E. H. Crump

Edward Hull Crump ( born October 2, 1874 in Holly Springs, Marshall County, Mississippi; † October 16, 1954 in Memphis, Tennessee) was an American businessman and politician. Although he was never governor of Tennessee, he determined with the help of its economic power for decades, the operations of this state.

Life and work

Born and raised in Holly Springs, Mississippi, he moved to Memphis in 1892, where he became a successful businessman. He began selling insurance and quickly made a name in the city. He held several offices in the city and was also repeatedly sent to the Democratic National Convention. In 1910, he was elected mayor of Memphis. He started at the beginning of this decade to build with the help of his contacts a clientelism, who exercised an influence on the State of Tennessee. He used the two minority groups Tennessee, blacks and Republicans to keep his influence high. He supported the blacks and secured their votes; also found the Republicans it is necessary to connect to Crump, to achieve their goals, as they were numerically much inferior and could only be enforced with the help Crump's own stuff. In this way, Crump influenced almost half a century, the policy of Tennessee. He brought governors to power, and if directed against its interests, he brought them back to case, as Harry Hill McAlister, who wanted to introduce the VAT as governor of Tennessee and not abolish the prohibition. Crump saw its interests threatened and brought in the 1936 election Gordon Browning to power. Most of the time, until the time as mayor from 1910 to 1915, Crump pulled out of the strings behind the scenes. Only in 1930 he stood on in the election for U.S. House of Representatives and won this. From 1931 to 1935 he was Democratic member of Tennessee in Congress. In 1940 he was once mayor of Memphis.

End of the power

Crump's influence began in the late 1940s to wane, as two of his opponents could win the elections: on the one hand, his former ally Gordon Browning, who was now at odds with Crump and defeated in his second term Crump's protege Jim Nance McCord; also the Senator Estes Kefauver, who pursued a policy that was directed against private rulers as Crump. For the rest of his life Crump's power was limited to Memphis. Another turning point was the election defeat of his long-time protégé Kenneth McKellar against Albert Gore Sr. in the Senate election in 1952. Crump died two years later and was buried in the Memphis ' Elmwood Cemetery.

Effects

Crump's effect on the city of Memphis is detectable today. He has strongly supported the fire department, which counted for many years among the best in the country and is still highly regarded. He held a separate management of urban societies for inefficient, today the Memphis Division of Light, Gas, & Water is one of the largest providers of municipal services in the United States. Also the soundproofing was on his agenda, the city was one of the strictest noise protection regulations. He was one of the early advocates of a safety inspection for cars, all registered in Memphis motor vehicles must be reviewed annually.

Honors

In the city of Memphis, the Crump Stadium and Crump Boulevard have been named after him.