17 Facts About Benton McMillin

Benton McMillin was an American politician and diplomat.

Benton McMillin served as the 27th governor of Tennessee from 1899 to 1903 and represented Tennessee's 4th district in the United States House of Representatives from 1879 to 1899.

Benton McMillin served as a diplomat during the administration of President Woodrow Wilson, initially as Minister to Peru and afterward as Minister to Guatemala.

Benton McMillin was admitted to the bar in 1871, and began practicing in Celina, Tennessee.

In 1878, McMillin was elected to the first of ten consecutive terms in the US House of Representatives, defeating 4th District incumbent Haywood Y Riddle.

Benton McMillin opposed the Lodge Bill of 1890, which would have provided protections for black voters in the South.

Benton McMillin continued campaigning in favor of federal income taxes until the 1913 adoption of the Sixteenth Amendment, which gave the federal government the power to collect income taxes.

In 1897, McMillin sought the US Senate seat left vacant by the death of Isham G Harris.

Benton McMillin signed legislation authorizing counties to establish high schools and school boards and instituted a property tax to pay for school textbooks.

Benton McMillin finalized the state's boundary with Virginia and set up a sinking fund to reduce the state debt.

Benton McMillin remained active in Democratic Party politics and served as an elector in every presidential election between 1876 and 1932, with the exception of the 1916 election, and attended every Democratic National Convention during the same period, with the exception of the 1920 convention.

Benton McMillin represented the other faction, the "Regular Democrats," which believed the state's largest cities should be exempt from prohibition.

Benton McMillin was defeated in the general election by winning just 116,610 votes to Hooper's 124,641.

Benton McMillin died in Nashville on January 8,1933, and is buried in the city's Mount Olivet Cemetery.

In 1897, Benton McMillin married Lucille Foster, a noted women's suffragist and president of the Tennessee Federation of Women's Clubs.

Benton McMillin served as a civil service commissioner under President Franklin D Roosevelt in the 1940s.

Benton McMillin's brother, Joseph, was a teacher at the Montvale Academy in Celina.