Thomas William Hardwick (December 9, 1872January 31, 1944) was an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

from the U.S. state of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

who served as governor of Georgia, a

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

from Georgia, a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from Georgia, and a member of the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republicans have had a majority in the chamber since 2005. ...

Early life

Hardwick was born on December 9, 1872 in

Thomasville, Georgia Thomasville is the county seat of Thomas County, Georgia, United States. The population was 18,413 at the 2010 United States Census, making it the second largest city in southwest Georgia after Albany. The city deems itself the "City of Roses" an ...

. He graduated from

Mercer University Mercer University is a private research university with its main campus in Macon, Georgia. Founded in 1833 as Mercer Institute and gaining university status in 1837, it is the oldest private university in the state and enrolls more than 9,000 s ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree in 1892 and received a Juris Doctor degree from the

University of Georgia School of Law The University of Georgia School of Law (Georgia Law) is the law school of the University of Georgia, a public research university in Athens, Georgia. It was founded in 1859, making it among the oldest American university law schools in continuous ...

in 1893. He was an active member of Phi Delta Theta at Mercer, and while at UGA, he was a member of the

Phi Kappa Literary Society The Phi Kappa Literary Society is a college literary society, located at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, and is one of the few active literary societies left in America. Founded in 1820, the society continues to meet every academic ...

Personal life

Hardwick married Maude Elizabeth Perkins in 1894. He married Sallie Warren West in 1938. He had one daughter and two stepdaughters.

Career

Law career

Hardwick practiced law in Savannah and then entered politics with the support of Thomas E. Watson. Hardwick was the prosecutor of

Washington County, Georgia Washington County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,988. The county seat is Sandersville. The county was established on February 25, 1784. It was named for Revolutionary War gener ...

from 1895 to 1897.

Political career

Hardwick served as a member of the

from 1898 to 1902; and a member of the

representing Georgia's 10th district from 1903 to 1914. In 1914 he ran for a seat in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

in a special election for the unexpired term of

Augustus O. Bacon Augustus Octavius Bacon (October 20, 1839February 14, 1914) was a Confederate soldier, segregationist, and U.S. politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a U.S. Senator from Georgia, becoming the first Senator to be directly ele ...

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 by William J. Harris.

Anarchist bombings

As a senator, Hardwick co-sponsored the

Immigration Act of 1918 The United States Immigration Act of 1918 (ch. 186, ) was enacted on October 16, 1918.''New York Times'' accessed July 13, 2010 It is also known as the Dillingham-Hardwick Act. It was intended to correct what President Woodrow Wilson's administra ...

, 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. On April 29, 1919, as a direct result of his sponsorship of the Immigration Act, Senator Hardwick was targeted for assassination by adherents of the radical anarchist Luigi 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.

Governor (1921–1923)

Hardwick then served as

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 ...

of Georgia from 1921 to 1923, and due to his opposition to the Ku Klux Klan, lost to

Clifford Walker Clifford Mitchell Walker (July 4, 1877 – November 9, 1954) was an American attorney and politician from the U.S. state of Georgia. A graduate of the University of Georgia in 1897, he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. Wal ...

in the subsequent election.Lucket, Robert E. "Thomas Hardwick (1872–1944)" http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/government-politics/thomas-hardwick-1872-1944 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 in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , 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, ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

and

Sandersville, Georgia The city of Sandersville is the county seat of Washington County, Georgia, United States. The population was 5,912 at the 2010 census. It is also a part of the Central Savannah River Area. Sandersville is known as the "Kaolin Capital of the World ...

. One of Hardwick's most notable actions as governor of Georgia was his appointment of

Rebecca Latimer Felton Rebecca Ann Felton (née Latimer; June 10, 1835 – January 24, 1930) was an American writer, lecturer, feminist, suffragist, reformer, slave owner, and politician who was the first woman to serve in the United States Senate, although she serve ...

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.

Death

Hardwick died of a heart attack on January 31, 1944 in Sandersville. Hardwick was interred in Old City Cemetery in Sandersville.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardwick, Thomas W. 1872 births 1944 deaths People from Thomasville, Georgia Mercer University alumni University of Georgia School of Law alumni Democratic Party governors of Georgia (U.S. state) Democratic Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives Democratic Party United States senators from Georgia (U.S. state) Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers