Thomas Stockdale Rhea (1871–1946) was a
Democratic politician from the
U.S. Commonwealth of
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
. He served as
Kentucky State Treasurer
The Kentucky State Treasurer is elected every four years along with the governor and other statewide officials. The treasurer, who can serve two terms, acts as the state's chief elected fiscal officer.Kentucky TreasureWebsite/ref> The salary is $1 ...
in 1912 and was state highway commissioner in the administration of
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Ruby Laffoon
Ruby Laffoon (January 15, 1869March 1, 1941) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 43rd Governor of Kentucky from 1931 to 1935. A Kentucky native, at age 17 Laffoon moved to Washington, D.C., to live with his uncle, U.S. Rep ...
.
[''200 Years of the Kentucky Treasury'', p. 8] Known as "The Sage of Russellville" or "The Gray Fox", Rhea was a powerful
Democratic political boss
In politics, a boss is a person who controls a faction or local branch of a political party. They do not necessarily hold public office themselves; most historical bosses did not, at least during the times of their greatest influence. Numerous of ...
in the state.
He was an unsuccessful candidate for governor in 1935, losing to
A. B. "Happy" Chandler in the Democratic
primary.
Early life
Thomas Rhea was born in
Russellville, Kentucky
Russellville is a home rule-class city in Logan County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 6,960 at the time of the 2010 census.
History
Local historian Alex C. Finley has claimed the area was fir ...
on December 29, 1871.
[Smith, p. 769] He was the son of Albert Gallatin and Jane (Stockdale) Rhea.
His father Albert was a circuit court judge and served in both houses of the
Kentucky General Assembly
The Kentucky General Assembly, also called the Kentucky Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It comprises the Kentucky Senate and the Kentucky House of Representatives.
The General Assembly meets annually in ...
, and his brother
John Stockdale Rhea
John Stockdale Rhea (March 9, 1855 – July 29, 1924) was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky.
Born in Russellville, Kentucky, Rhea pursued preparatory studies.
He attended Bethel College, Russellville, Kentucky, and Washington and Lee Univer ...
served in the
U.S. House of Representatives.
[McAfee, p. 136][Klotter, p. 305] His grandfather, Charles Rhea, owned and edited the first newspaper in
Logan County Logan County is the name of ten current counties and one former county in the United States:
* Logan County, Arkansas
* Logan County, Colorado
* Logan County, Idaho (1889–1895)
* Logan County, Illinois
* Logan County, Kansas
* Logan County, ...
.
Rhea obtained his early education in the area's public schools and at
Bethel College in Russellville.
He began the practice of law in
Logan County Logan County is the name of ten current counties and one former county in the United States:
* Logan County, Arkansas
* Logan County, Colorado
* Logan County, Idaho (1889–1895)
* Logan County, Illinois
* Logan County, Kansas
* Logan County, ...
.
He was the president of Southern Deposit Bank and vice-president of the Bank of Russellville.
In 1905, he was elected sheriff of Logan County.
In January 1916, Rhea married Lillian Clark of Russellville.
The couple had four children – Lillian Rhea Noe, Thomas Jr., Albert III, and Roland.
Political career
Rhea's political career began in 1912, with his election as
state treasurer.
From 1912 until his death, he was a delegate to every
Democratic National Convention and, as one of five floor leaders at the
1932 convention in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, coordinates =
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, subdivision_name ...
, was particularly instrumental in securing the delegates from the conservative
Southern states for liberal
New York native
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
.
[Smith, p. 770]
During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Rhea served on the United States Munitions Board.
He failed in a bid to become state auditor in 1915, and his term as treasurer expired in 1916.
In 1919, he announced that he would run for governor, but later withdrew.
In 1924, Governor
William J. Fields appointed him to the state workman's compensation board, where he served until 1927.
Rhea served as campaign chairman for
J. C. W. Beckham in the 1927 gubernatorial race, but Beckham lost to
Flem D. Sampson.
[Klotter, p. 285] In 1928, he unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for a seat in the
U.S. House of Representatives.
At the 1931 state Democratic convention, Rhea backed
Madisonville judge Ruby Laffoon as the party's nominee for
Governor of Kentucky
The governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of government of Kentucky. Sixty-two men and one woman have served as governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; since 1992, incumbents have been able to seek re-e ...
and state senator J. Woodford Howard for
Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky. Laffoon easily won the gubernatorial nomination, but Howard lost the nomination for lieutenant governor to Happy Chandler, in part because Chandler received the backing of Rhea's political enemy,
Ben Johnson Ben, Benjamin or Benny Johnson may refer to:
In sports Association football
* Ben Johnson (footballer, born 2000), English footballer
* Ben Johnson (soccer) (born 1977), American soccer player
Other codes of football
*Ben Johnson (Australian foot ...
.
[Pearce, pp. 31–32] Laffoon and Chandler won the election, and Laffoon removed Johnson as state highway commissioner, appointing Rhea to that position.
[Pearce, p. 36]
Laffoon backed Rhea as his successor in 1935.
When Rhea and Laffoon traveled to
Washington, D.C.
)
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, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
for a meeting with
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
, Lieutenant Governor Chandler was left as acting governor.
[Pearce, p. 37] Chandler called the
General Assembly
A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company.
Specific examples of general assembly include:
Churches
* General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presb ...
into a special session to vote on a mandatory primary bill.
Laffoon returned to the state and tried to invalidate the call, but being stymied by the state courts, agreed to a primary bill that required a
runoff
Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to:
* RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program
* Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed
* Runoff or run-off, a stock marke ...
if no candidate received a majority.
Laffoon believed that aging
J. C. W. Beckham would once again run against Rhea in the Democratic primary and that a double primary would wear him down.
[Harrison, p. 368]
Beckham did not run in the primary, however; Chandler did.
Attacking Laffoon's administration, especially the sales tax he enacted, Chandler derided Rhea as "Sales Tax Tom" and promised to save the state from "Ruby, Rhea, and Ruin".
Rhea brought in
Earle C. Clements
Earle Chester Clements (October 22, 1896 – March 12, 1985) was an American farmer and politician. He represented the Commonwealth of Kentucky in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate and was its 47th Governor, serving ...
to manage his campaign.
Promising a business-like administration that would include fiscal reforms, Rhea charged that Chandler was "the Shadow Man" for Ben Johnson.
Laffoon sent state troops into pro-Chandler
Harlan County, intimidating voters into voting for Rhea.
In the first round of balloting, Rhea achieved a 19,000-vote plurality over Chandler, but it was not enough to avoid a runoff.
In the runoff, Chandler won by a vote of 260,573 to 234,124.
After his primary loss, Rhea bolted the Democratic party and supported
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
King Swope for governor.
In the general election, Chandler defeated Swope to win the governorship.
Later life and death
Rhea became a mentor for his campaign manager,
Earle Clements, who led an anti-Chandler faction of the Democratic Party for the next two decades.
When Chandler challenged incumbent senator
Alben Barkley
Alben William Barkley (; November 24, 1877 – April 30, 1956) was an American lawyer and politician from Kentucky who served in both houses of Congress and as the 35th vice president of the United States from 1949 to 1953 under Presid ...
in 1938, both Rhea and Clements backed Barkley.
[Klotter, p. 313] Rhea also supported
John Y. Brown, Sr. against Chandler ally
Keen Johnson
Keen Johnson (January 12, 1896February 7, 1970) was an American politician who served as the 45th Governor of Kentucky, serving from 1939 to 1943; being the only journalist to have held that office.Odgen, p. 178 After serving in World War I, Jo ...
in the 1939 gubernatorial election.
[Klotter, p. 317]
In 1941, Rhea was again elected sheriff of Logan County and became chair of the state sheriffs board.
He continued his service as sheriff until 1945.
He died at his home in Russellville on April 16, 1946.
["Thomas S. Rhea obituary - 1946". Providence Journal-Enterprise] He was buried in Maple Grove Cemetery in Russellville.
On the occasion of his death, an article in the ''
Louisville Courier-Journal
The ''Courier Journal'',
also known as the
''Louisville Courier Journal''
(and informally ''The C-J'' or ''The Courier''), and called ''The Courier-Journal'' between November 8, 1868, and October 29, 2017,
is the highest circulation newspape ...
'' opined that "he was a figure whose like will not be seen again in Kentucky politics."
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhea, Thomas
1871 births
1946 deaths
American people of World War I
American political bosses
Bethel College (Kentucky) alumni
Kentucky Democrats
Kentucky sheriffs
People from Russellville, Kentucky
State treasurers of Kentucky