John M. Parker
Encyclopedia
John Milliken Parker was an American Democratic
politician from Louisiana
, who served as the state's 37th Governor from 1920–1924. He was a friend and admirer of President
Theodore Roosevelt
.
Parker was born in Washington
, a village in St. Landry Parish, in south central Louisiana
. He was educated at the Chamberlain-Hunt Academy
, Belle View Academy, and Eastman's Business School in New Orleans. A prominent businessman, he was the president of the New Orleans Cotton Exchange and the Board of Trade.
and polled 37.2 percent of the vote against the Democratic choice, Ruffin Golson Pleasant
of Shreveport. Later in 1916, the national Progressive Party chose Parker as its candidate for vice president, but Roosevelt returned to the GOP
fold and endorsed Charles Evans Hughes
for president. The Democrats Woodrow Wilson
and Thomas Marshall
were nevertheless reelected to the presidency and vice presidency. Four years later, Parker returned to the Democratic fold, considered an essential move to win a Louisiana election at the time, and was elected governor with former opponent Pleasant's support. Louisiana governors were then term-limited after a single four-year term but could seek second terms after sitting out four years.
Parker advocated increased oil and gas severance tax
es to finance public education
. Huey Pierce Long, Jr.
, criticized Parker's tax plan as "too little" for the state's needs. Parker also opposed the New Orleans political machine.
Like Roosevelt, Parker was a staunch conservationist of natural resources and the environment. And he was skeptical of large business combinations that tended to become monopolies.
Parker led the move to draw up the Louisiana Constitution of 1921. He also pushed for the relocation of Louisiana State University
from the downtown to the southern part of Baton Rouge. His old rival Huey Long later tried to mold LSU into the Long mystique.
Parker failed to increase educational funding to the level desired and to expand state civil service protection. He often found that his fiscal conservatism was in conflict with his progressive spirit.
In 1922, Governor Parker sent the Federal Bureau of Investigation
a message begging for help in fighting the Ku Klux Klan
, which had grown so powerful in Louisiana that it not only controlled the northern half of the state but had kidnapped, tortured, and killed two people who opposed it.
Parker commuted the death sentences of two African Americans, Chester Tyson and Mark Peters, convicted in a notorious murder case in the community of Grove in Webster Parish
in northwestern Louisiana. On Christmas Day 1916, the family of John Nelson Reeves, including his wife Maude and three of their four children, was bludgeoned to death by a group of ax-wielding men. The presumed motive for the killing was money that Reeves, who distrusted banks, had boasted of having stashed away in a matrress in his house. The prosecutor in the case, Harmon Caldwell Drew
of Minden
, had been on the job for less than a month when the crime occurred. The district judge in the case was John N. Sandlin
, later a U.S. representative and like Drew an intraparty opponent of the Longs
from Minden.
A petition sent to the Louisiana Board of Pardons claimed that two white men, Henry Waller and Johnie Long, had actually planned and carried out the crime but had each received life sentences, rather than the death penalty. Governor Parker, on Sandlin's recommendation, commuted the sentences of Tyson and Peters to 20 years, and they were released in 1936. Parker blamed the confusion over the case on his predecessor, Governor Pleasant, for having hesitated in carrying out the initial sentence of hanging.
, the seat of West Feliciana Parish near Baton Rouge. He became a leading figure in the Anti-Long Constitutional League. Two other former governors, Jared Y. Sanders, Sr.
, and Ruffin Pleasant also spoke out against the Long political organization.
Parker died in Pass Christian
, Mississippi, east of New Orleans. He is entombed there in the Trinity Church Cemetery.
The 12,000-seat John M. Parker Agricultural Coliseum on the LSU campus is named in his honor.
, and James Rudolph Garfield
) to raise a volunteer infantry division, Roosevelt's World War I volunteers
, for service in France in 1917. The U.S. Congress gave Roosevelt the authority to raise up to four divisions similar to the Rough Riders
of 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry Regiment and to the British Army 25th (Frontiersmen) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers; however, as Commander-in-chief
, President Woodrow Wilson
refused to make use of the volunteers and the unit disbanded.
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
politician from Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, who served as the state's 37th Governor from 1920–1924. He was a friend and admirer of President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
.
Parker was born in Washington
Washington, Louisiana
Washington is a small town in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,082 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Opelousas–Eunice Micropolitan Statistical Area....
, a village in St. Landry Parish, in south central Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. He was educated at the Chamberlain-Hunt Academy
Chamberlain-Hunt Academy
Chamberlain-Hunt Academy, founded in 1879, is a private Christian military boarding school in rural Port Gibson, Mississippi, USA, for boys in grades 7 through 12...
, Belle View Academy, and Eastman's Business School in New Orleans. A prominent businessman, he was the president of the New Orleans Cotton Exchange and the Board of Trade.
Parker the Progressive
Parker first ran for governor in 1916 as the nominee of Roosevelt's 1912 Progressive PartyProgressive Party (United States, 1912)
The Progressive Party of 1912 was an American political party. It was formed after a split in the Republican Party between President William Howard Taft and former President Theodore Roosevelt....
and polled 37.2 percent of the vote against the Democratic choice, Ruffin Golson Pleasant
Ruffin Pleasant
Ruffin Golson Pleasant was the 36th Governor of Louisiana from 1916–1920, who is remembered for having mobilized his state for World War I...
of Shreveport. Later in 1916, the national Progressive Party chose Parker as its candidate for vice president, but Roosevelt returned to the GOP
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
fold and endorsed Charles Evans Hughes
Charles Evans Hughes
Charles Evans Hughes, Sr. was an American statesman, lawyer and Republican politician from New York. He served as the 36th Governor of New York , Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States , United States Secretary of State , a judge on the Court of International Justice , and...
for president. The Democrats Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
and Thomas Marshall
Thomas Marshall
Thomas Marshall may refer to:*Thomas Marshall , abbot of Colchester*Thomas Marshall , English scholar...
were nevertheless reelected to the presidency and vice presidency. Four years later, Parker returned to the Democratic fold, considered an essential move to win a Louisiana election at the time, and was elected governor with former opponent Pleasant's support. Louisiana governors were then term-limited after a single four-year term but could seek second terms after sitting out four years.
Parker's record as governor
As governor, Parker was known for his interest in building gravel roads in rural areas. There were few paved highways at the time in Louisiana.Parker advocated increased oil and gas severance tax
Severance tax
Severance taxes are incurred when non-renewable natural resources are separated from a taxing jurisdiction. Industries that typically incur such taxes are oil and gas, coal, mining, and timber industries....
es to finance public education
Public education
State schools, also known in the United States and Canada as public schools,In much of the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the terms 'public education', 'public school' and 'independent school' are used for private schools, that is, schools...
. Huey Pierce Long, Jr.
Huey Long
Huey Pierce Long, Jr. , nicknamed The Kingfish, served as the 40th Governor of Louisiana from 1928–1932 and as a U.S. Senator from 1932 to 1935. A Democrat, he was noted for his radical populist policies. Though a backer of Franklin D...
, criticized Parker's tax plan as "too little" for the state's needs. Parker also opposed the New Orleans political machine.
Like Roosevelt, Parker was a staunch conservationist of natural resources and the environment. And he was skeptical of large business combinations that tended to become monopolies.
Parker led the move to draw up the Louisiana Constitution of 1921. He also pushed for the relocation of Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
from the downtown to the southern part of Baton Rouge. His old rival Huey Long later tried to mold LSU into the Long mystique.
Parker failed to increase educational funding to the level desired and to expand state civil service protection. He often found that his fiscal conservatism was in conflict with his progressive spirit.
In 1922, Governor Parker sent the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
a message begging for help in fighting the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
, which had grown so powerful in Louisiana that it not only controlled the northern half of the state but had kidnapped, tortured, and killed two people who opposed it.
Parker commuted the death sentences of two African Americans, Chester Tyson and Mark Peters, convicted in a notorious murder case in the community of Grove in Webster Parish
Webster Parish, Louisiana
Webster Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The seat of the parish is Minden. In 2010, its population was 41,207....
in northwestern Louisiana. On Christmas Day 1916, the family of John Nelson Reeves, including his wife Maude and three of their four children, was bludgeoned to death by a group of ax-wielding men. The presumed motive for the killing was money that Reeves, who distrusted banks, had boasted of having stashed away in a matrress in his house. The prosecutor in the case, Harmon Caldwell Drew
Harmon Caldwell Drew
Harmon Caldwell Drew was a lawyer from Minden, Louisiana, who served prior to 1945 as the district attorney of Bossier and Webster parishes and then as a judge of both the district and the state appeal courts. His political career ended with his defeat by future Governor Robert F. Kennon...
of Minden
Minden, Louisiana
Minden is a city in the American state of Louisiana. It serves as the parish seat of Webster Parish and is located twenty-eight miles east of Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish. The population, which has been stable since 1960, was 13,027 at the 2000 census...
, had been on the job for less than a month when the crime occurred. The district judge in the case was John N. Sandlin
John N. Sandlin
John Nicholas Sandlin, Sr. , of Minden, Louisiana, represented his state's Fourth Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives from 1921 to 1937. In 1936, rather than seeking a ninth term in the House, Sandlin, upon the request of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt,...
, later a U.S. representative and like Drew an intraparty opponent of the Longs
Huey Long
Huey Pierce Long, Jr. , nicknamed The Kingfish, served as the 40th Governor of Louisiana from 1928–1932 and as a U.S. Senator from 1932 to 1935. A Democrat, he was noted for his radical populist policies. Though a backer of Franklin D...
from Minden.
A petition sent to the Louisiana Board of Pardons claimed that two white men, Henry Waller and Johnie Long, had actually planned and carried out the crime but had each received life sentences, rather than the death penalty. Governor Parker, on Sandlin's recommendation, commuted the sentences of Tyson and Peters to 20 years, and they were released in 1936. Parker blamed the confusion over the case on his predecessor, Governor Pleasant, for having hesitated in carrying out the initial sentence of hanging.
Post-gubernatorial years
After his gubernatorial term ended, Parker devoted himself to his experimental farm at Bayou Sara near St. FrancisvilleSt. Francisville, Louisiana
St. Francisville is a town in and the parish seat of West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,712 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:St...
, the seat of West Feliciana Parish near Baton Rouge. He became a leading figure in the Anti-Long Constitutional League. Two other former governors, Jared Y. Sanders, Sr.
Jared Y. Sanders, Sr.
Jared Young Sanders, Sr. , was a journalist and attorney from Franklin, the seat of St. Mary Parish in south Louisiana, who served as his state's House Speaker , lieutenant governor , the 34th Governor , and U.S. representative...
, and Ruffin Pleasant also spoke out against the Long political organization.
Parker died in Pass Christian
Pass Christian, Mississippi
Pass Christian , nicknamed The Pass, is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States, along the Gulf of Mexico. It is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, Mississippi, east of New Orleans. He is entombed there in the Trinity Church Cemetery.
The 12,000-seat John M. Parker Agricultural Coliseum on the LSU campus is named in his honor.
World War I
Roosevelt selected Parker as one of eighteen officers (others included: Seth Bullock, Frederick Russell BurnhamFrederick Russell Burnham
Frederick Russell Burnham, DSO was an American scout and world traveling adventurer known for his service to the British Army in colonial Africa and for teaching woodcraft to Robert Baden-Powell, thus becoming one of the inspirations for the founding of the international Scouting Movement.Burnham...
, and James Rudolph Garfield
James Rudolph Garfield
James Rudolph Garfield was an American politician, lawyer and son of President James Abram Garfield and First Lady Lucretia Garfield. He was Secretary of the Interior during Theodore Roosevelt's administration....
) to raise a volunteer infantry division, Roosevelt's World War I volunteers
Roosevelt's World War I volunteers
In his book Foes of Our Own Household , Theodore Roosevelt explains that he had authorization from Congress to raise four divisions to fight in France, similar to his earlier Rough Riders, the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry Regiment and to the British Army 25th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers...
, for service in France in 1917. The U.S. Congress gave Roosevelt the authority to raise up to four divisions similar to the Rough Riders
Rough Riders
The Rough Riders is the name bestowed on the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish-American War and the only one of the three to see action. The United States Army was weakened and left with little manpower after the American Civil War...
of 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry Regiment and to the British Army 25th (Frontiersmen) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers; however, as Commander-in-chief
Commander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
, President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
refused to make use of the volunteers and the unit disbanded.
Sources
External links
- Cemetery Memorial by La-Cemeteries