran for a seat in the US Senate for the first time, but was defeated by the Democrat Hugo Black in the party primaries . Four years later, in 1930, he tried again, but this time was more successful. On March 4, 1931, he was sworn in as a senator in his new office. Then Democrat James Thomas Heflin appealed the election results on the grounds that the primaries were unfair and that he was eligible for the Senate seat in place of Bankhead. After a nearly two-year stalemate, in which a subcommittee of the Senate had to decide, the election result was confirmed in favor of bankheads.

Since Alabama in the so-called Great Depression particularly hard by the global economic crisis had affected, Bankhead sat for a rapid reaction of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal one. He also campaigned for farmers and farmers in his political work. In the early 1940s, it was thanks to Bankhead that agricultural research facilities were established in Alabama, creating jobs. Bankhead was also involved in education for the children of farmers and, thanks to his negotiating skills, was able to transfer a lot of money from the federal budget to Alabama. On the other hand, Bankhead was also a typical southern politician who spoke out against the civil rights of African Americans .

In 1944, at the Federal Democratic Party Congress, Bankhead was given a good chance of becoming President Roosevelt's US vice-presidential candidate. Nevertheless, Bankhead withdrew his candidacy, so that US Senator Harry S. Truman found himself on the ticket.

On May 24, 1946, after a long day at work, Senator Bankhead suffered a severe stroke from which he never recovered. He was taken to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, where he died three weeks later, at the age of 73.

Like his father, he was elected a US Senator three times, and like John H. Bankhead Sr., Bankhead Jr. died during his tenure.

Web links

• John H. Bankhead junior in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)