F. M. Simmons | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Simmons, 1905–1940 | |
| 27thDean of the United States Senate | |
| In office November 24, 1929 – March 3, 1931 | |
| Preceded by | Francis E. Warren |
| Succeeded by | Reed Smoot |
| United States Senator fromNorth Carolina | |
| In office March 4, 1901 – March 3, 1931 | |
| Preceded by | Marion Butler |
| Succeeded by | Josiah Bailey |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNorth Carolina's2nd district | |
| In office March 4, 1887 – March 3, 1889 | |
| Preceded by | James E. O'Hara |
| Succeeded by | Henry P. Cheatham |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1854-01-20)January 20, 1854 |
| Died | April 30, 1940(1940-04-30) (aged 86) |
| Political party | Democratic |
Furnifold McLendel Simmons (January 20, 1854 – April 30, 1940) was an American politician who served as aDemocratic member of theUnited States House of Representatives from March 4, 1887, to March 4, 1889, andU.S. senator from the state ofNorth Carolina between March 4, 1901, and March 4, 1931. He served as chairman of the powerfulCommittee on Finance from March 4, 1913, to March 4, 1919. He was an unsuccessful contender for the1920 Democratic Party nomination forpresident. Simmons was a staunch segregationist and white supremacist, and a leading perpetrator of theWilmington insurrection of 1898.
Simmons was born inPollocksville, North Carolina, the son of Mary McLendel (Jerman) and Furnifold Greene Simmons.[1][2] After Republicans won control of the North Carolina legislature in 1894, Simmons led efforts to disenfranchise black voters and return Democrats to power across the state. He allied withwhite supremacist newspapers to stoke fears of black men as predators of white women and too incompetent to be trusted as office holders or voters. Simmons also set up hundreds of "White Government Unions," which aimed to "announce on all occasions that they would succeed if they had to shoot every negro in the city."[3] As a result, Democrats swept the 1898 election, and the Wilmington Insurrection of 1898 broke out the following day.
In 1901 Simmons won the Democratic nomination for the US Senate. From his Senate seat, he then ran a powerful political machine, usingA. D. Watts "to keep the machine oiled back home," in the words of one journalist.[4] Simmons remained in office for the next thirty years.
Senator Simmons refused to endorseAl Smith, the Democratic nominee for president in 1928 and the first Catholic nominated by a major party, winning him praise from members of theKu Klux Klan.[5] Still, rejecting the Democratic nominee in 1928, together with theGreat Depression, led to Simmons being defeated in the 1930 Democratic primary byJosiah W. Bailey, who was backed by GovernorO. Max Gardner.
Simmons died on April 30, 1940. He is the last U.S. Senator to have served during the presidency ofWilliam McKinley.
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographical Directory of the United States Congress.Federal government of the United States.
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| First | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromNorth Carolina (Class 2) 1918,1924 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromNorth Carolina's 2nd congressional district March 4, 1887 – March 4, 1889 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. senator (Class 2) from North Carolina March 4, 1901 – March 4, 1931 Served alongside:Jeter Connelly Pritchard,Lee Slater Overman,Cameron A. Morrison | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Boies Penrose Pennsylvania | Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance March 4, 1913 – March 4, 1919 | Succeeded by Boies Penrose Pennsylvania |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by | Dean of the United States Senate November 24, 1929 – March 4, 1931 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Oldest living U.S. senator July 24, 1938 – April 30, 1940 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Most senior living U.S. senator (Sitting or former) October 21, 1938 – April 30, 1940 | Succeeded by |
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| People | |
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