William Woodward Brandon (June 5, 1868December 7, 1934) was an American Democratic

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, a ...

who was the 37th

governor of Alabama 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 r ...

from 1923 to 1927.

Biography

Born June 5, 1868, in

Talladega, Alabama Talladega (, also ) is the county seat of Talladega County, Alabama, United States. It was incorporated in 1835. At the 2020 census, the population was 15,861. Talladega is approximately east of one of the state’s biggest cities, Birmingham. ...

, the son of a minister, Rev. Frank T. J. Brandon, and his wife Carrie (Woodward) Brandon, Brandon grew up in

Tuscaloosa, Alabama Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-largest city, it had an estimated population of 1 ...

. He attended Cedar Bluff Institute and

Tuscaloosa High School Central High School is a high school in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States, enrolling grades 9 to 12. The school enrolls approximately 700 students, and is one of three traditional high schools in the Tuscaloosa City School District along with ...

and studied law at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

from 1891 to 1892. While still a law student, the colorful Brandon was elected City Clerk of Tuscaloosa. He set up a law practice in Tuscaloosa in 1892 and was appointed a justice of the peace the same year. Brandon was a Methodist. He believed that the United States should maintain a "warm and close relationship" with the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. He was known as one of the most "eloquent and brilliant campaign speakers in" Alabama. In 1892 he published a military journal titled ''The Citizen Soldier'' in Tuscaloosa. As a member of the Warrior National Guard from 1886, Brandon eventually led the unit as a major of the U.S. Army in the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

. Appointed Adjutant General of the Alabama National Guard in 1899 by Governor

William J. Samford William James Samford (September 16, 1844 – June 11, 1901) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 31st Governor of Alabama and in the United States House of Representatives. Early life and education William James Samford ...

, he was later reappointed by Governor William D. Jelks. Brandon was a member of the

Alabama House of Representatives The Alabama State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of state of Alabama. The House is composed of 105 members representing an equal number of districts, with each constituency contai ...

from 1896 to 1901. In 1906 he was elected

State Auditor of Alabama The state auditor of Alabama is constitutionally required to make a complete report to the governor of Alabama showing the receipts and disbursement of every character, all claims audited and paid out, and all taxes and revenues collected and pai ...

. From 1911 until 1923, he was a probate judge in Tuscaloosa County. Judge Brandon was a candidate for governor twice, losing in 1918 to Thomas E. Kilby but defeating

Bibb Graves David Bibb Graves (April 1, 1873 – March 14, 1942) was an American Democratic politician and the 38th Governor of Alabama 1927–1931 and 1935–1939, the first Alabama governor to serve two four-year terms. He successfully advanced progress ...

(who later succeeded him) in 1922 with a platform calling for an economy in government and no new taxes. As governor, he kept his campaign promise to levy no new taxes but was instrumental in rescinding the tax exemption of the

Alabama Power Company Alabama Power Company, headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, is a company in the southern United States that provides electricity service to 1.4 million customers in the southern two-thirds of Alabama. It also operates appliance stores. It is one ...

. On leaving office, he left the state treasury with a surplus. Brandon was a much less activist governor than the energetic Kilby (he did little for education). Still, he continued Kilby's ambitious road construction and improvement program of Mobile's dock facilities, funding the latter with a $10 million bond issue. He also strengthened child labor laws and created the

Alabama Forestry Commission The Alabama Forestry Commission (AFC) is the forest management agency for the U.S. state of Alabama. It was created as a state agency by an act of the Alabama Legislature in 1924. Its general mission is protecting Alabama's forests from wildfire ...

. Brandon left the state for 21 days in 1924; under the 1901 state constitution, the lieutenant governor becomes acting governor if a governor is out of the state for more than 20 days. Thus, Charles McDowell became Governor of Alabama on July 10 and 11, 1924. Known as "Plain Bill," Brandon led the Alabama delegation to the

1924 Democratic National Convention The 1924 Democratic National Convention, held at the Madison Square Garden in New York City from June 24 to July 9, 1924, was the longest continuously running convention in United States political history. It took a record 103 ballots to nominate ...

, the first such convention to be broadcast via radio. The convention was marked by a deadlock between the supporters of the Irish Catholic New York Governor

Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was an American politician who served four terms as Governor of New York and was the Democratic Party's candidate for president in 1928. The son of an Irish-American mother and a C ...

and former Secretary of the Treasury

William Gibbs McAdoo William Gibbs McAdoo Jr.McAdoo is variously differentiated from family members of the same name: * Dr. William Gibbs McAdoo (1820–1894) – sometimes called "I" or "Senior" * William Gibbs McAdoo (1863–1941) – sometimes called "II" or "Ju ...

(the son-in-law of former President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

) whose candidacy was backed by the anti-Catholic

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

. Neither candidate was able to get the required two-thirds of the delegates as critical delegations, including Alabama's, clung to their "

favorite son Favorite son (or favorite daughter) is a political term. * At the quadrennial American national political party conventions, a state delegation sometimes nominates a candidate from the state, or less often from the state's region, who is not a ...

" candidates. In Alabama's case, the favorite son was Senator

Oscar Underwood Oscar Wilder Underwood (May 6, 1862 – January 25, 1929) was an American lawyer and politician from Alabama, and also a candidate for President of the United States in 1912 and 1924. He was the first formally designated floor leader in the Unite ...

. The Convention became the longest continually running convention in history, as 103 ballots were taken before a compromise candidate,

John W. Davis John William Davis (April 13, 1873 – March 24, 1955) was an American politician, diplomat and lawyer. He served under President Woodrow Wilson as the Solicitor General of the United States and the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom ...

, was nominated. As the first state alphabetically, Alabama led every ballot, and Brandon, reporting the state's unanimous vote tally ballot after ballot, became the symbol of the convention's deadlock. For a time, his booming southern drawl heard on the radio, repeatedly declaring, "Alabama casts twenty-four votes for Oscar W. Underwood," became one of the most recognizable voices in the country. After leaving the governorship in 1927, Brandon was appointed to his former office of Probate Judge of Tuscaloosa County by his onetime political opponent Governor Graves. Brandon married Elizabeth Andrews Nabors, a widow with two daughters, on June 27, 1900. He died in Tuscaloosa aged 66 on December 7, 1934, and is interred at Tuscaloosa Memorial Park.

References

External links

Biography from the Alabama Department of Archives and History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brandon, William Woodward 1868 births 1934 deaths People from Talladega, Alabama Methodists from Alabama Governors of Alabama Alabama lawyers Politicians from Tuscaloosa, Alabama American people of the Spanish–American War Democratic Party governors of Alabama