Alabama Governors

by Webb, Samuel L.

• ISBN13: 9780817310837
• ISBN10: 0817310835
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-06-01
• Publisher: Univ of Alabama Pr

Summary

The story of Alabama's governors has been often bizarre, occasionally inspiring, but never dull. Several of the state's early governors fought duels; one killed his wife's lover. A Reconstruction era-governor barricaded himself in his administrative office and refused to give it up when voters failed to reelect him. A 20th-century governor, an alumnus of Yale, married his first cousin and served as an officer in the Ku Klux Klan. This collection of biographical essays, written by 34 noted historians and political scientists, chronicles the foibles and idiosyncrasies, in and out of office, of those who have served as the state's highest elected official. It also describes their courage; their meaningful policy initiatives; their accomplishments and failures; the complex factors that led to their actions or inaction; and the enormous consequences of their choices on the state's behalf. Taken together, the essays provide a unified history of the state, with its recurring themes of race, federal-state relations, economic development, taxation, and education. Alabama Governorsis certain to become an invaluable resource for teachers, students, librarians, journalists, and anyone interested in the colorful history and politics of the state.

Table of Contents

Foreword	ix
Albert P. Brewer
Acknowledgments	xi
Political Maps of Alabama	xiii
Introduction	1	(6)
Territorial and Early Statehood, 1798--1847
Territorial Governors
Winthrop Sargent	7	(1)
William C. C. Claiborne	8	(1)
Robert Williams	9	(1)
David Holmes	10	(1)
William Wyatt Bibb	11	(2)
State Governors
William Wyatt Bibb	13	(3)
Thomas Bibb	16	(1)
Israel Pickens	17	(4)
John Murphy	21	(3)
Gabriel Moore	24	(4)
Samuel B. Moore	28	(3)
John Gayle	31	(3)
Clement Comer Clay	34	(4)
Hugh McVay	38	(3)
Arthur P. Bagby	41	(4)
Benjamin Fitzpatrick	45	(3)
Joshua L. Martin	48	(5)
Crises, Civil War, and Reconstruction, 1847-1874
Reuben Chapman	53	(4)
Henry W. Collier	57	(4)
John A. Winston	61	(4)
Andrew B. More	65	(5)
John Gill Shorter	70	(3)
Thomas H. Watts	73	(4)
Lewis E. Parsons	77	(3)
Robert M. Patton	80	(3)
Wager Swayne	83	(4)
William Hugh Smith	87	(3)
Robert B. Lindsay	90	(4)
David P. Lewis	94	(7)
The Bourbon Era, 1974--1900
George S. Houston	101	(5)
Rufus W. Cobb	106	(3)
Edward A. O'Neal	109	(4)
Thomas Seay	113	(3)
Thomas G. Jones	116	(6)
William C. Oates	122	(5)
Joseph F. Johnston	127	(10)
The Progressive Era through World War II 1900--1947
William J. Samford	137	(3)
William D. Jelks	140	(7)
Russel M. Cunningham	147	(3)
Braxton Bragg Comer	150	(7)
Emment O'Neal	157	(5)
Charles Henderson	162	(4)
Thomas E. Kilby	166	(4)
William W. Brandon	170	(3)
Bibb Graves	173	(7)
Benjamin M. Miller	180	(5)
Frank M. Dixon	185	(5)
Chauncey M. Sparks	190	(7)
Post--World War II to 1987
James E. Folsom	197	(9)
Gordon Persons	206	(4)
John Pattersons	210	(6)
George C. Wallace	216	(14)
Lurleen B. Wallace	230	(5)
Albert P. Brewer	235	(4)
Jere Beasley Sr.	239	(4)
The Post-Wallace Era
Forrest (``Fob'') James Jr.	243	(6)
Guy Hunt	249	(5)
James E. Folosm	254	(3)
Don Siegelman	257	(4)
Appendix: Governors of Alabama	261	(2)
Select Bibliography	263	(4)
Contributors	267	(4)
Index	271