15 Facts About Marion Butler

Marion Butler was an American politician, farmer, and lawyer.

Marion Butler represented North Carolina in the United States Senate for one term, serving between 1895 and 1901.

Marion Butler was the older brother of George Edwin Butler.

Marion Butler became a leader of the Farmers' Alliance and won election to the North Carolina Senate as a member of the Democratic Party.

Marion Butler stood for re-election in 1900, but Democrats had regained control of the state legislature and he was defeated.

Marion Butler was born in 1863 in rural Sampson County, North Carolina during the American Civil War.

Marion Butler's planned to practice law, but his father's death required Butler to take responsibility for managing the family farm, rather than attending law school.

Still a Democrat at this time, Marion Butler was elected to the North Carolina Senate as an "Alliance Democrat" in 1890.

In 1894, Butler was elected as United States Senator from North Carolina, serving alongside Senator Jeter C Pritchard.

Marion Butler obtained national prominence in the 1896 United States presidential election when he orchestrated a compromise between Democrats and Populists.

Marion Butler lost his bid for re-election in 1900, however he would remain the national chairman of the People's Party until 1904 when he would officially become a Republican.

Marion Butler joined the Progressive Republican Faction of the National Republican Party alongside notable individuals such as Theodore Roosevelt.

Marion Butler's legacy is surrounded by considerable debate among scholars of the era.

Progressive historians, who tend to look favorably on the goals of the Populist Movement in general have often discarded Marion Butler's fusionism, silver-backed currency and emphasis on white supremacy as being "un-Populist".

The Marion Butler Birthplace was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.