Gordon Browning | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 38th Governor of Tennessee | |
| In office January 16, 1949 – January 15, 1953 | |
| Preceded by | Jim Nance McCord |
| Succeeded by | Frank G. Clement |
| In office January 15, 1937 – January 16, 1939 | |
| Preceded by | Hill McAlister |
| Succeeded by | Prentice Cooper |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromTennessee | |
| In office March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1935 | |
| Preceded by | Willa Eslick |
| Succeeded by | Herron C. Pearson |
| Constituency | 7th district |
| In office March 4, 1923 – March 3, 1933 | |
| Preceded by | Lon Scott |
| Succeeded by | Jere Cooper |
| Constituency | 8th district |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1889-11-22)November 22, 1889 Carroll County, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Died | May 23, 1976(1976-05-23) (aged 86) Huntingdon, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Resting place | Oak Hill Cemetery, Huntingdon, Tennessee |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Profession | Attorney |
| Awards |  Legion of Merit[1] |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1917–1919 1943–1947[2] |
| Rank |  Lieutenant colonel |
| Battles/wars | World War I World War II |
Gordon Weaver Browning (November 22, 1889 – May 23, 1976) was an American politician who served as the 38thgovernor of Tennessee from 1937 to 1939, and again from 1949 to 1953. He also served six terms in theU.S. House of Representatives, from 1923 to 1935, and was Chancellor of Tennessee's Eighth Chancery District in the 1940s. As governor, he stabilized state finances, doubled the state's mileage of paved roads, and enacted legislation to curb voter fraud. His victory in the hard-fought 1948 gubernatorial campaign helped break the power of Memphis political bossE. H. Crump.[3]
In the years followingWorld War II, Browning served in theAllied occupational government in Germany, and was a civil affairs advisor on the staff of GeneralDwight D. Eisenhower.[2]
Browning was born nearAtwood inCarroll County, Tennessee, the son of James and Melissa (Brooks) Browning. When he was still young, his parents moved toMilan, Tennessee, where his father served as ajustice of the peace.[1] He grew up in the historicBrowning House.[4] After graduating from Milan High School in 1908, Browning enrolled inValparaiso University in Indiana, where he earned tuition money waiting tables. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science and aBachelor of Pedagogy in 1913.[5]
Browning taught school briefly before enrolling in theCumberland School of Law inLebanon, Tennessee. He graduated in 1915, and was admitted to thebar shortly afterward. In March 1915, he began practicing in the law office of George McCall inHuntingdon, Tennessee, in his native Carroll County.[1]
In June 1917, after the U.S. entry intoWorld War I, Browning enlisted in the Tennessee National Guard as a 2nd lieutenant in Company D of the First Tennessee Field Artillery. This unit was activated as the 114th Field Artillery of the30th Infantry Division, under the command of GeneralLawrence Tyson. Browning was promoted tocaptain, and transferred to Company A. He fought with the unit in northernFrance, and was cited for gallantry.[5]
After being discharged in 1919, Browning resumed practice of law in Huntingdon. In 1920, he ran for the8th district seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, but lost to his former law school classmate,Lon Scott, by a 50% to 49% margin.[5][6] He ran again in 1922, and was victorious. He represented this district for five consecutive terms (frequently running unopposed), and represented the7th district for one term (1933–1935) following redistricting. During his final term in the House, Browning was one of the "managers" (prosecutors) in the impeachment hearings of California judgeHarold Louderback.[2]
In 1934, Browning sought the Democratic Party nomination for the U.S. Senate seat that had been vacated whenCordell Hull resigned to becomeSecretary of State. His chief opponent wasNathan L. Bachman, who had been temporarily appointed to the seat. Bachman had the support of Memphis political bossE. H. Crump, who was at the height of his power after the downfall of his rival,Luke Lea, and Browning struggled with voters inEast Tennessee. He was defeated by Bachman, 166,293 votes to 121,169.[7]
In 1936, incumbent GovernorHill McAlister angered Crump by proposing a state sales tax, and did not seek reelection. Browning sought the party's nomination, his chief opponent beingCampbell County school superintendent Burgin Dossett. Crump initially proclaimed neutrality, but when it became clear Browning could win with or without theShelby County vote, he endorsed Browning.[5] Browning coasted to victory in the primary, and defeated the Republican candidate, Pat Thach, 332,523 votes to 77,392 in the general election.[8]
Browning had campaigned on cleaning up state government, getting the debt (which had skyrocketed to over $100 million by the time he took office) under control, and maintaining statewide prohibition (national prohibition had ended with the repeal of the18th Amendment). In 1937, he signed the Debt Reorganization Act, which consolidated the state's debt, and enacted several taxes. Over the next 10 years, these efforts reduced the state's debt by 40%.[3] He also created the Department of Conservation (now theTennessee Department of Environment and Conservation), implemented the state portions of several federal programs aimed at providingDepression-era relief, and created a civil service merit system.[3]
In April 1937, Senator Bachman (who had defeated Browning for the Senate seat in 1934) died in office. Browning engineered a plan that would have allowed him to take Bachman's seat, while helping Crump to defeatKenneth McKellar for the other seat, and allowing Lewis S. Pope to become governor. The plan never materialized, however, as Crump refused to run against his longtime friend, McKellar. Furthermore, Browning had angered Crump by appointing several of Luke Lea's former associates to government positions, while ignoring Crump's requests for appointments.[3][5] Browning appointedGeorge L. Berry to finish Bachman's term.
In 1938,Prentice Cooper, with Crump's endorsement, challenged Browning for the party's nomination for governor. After learning that Crump had registered over 100,000 voters in Shelby County, Browning sought to replace the primary system with a "county unit" system, which would equalize votes by county, thereby reducing the influence of Shelby. The bill passed, but was declared unconstitutional by theTennessee Supreme Court prior to the election.[5] Browning also formed a commission to investigate voter fraud in Shelby County, and managed to have over 13,000 voters purged. His efforts fell short, however, and he was defeated by Cooper, 231,852 votes to 158,854.[5]
Following his defeat in the primary, Browning returned to Huntingdon to practice law. In 1942, he was elected Chancellor of the Eighth Chancery District without opposition.[2]
In the months following the U.S. entry intoWorld War II, Browning consistently sought a commission in the U.S. Army, but was thwarted by political foes. He finally appealed directly to the Army'sadjutant general in Washington, and was commissioned in 1943 with the rank of captain.[1] He attended the School of Military Government inCharlottesville, Virginia, which trained military officers in matters related to governing occupied territories, and was eventually promoted to the rank oflieutenant colonel. He initially served as deputy head of theBelgium-Luxembourg mission, which aimed to restore civilian government to these areas, and aided in the Allied victory at theBattle of the Bulge in early 1945. In September 1946, Browning was appointed commander of the military government in theBremen enclave as part of the Allied Occupation of Germany.[9]
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Browning challenged incumbent GovernorJim Nance McCord for the nomination in 1946, though he was still in Europe and did not actively campaign. Though he lost, his 120,535 votes (to McCord's 187,119) showed he still had substantial support in Tennessee.[5]
In 1948, Browning again sought the nomination against McCord. Realizing it would take a considerable effort to defeat the Crump machine, he teamed up with CongressmanEstes Kefauver, who was challenging Crump's candidate,Tom Stewart, for one of the state's U.S. Senate seats. Crump ran attack ads against Browning and Kefauver, criticizing the former for issuing too many pardons as governor, and accusing the latter of being acommunist sympathizer. Browning compared Crump toAdolf Hitler, and told stories about Crump sneaking through Memphis cemeteries at night to find names of dead people to add to voter lists.[5] He also attacked McCord for implementing a 2% state sales tax (which Crump had reluctantly supported).[5]
As the campaign heated up, Crump's hold on state politics appeared to be weakening. CongressmanAl Gore, Sr., returned from Washington to canvass for Browning.[5] Various voting blocks began turning against Crump, among them black voters in Memphis, who had grown tired of his control of the city. Returning veterans sympathized with Browning's military experience, while labor groups were angry with McCord for enacting aright-to-work law.[5] On election day, Browning defeated McCord for the nomination, 231,852 votes to 158,854, and Kefauver defeated Stewart. It was the first defeat for a Crump-backed candidate in a major election in over two decades.[5]
In the general election, Browning facedcountry music singerRoy Acuff. Republicans had added Acuff's name to their primary ballot as a publicity stunt to draw attention to the party, and he unexpectedly won the nomination. Though Acuff ran a serious campaign, Browning nevertheless won easily, 363,903 votes to 179,957.[10]
During his second tenure as governor, Browning enacted several measures aimed at further weakening Crump and other political bosses, including laws requiring permanent voter registration, open election commission meetings, and metal ballot boxes in places where voting machines were not used.[5] Browning signed legislation that partially eliminated the state'spoll tax, which political bosses had used for decades to control votes.[5] Along with election reforms, Browning also increased funding for rural schools and higher education, established a retirement system and minimum salaries for teachers,[3] and expanded the state's system of paved roads from roughly 10,000 miles (16,000 km) to over 20,000 miles (32,000 km).[1]
In the 1950 governor's race, Browning beat back a primary challenge by Nashville attorney and state senatorClifford Allen, winning the nomination 267,855 votes to 208,634.[11] For the first time since the Civil War, no Republican ran in the general election. Browning's only opponent was eccentric attorneyJohn R. Neal, who was running as a third-party candidate. Browning defeated Neal, 184,437 votes to 51,757.[12]
In 1952, rising politicianFrank G. Clement challenged Browning for the party's nomination for governor. Clement derided Browning as "dishonest, indecent, and immoral,"[5] and criticized the state's purchase of an expensive office building in Nashville. Browning, nearly twice Clement's age, struggled to adapt to the new medium of television.[3] He lost to Clement in the primary, 302,487 votes to 245,156.[13]
Following his defeat in 1952, Browning returned to Huntingdon to practice law. He again challenged Clement for the party's nomination for governor in 1954, but was defeated by a large margin.[5] He remained active in the Democratic Party, however, travelling frequently to attend party functions.[1] He also operated a dairy farm and an insurance firm. He died on May 23, 1976, and was buried in Huntingdon's Oak Hill Cemetery.[2]
Browning married Ida Leach in 1920. They had no children.
The Gordon Browning Museum inMcKenzie, Tennessee (in Carroll County) preserves documents and artifacts related Browning's life and career. The museum is located in the old McKenzie post office building.[3] Dormitories on the campuses ofTennessee Tech and theUniversity of Tennessee at Martin have been named in honor of Browning.[14][15] The administration building on the campus ofAustin Peay State University is named in Browning's honor.
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Tennessee 1936 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Tennessee 1948,1950 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. Representative for Tennessee's 8th Congressional District 1923-1933 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | U.S. Representative for Tennessee's 7th Congressional District 1933-1935 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Tennessee January 15, 1937-January 16, 1939 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of Tennessee January 16, 1949-January 15, 1953 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
