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Thomas W. Hardwick | |
|---|---|
 Hardwick,c. 1912 | |
| 63rd Governor of Georgia | |
| In office June 25, 1921 – June 30, 1923 | |
| Preceded by | Hugh Dorsey |
| Succeeded by | Clifford Walker |
| United States Senator fromGeorgia | |
| In office November 4, 1914 – March 3, 1919 | |
| Preceded by | William Stanley West |
| Succeeded by | William J. Harris |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromGeorgia's10th district | |
| In office March 4, 1903 – November 2, 1914 | |
| Preceded by | Emory Speer |
| Succeeded by | Carl Vinson |
| Member of theGeorgia House of Representatives | |
| In office January 19, 1898 – February 9, 1902 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Thomas William Hardwick (1872-12-09)December 9, 1872 Thomasville, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | January 31, 1944(1944-01-31) (aged 71) Sandersville, Georgia, U.S. |
| Resting place | Old City Cemetery Sandersville, Georgia, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouses | |
| Alma mater | Mercer University (B.A.) University of Georgia School of Law (J.D.) |
Thomas William Hardwick (December 9, 1872 – January 31, 1944) was an Americanpolitician from the U.S. state ofGeorgia who served asgovernor of Georgia, aUnited States Senator from Georgia, a member of theUnited States House of Representatives from Georgia, and a member of theGeorgia House of Representatives.
Hardwick was born on December 9, 1872, inThomasville, Georgia.[1] He graduated fromMercer University with aBachelor of Arts degree in 1892 and received aJuris Doctor degree from theUniversity of Georgia School of Law in 1893. He was an active member ofPhi Delta Theta at Mercer, and while at UGA, he was a member of thePhi Kappa Literary Society.
Hardwick married Maude Elizabeth Perkins in 1894.[2] He married Sallie Warren West in 1938 after Maude's death in 1937.[1] He had one daughter and two stepdaughters.[1]
Hardwick practiced law inSavannah[1] and then entered politics with the support ofThomas E. Watson.[3] Hardwick was the prosecutor ofWashington County, Georgia, from 1895 to 1897.
Hardwick served as a member of theGeorgia House of Representatives from 1898 to 1902; and a member of theUnited States House of Representatives representing Georgia's 10th district from 1903 to 1914.[4] He introduced resolutions for the repeal of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments.[5]
In 1914 he ran for a seat in theUnited States Senate in a special election for the unexpired term ofAugustus O. Bacon who had died in office. Hardwick won, and served in the Senate from 1915 to 1919. Senator Hardwick was defeated in the Democratic primary for reelection in 1918 byWilliam J. Harris.
As a senator, Hardwick co-sponsored theImmigration Act of 1918, which was enacted in October of that year. Aimed at radical anarchists who had immigrated to the U.S., the new law enabled deportation of any non-citizen who belonged to an anarchist organization or who was found in possession of anarchist literature for the purpose of propaganda.
OnApril 29, 1919, as a direct result of his sponsorship of the Immigration Act, Senator Hardwick was targeted for assassination by adherents of the radical anarchistLuigi Galleani, who mailed a booby trap bomb to his residence in Georgia. The bomb exploded when Ethel Williams, a house servant of the Hardwicks, attempted to open the package, blowing off her hands and severely injuring Hardwick's wife, Maude.[6][7]
Hardwick then served asGovernor of Georgia from 1921 to 1923, and due to his opposition to theKu Klux Klan, lost toClifford Walker in the subsequent election.[8][9] While standing unsuccessfully for re-nomination in 1922, Hardwick described his rivalClifford Walker as the Ku Klux Klan’s candidate and being supported by the “radical union labor element.”[10]
He ran unsuccessfully for election to the Senate in 1922 and 1924, and then retired from politics. He spent the rest of his life practicing law, with offices inWashington, D.C.,Atlanta, Georgia, andSandersville, Georgia.
One of Hardwick's most notable actions as governor of Georgia was his appointment ofRebecca Latimer Felton to the United States Senate as a temporary replacement for Tom Watson, who had died. Though Felton only served for one day, she was the first woman to serve in the Senate.
Hardwick was associated with progressivism earlier in his political career,[11][12] but by the time he served as governor of Georgia he had moved towards conservatism; denouncing what he regarded as paternalism and proclaiming his belief that “God helps those who help themselves.”[13] After his death, one journal said of Hardwick that he was “essentially a conservative, distrustful of reformers, and extremely jealous of states rights.”[14]
Hardwick died of a heart attack on January 31, 1944, in Sandersville.[1] Hardwick was interred inOld City Cemetery in Sandersville.[15]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromGeorgia (Class 2) 1914 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Georgia 1920 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromGeorgia's 10th congressional district March 4, 1903 – November 2, 1914 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 2) from Georgia November 4, 1914 – March 3, 1919 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Georgia 1921–1923 | Succeeded by |
| Class 2 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 3 | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
