Everything about E H Crump totally explained
Edward Hull "Boss" Crump (
October 2,
1874 –
October 16,
1954) was a
Memphis, Tennessee insurance broker, businessman, and
political figure in the early
20th century.
A native of
Holly Springs, Mississippi, Crump moved to Memphis in
1892 and became a successful businessman, and began to make the political connections that would serve him for the rest of his life. He was a delegate to the Tennessee
Democratic State Convention in
1902 and
1904. In
1905 he was named to the municipal Board of Public Works, and Commissioner of Fire and Police in
1907.
Starting in the
1910s Crump began to build a
political machine which came to have statewide influence. He was particularly adept in his use of what were at the time essentially two political minority groups in
Tennessee,
blacks and
Republicans. Unlike most
Southern Democrats of his era, Crump wasn't opposed to blacks voting. Blacks were reliable Crump machine voters for the most part and the two developed a
symbiotic relationship in which blacks aided the machine and the machine aided them. Crump also skillfully manipulated Republicans, who were numerically very weak in the western two-thirds of the state but dominated politics in
East Tennessee. Frequently they found it necessary to ally themselves with Crump in order to accomplish any of their goals, and they often did.
Crump was very influential for nearly half a century. He preferred to work for the most part behind the scenes, serving only three terms of two years each as
mayor of Memphis (
1910–
1916) at the beginning of his career, but essentially naming the next several mayors. His rise to prominence disturbed many of the state political leaders in
Nashville; the "Ouster Law", designed to remove officials who refused to enforce state laws, was passed primarily with Crump and his lax enforcement of state
Prohibition in mind. He was county treasurer of
Shelby County from
1917 to
1923. He was a delegate to the
Democratic National Convention a total of seven times.
After several years of working behind the scenes, Crump decided to run for
Congress in
1930. He was easily elected to the former Tenth District, which was co-extensive with Shelby County. He served two terms,
March 4,
1931–
January 3,
1935. (During his service the
Twentieth Amendment was ratified, redefining the starting dates of Congressional and
Presidential terms.) During this time he was also a regent of the
Smithsonian Institution. He remained hugely influential in Memphis as well, staying in constant communication with his operatives there and visiting during all Congressional recesses.
In
1936 he was named to the
Democratic National Committee, serving on that body until
1945. In
1939 he was elected to a final term as mayor.
His statewide influence began to wane in the late
1940s, when two of his opponents were elected to office in
1948,
Gordon Browning, a onetime protege who had broken with him returning to become
governor again, and
Estes Kefauver being elected to the
United States Senate. For the remainder of his life, the bulk of his influence was limited to Memphis. The defeat of his longtime associate
Kenneth McKellar by
Albert Gore, Sr. for
United States Senate in
1952 marked another turning point, and the days of his massive influence over Tennessee politics were almost over, his death coming less than two years later. However, a final triumph was the victory of his chosen candidate,
Frank G. Clement, over Browning for governor in the same election. Crump was interred at Memphis'
Elmwood Cemetery.
Crump's marks on Memphis can be seen even today. Crump was a strong supporter of fire service and for many years the Memphis Fire Department was considered one of the very best in the country, and is still quite well-regarded. He felt separate operations for each municipal
utility were inherently inefficient; today the Memphis Division of Light, Gas, & Water is one of the largest combined municipal utilities in the
United States. He believed that cities shouldn't be unnecessarily noisy; Memphis has strong noise ordinances that are more aggressively enforced than those of many other jurisidictions. He was one of the early supporters of
automobile safety inspections; all Memphis-registered vehicles are inspected annually (twice a year until the
1990s). The city's
Crump Stadium and Crump Boulevard are named after him as well. Although many of these projects and innovations are said to have benefited Crump personally in one way or another, it's inarguable that they've benefited the city of Memphis greatly as well.
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