Charles Thomas | |
|---|---|
 | |
| United States Senator fromColorado | |
| In office January 15, 1913 – March 3, 1921 | |
| Preceded by | Charles J. Hughes Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Samuel D. Nicholson |
| 11thGovernor of Colorado | |
| In office January 10, 1899 – January 8, 1901 | |
| Lieutenant | Francis Patrick Carney |
| Preceded by | Alva Adams |
| Succeeded by | James B. Orman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Charles Spalding Thomas (1849-12-06)December 6, 1849 Darien, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | June 24, 1934(1934-06-24) (aged 84) |
| Party | Democratic |
| Education | University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (LLB) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Confederate States |
| Branch/service |  Confederate States Army |
| Rank | Private |
| Unit |  Georgia State Militia[1] |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Charles Spalding Thomas (December 6, 1849 – June 24, 1934) was a Confederate soldier and laterUnited States senator fromColorado. Born inDarien, Georgia, he attended private schools in Georgia andConnecticut, and served briefly in theConfederate Army.
Thomas graduated from the law department of theUniversity of Michigan atAnn Arbor in 1871, and was admitted to thebar the same year. He moved to Colorado and began to practice inDenver, where he was a city attorney in 1875 and 1876. He was a member of theDemocratic National Committee from 1884 to 1896, and was an unsuccessful candidate for election to theUnited States House of Representatives in 1884, to the Senate in 1888 and 1895, and to thegovernorship in 1894.
Thomas served as the 11th Governor of Colorado from 1899 to 1901. In 1897, Colorado hadabolished the death penalty, but Thomas consideredlynching an understandable substitute. In 1900, when a lynch mob murdered Calvin Kimblern, Thomas called it "a natural outburst of indignation of the people of Pueblo" and blamed the lack of a death penalty for the murder.[2] Six months later, a mob surrounded Denver's jail seeking tolynch 15-year-old Preston Porter. Thomas was informed but declined to intervene. "As a matter of fact, hanging is too good for that man," he told reporters. The spirit of the lynch law is with the people, and will remain in them just as long as the Anglo-Saxon exists."[3] After Porter was burned alive by a mob, when Thomas was asked to comment on the lynching, he said, "My opinion is that there is one less negro in the world."[4] Colorado reinstated the death penalty soon thereafter.[2]
In 1913, Thomas was elected as aDemocrat to the United States Senate in 1912 to fill the vacancy caused by the death ofCharles J. Hughes, Jr.; in1914, he was narrowly reelected to a full term in the face of split opposition. Thomas served from January 15, 1913, to March 3, 1921, and was the last Confederate veteran to serve in the Senate.[5] In 1920, he was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection as an independent due to his opposition to theLeague of Nations, receiving only 3% of the vote.[6][7]
In the Sixty-third and Sixty-fourth Congresses, Thomas was chairman of the Committee on Woman Suffrage, and a member of the Committee on Coast Defenses (Sixty-fifth Congress) and the Committee on Pacific Railroads (Sixty-sixth Congress). He resumed the practice of law in Denver, where he died on June 24, 1934; his remains were cremated and his ashes were scattered in the mountains.
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Colorado 1894 | Succeeded by Alva Adams |
| Preceded by Alva Adams | Democratic nominee for Governor of Colorado 1898 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Keynote Speaker of theDemocratic National Convention 1900 | Succeeded by |
| First | Democratic nominee for United States Senator fromColorado (Class 3) 1914 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Colorado 1899–1901 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 3) from Colorado 1913–1921 Served alongside:Simon Guggenheim,John F. Shafroth,Lawrence C. Phipps | Succeeded by |
| Class 2 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 3 | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
