William B. Bate

William Brimage Bate (October 7, 1826– March 9, 1905) was governor of Tennessee fron 1883 to 1887 and subsequently United States Senator from Tennessee from 1887 until his death.

Related Topics:
October 7 - 1826 - March 9 - 1905 - Governor of Tennessee - 1883 - 1887 - United States Senator - Tennessee

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bate had served as a volunteer in the Mexican War. He served in the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1849 to 1851. He graduated from law school in Lebanon, Tennessee in 1852 and was admitted to the bar in that year, establishing his practice in Gallatin, Tennessee. He became district attorney general for the Nashville district in 1854.

Related Topics:
Mexican War - Tennessee House of Representatives - 1849 - 1851 - Law school - Lebanon, Tennessee - 1852 - Bar - Gallatin, Tennessee - District attorney - Nashville - 1854

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bate served in the Confederate forces in the Civil War, attaining the rank of major general. After the defeat of the Confederacy he returned to the practice of law; as was the case of many prominent ex-Confederates, full civil rights were eventually restored to him.

Related Topics:
Confederate - Civil War - Major general - Law - Civil rights

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He was elected governor as a Democrat in 1882 over the incumbent Republican, Alvin Hawkins, and re-elected in 1884 and is credited with having found a satisfactory solution to the debt problems of the state. His subsequent elections to the U.S. Senate were by the Tennessee General Assembly, the method of choosing U.S. Senators prior to the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1887, 1893, 1899, and 1905, one of only two Tennessee senators to be elected to more than three terms and the only one prior to the adoption of popular election of U.S. Senators under the terms of the Seventeenth Amendment. As a Senator, he served as the chairman of the Committee on the Improvement of the Mississippi River and Its Tributaries in the 53rd Congress and the chairman of the Committee on Public Health and the National Quarantine in two later Congresses. However, he died only five days into his fourth term, in Washington, D.C.. His funeral was held in the Senate chamber of the United States Capitol, and he is buried in Nashville's Mount Olivet Cemetery.

Related Topics:
Elected - Democrat - 1882 - Republican - Alvin Hawkins - 1884 - Debt - State - Tennessee General Assembly - Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution - 1887 - 1893 - 1899 - 1905 - Mississippi River - 53rd Congress - Congresses - Washington, D.C. - Funeral - United States Capitol - Mount Olivet Cemetery

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~