There is little doubt that the most poorly-educated man to become U.S. president was Tennessee’s Andrew Johnson. Even Abraham Lincoln’s scant educational opportunities look pretty good by comparison. Some say that the fact that Johnson’s wife was his only real teacher – he had no formal schooling – pretty well explains his disastrous presidency. With [...]
Education not the only qualification
January 24th, 2011 by Sandy CampbellVote for ‘Judas?’
September 3rd, 2010 by Sandy CampbellSometimes the name-calling and character assassination the public must endure in modern political campaigns can get a little rough. But it could be worse. E.H. “Boss” Crump, of Memphis, could still be writng political attack ads. This one ran in 1938 about gubernatorial candidate Gordon Browning: “In a certain art gallery in France there are [...]
Knoxville insult
September 3rd, 2010 by Sandy CampbellSpringtime in Knoxville is Dogwood Trail season with tourists and townspeople alike enjoying the pink and white dogwood blossoms that turn the city into a riot of color. But if it hadn’t been for a famous insult, the trail, as well as several other municipal beautification projects, might never have happened. The idea for the [...]
Tennessee’s ‘Barnum’
September 3rd, 2010 by Sandy CampbellWhen it comes to master showmen, most people might think first of P.T. Barnum who once observed, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” But Tennessee has its own candidate for great American showman: Garnet Carter. It was Carter and his wife Frieda, who were responsible for those “See Rock City” barns and birdhouses that dotted [...]
Music for Crump
September 3rd, 2010 by Sandy CampbellPerhaps the most unlikely campaign song in Tennessee history was written by the father of the blues himself, W.C. Handy, in 1907. In support of E.H. Crump’s campaign for mayor of Memphis, Handy wrote “E.H. Crump Blues,” to draw crowds for Crump rallies. But one has to wonder if Crump ever actuallly paid attention to [...]
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