Thomas Chipman McRae | |
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| 26th Governor of Arkansas | |
| In office January 11, 1921 – January 13, 1925 | |
| Preceded by | Charles Hillman Brough |
| Succeeded by | Tom Jefferson Terral |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromArkansas's3rd district | |
| In office December 7, 1885 – March 3, 1903 | |
| Preceded by | John H. Rogers |
| Succeeded by | Hugh A. Dinsmore |
| Member of theArkansas House of Representatives | |
| In office 1877-1879 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 21, 1851 |
| Died | June 2, 1929(1929-06-02) (aged 77) |
| Party | Democratic |
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Thomas Chipman McRae (December 21, 1851 – June 2, 1929) was an American attorney and politician from Arkansas. Described as a “Woodrow Wilson progressive,"[1] he served as aDemocratic member of theUnited States House of Representatives (1885 to 1903) and the 26thgovernor of Arkansas, from 1921 to 1925.
Thomas Chipman McRae, the eldest of five siblings, was born to Duncan L. and Mary Ann (Chipman) McRae on December 21, 1851, atMount Holly inUnion County, Arkansas. He attendedSoule Business College inNew Orleans, Louisiana and graduated with a law degree from theWashington and Lee University School of Law inLexington, Virginia. He passed the Arkansas bar in 1873, and began his practice atRosston inNevada County, Arkansas. He married Amelia Ann White in December 1874, with whom he would go on to have six daughters and three sons. On May 19, 1877, Nevada County voters elected to move the county seat from Rosston, and construct a new courthouse in the newly created railroad town ofPrescott. McRae relocated his family there to be closer to his center of business.[2]
In 1874, McRae was appointed to the post of Election Commissioner in Arkansas. From 1877 to 1879, he served in theArkansas House of Representatives and was apresidential elector in 1880. In 1884, 1896, and 1900, he was a delegate to theDemocratic National Convention and served as president of the convention twice. From 1888 to 1902 he was a member of theDemocratic Congressional Campaign Committee. From 1885 to 1903, McRae served in theUnited States House of Representatives.
During his time in Congress, McRae advocated (as noted by one study) “a quasi-populist legislative program that reflected both the needs and aspirations of his rural and poverty-ridden district.”[3]
In 1902, McRae donated land for anAfrican American school inPrescott, Arkansas. McRae's Elementary, Middle, and High School were integrated with thePrescott School District in 1969.[4]
In 1917 and 1918, McRae was president of the Arkansas Bar Association; in the latter year he took part in the ArkansasConstitutional Convention.
In 1920, McRae was elected to his first term asGovernor of Arkansas. In the election, McRae represented theDemocratic Party, receiving 123,637 votes (66.6 percent).Wallace Townsend represented theRepublican Party, receiving 46,350 votes (25 percent), andJosiah H. Blount represented theIndependent Party, receiving 15,627 votes (8.4 percent). Blount, an African American school superintendent from Forest City, was the leader of a splinter GOP faction called the "Black-and-Tan Republicans," who protested the "lily-white" stand of its new leaders that included gubernatorial nominee Townsend. Blount was the first of his race to seek election as Arkansas's chief executive.
McRae was elected to his second term in 1922. In that election, McRae received 99,987 votes (78.1 percent), and RepublicanJohn W. Grabiel received 28,055 votes (21.9 percent).[5]
During his tenure, theArkansas Railroad Commission was re-established, the Arkansas Corporation Commission was abolished, and the ArkansasTuberculosis Sanitarium for Negroes was established. A severance tax was passed with its revenue funding public schools, theArkansas Office of State Geologist was created, and a personal income tax law was enacted.
Upon the end of his governorship, McRae was appointed special Chief Justice of theArkansas Supreme Court. He was elected a life member of the Arkansas Democratic State Convention in 1926. After serving four years as Governor of Arkansas, McRae returned to Prescott to be with his family. He resumed his law practice and he engaged in banking activities until his death on June 2, 1929. McRae is buried in the historic section of theDe Ann Cemetery in Prescott.
McRae was a cousin ofThomas Banks Cabaniss, a U.S. Representative fromGeorgia. He was also the grandfather of Thomas C. "Tom" McRae, III, longtime President of theWinthrop Rockefeller Foundation who challengedBill Clinton for the Democratic Gubernatorial Nomination in 1990.[6]
| Party political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Arkansas 1920,1922 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromArkansas's 3rd congressional district 1885 – 1903 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Arkansas 1921 – 1925 | Succeeded by |
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