Thomas E. Watson

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For the U.S. Marine Corps general, see Thomas E. Watson (USMC) (1892-1966).

Thomas Edward Watson
Junior Senator, Georgia
In office March 4, 1921 – September 22, 1922
Preceded by	M. Hoke Smith
Succeeded by	Rebecca L. Felton
Born	September 5, 1856 Thomson, Georgia, USA
Died	September 26, 1922 Washington, D.C., USA
Political party	Populist, Democrat
Spouse	Georgia Durham Watson
Profession	Politician, Lawyer, Teacher

Thomas Edward Watson (September 5, 1856–September 26, 1922), generally known as Tom Watson, was a United States politician from Georgia. In early years, Watson championed poor farmers and the working class; later he became a controversial publisher and Populist politician. Two years before his death, he was elected to the United States Senate. His virulent attacks on the Roman Catholic Church, African Americans, Jews, the League of Nations, President Woodrow Wilson and the war effort in World War I diminished his political influence.

Contents 1 Early Career 2 Congressman 3 Vice Presidential Candidate 4 Presidential Candidate 5 Subsequent Influence 6 Senator 7 Further Reading 8 External Links

[edit] Early Career

Watson was born in Thomson, the county seat of McDuffie County, Georgia. After attending Mercer University, he became a school teacher. Watson later studied law and was admitted to the Georgia bar in 1875. He joined the Democratic Party and in 1882 was elected to the Georgia Legislature.

As a state legislator, Watson struggled unsuccessfully to curb the abuses of the powerful railroad corporations. A bill subjecting railroads to county property taxes was voted down after U.S. Senator Joseph E. Brown offered to provide the legislators with round-trip train fares to the Louisville Exposition of 1883. In disgust, Watson resigned his seat and returned to the practice of law before his term expired.

[edit] Congressman

Watson began to support the Farmers' Alliance platform, and was elected to the United States House of Representatives as an Alliance Democrat in 1890. In Congress, he was the only Southern Alliance Democrat to abandon the Democratic caucus, instead attending the first Populist Party congressional caucus. At that meeting, he was nominated for Speaker of the House by the eight Western Populist Congressmen. Watson was instrumental in the founding of the Georgia Populist Party in early 1892. The Populist Party advocated the public ownership of the railroads, steamship lines and telephone and telegraph systems. It also supported the free and unlimited coinage of silver, the abolition of national banks, a system of graduated income tax and the direct election of United States Senators. As a Populist, Watson tried to unite the agrarians across class lines, overcoming racial divides. He also supported the right of African American men to vote. Unfortunately, the failures of the Populist party's attempt to make political progress through fusion tickets with the Democrats in 1896 and 1898 deeply affected Watson. He became a virulent racist, blaming the minorities in the South for Populism's failures.

Watson served in the House of Representatives from 1891 until March 1893. After being defeated he returned to work as a lawyer in Thomson, Georgia. He also served as editor of the People's Party Paper

[edit] Vice Presidential Candidate

In the 1896 presidential election the leaders of the Populist Party entered into talks with William Jennings Bryan, the proposed Democratic Party candidate. They were led to believe that Watson would become Bryan's running mate. After giving their support to Bryan, the latter announced that Arthur Sewall, a conservative politician with a record of hostility towards trade unions, would be his vice presidential choice.

This created a split in the Populist Party; some refused to support Bryan whereas others, such as Mary Lease, reluctantly campaigned for him. Watson's name remained on the ballot as the vice presidential nominee of only the Populist Party while Sewall was listed as that of the Democratic Party; both parties listed Bryan as their presidential nominee. Watson won 217,000 votes for Vice President, less than a quarter of the number of votes received by the 1892 Populist ticket but by far the most ever received by a Populist candidate at the national level after that.

The defeat of Bryan severely damaged the Populist Party. While Populists continued to hold power for several years in a few Western states, the party ceased to be a factor in national politics.

[edit] Presidential Candidate

As his own personal wealth grew, Watson denounced socialism, which had drawn many converts from the ashes of Populism. He became a vigorous anti-Semite and anti-Catholic crusader who called for the reorganization of the Ku Klux Klan.^{[citation needed]} He was the Populist Party's presidential candidate in 1904 and won 117,183 votes, a doubling of the Populist showing in 1900, but less than one-eighth of the party's support from just 12 years earlier.

The party's fortunes continued to decline and in the 1908 presidential campaign Watson attracted only 29,100 votes. Though he never received more than 1% of the vote on a national level, Watson had respectable showings in selected Western and Southern states. In both campaigns his home state of Georgia was where much of his support was concentrated, first capturing 18% and later 12% of the vote there.

[edit] Subsequent Influence

Through his publications Watson's Magazine and The Jeffersonian, Watson continued to have great influence on public opinion, especially in his native Georgia.

In 1913 he played a prominent role in inflaming public opinion in the case of Leo Frank, a Jewish American factory manager who was accused of the murder of Mary Phagan, a 13 year-old factory worker. Watson and the Southern press sensationalized the case, directing racist and anti-Semitic comments against Frank while making wild, unsubstantiated charges.^{[citation needed]} Frank was convicted and sentenced to death by hanging.

On June 20, 1915, departing Governor of Georgia John M. Slaton commuted the sentence of Frank to life in prison. The decision followed a lengthy appeals process. Watson railed against the decision and called for Georgians to take justice into their own hands. On August 17, 1915, Frank was dragged from his prison cell by a group of men and lynched.

[edit] Senator

Watson rejoined the Democratic Party and in 1920 was elected to the U.S. Senate. However, he died in 1922 of a cerebral hemorrhage at age 66. This triggered an historic event when Rebecca L. Felton was appointed to replace him, making her the first female in the Senate. A statue of Watson was erected in front of the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta, Georgia.

[edit] Further Reading

• Tom Watson: Agrarian Rebel, by C. Vann Woodward
• The Life of Thomas E. Watson, by William W. Brewton

[edit] External Links

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Tom Watson at Find A Grave
• Tom Watson Biography at Vassar
• Tom Watson Biography at Watson-Brown Foundation
• Tom Watson Biography at Strangers To Us All
• Fiery Politician Alienated Many, By Ben Palmer

Preceded by: George T. Barnes	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 10th congressional district March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1893	Succeeded by: James C.C. Black
Preceded by: James Gavin Field	Populist Party Vice Presidential candidate 1896 (lost)	Succeeded by: Ignatius Donnelly
Preceded by: Wharton Barker	Populist Party Presidential candidate 1904 (lost), 1908 (lost)	Succeeded by: (none)
Preceded by: M. Hoke Smith	United States Senator (Class 3) from Georgia March 4, 1921 – September 26, 1922 Served alongside: William J. Harris	Succeeded by: Rebecca Latimer Felton