Luke Lea (American politician, born 1879)
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Luke Lea | |
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Kenneth D. McKellar | |
Personal details | |
Born | 114th Field Artillery Regiment | April 12, 1879
Battles/wars | World War I
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Luke Lea (April 12, 1879 – November 18, 1945) was an American attorney, politician and newspaper publisher. A
Early life
Lea was the son of John Overton and Ella (
Lea received his early education from tutors at home. He attended
He attended Columbia Law School in New York City, from which he graduated in 1903. Lea was admitted to the bar the same year, and began to practice in Nashville.
Early career
In addition to practicing law, Lea formed a company to purchase the Nashville American newspaper. Reorganized as the
One of Lea's associates at the American and later the Tennessean was Edward W. Carmack. Lea became involved in Democratic Party politics as a member of the faction led by Carmack. In 1908, Carmack was shot and killed by Duncan Brown Cooper, a former editor of the American, and Cooper's son Robin. Carmack wounded Robin Cooper with return fire. The Coopers were part of the Democratic Party faction led by Malcolm R. Patterson, who was elected governor in 1906, and whom Carmack had challenged unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination in 1908. Duncan and Robin Cooper were both convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to prison. Duncan Cooper's conviction was affirmed on appeal, after which he received a pardon from Patterson. Robin Cooper won an appeal and the right to a retrial, but no prosecutor was willing to re-try the case, so he went free. Lea assumed leadership of the Carmack faction, which succeeded in persuading Patterson to withdraw from the 1910 campaign.
United States Senator
Lea was elected to the Senate by the Tennessee General Assembly in 1911; after 10 unsuccessful ballots, his name was introduced as a compromise choice, and he was selected on the 11th ballot. He was an enthusiastic supporter of most of the progressive policies of Democratic President Woodrow Wilson, a fellow native of the South. Elected president in 1912, Wilson was only the second Democrat to gain the office since the end of the Civil War. During the 63rd Congress, Lea was chairman of the Senate Committee on the Library (of Congress).
Socially progressive but fiscally conservative, Lea actively supported lowering tariffs, the creation of the
In 1913, Lea began his most ambitious undertaking in the Senate when he attempted to launch a federal investigation of the railroads and political corruption in Tennessee. The investigation encouraged the railroads to cease distributing free passes as political favors, but the growing crisis of the First World War eventually overshadowed concerns about corruption, and the investigation was shelved.[4]
During Lea's term, the
World War I
Shortly after the end of Lea's Senate term, the
Attempt to kidnap Kaiser Wilhelm II
In January 1919, Lea and a group of three officers and three sergeants from his unit, the 114th Field Artillery, traveled to Kasteel
This attempt was apparently inspired by a chance meeting with the Duke of Connaught in 1918 who had told Lea that he was the uncle of both King George V and the Kaiser and suggested that the European establishment would protect the Kaiser.[6]
The Americans entered the Netherlands using false civilian passports travelling in two staff cars with weapons concealed under the seats. On arriving at the Chateau where the Kaiser was staying, Lea claimed to be the son of the local count. They immediately raised suspicions and the Kaiser unsurprisingly refused to see them. They retreated to their cars, after stealing an inscribed bronze ashtray, and fled the country.[6]
After an investigation of the incident, the Army reprimanded Lea, MacPhail and the others as it was illegal for them to have entered a neutral country.[7]
Later career
After the close of the war, Lea returned to Nashville and resumed operation of his
In the 1920s, Lea was a major investor in the Nashville investment banking firm of Caldwell & Company, due in part to his friendship with its founder Rogers Caldwell. When accusations of corruption were subsequently made about the bank, Lea and his associates became the subject of rumor that they too were corrupt.
Conviction and imprisonment
Lea was indicted in North Carolina with others, including his eldest son, for bank fraud resulting from the 1930 collapse of the Central Bank and Trust Company of Asheville, North Carolina, a bank with which he had become affiliated through his connection with Caldwell & Company. Both Lea and his son were tried in North Carolina in 1931. L. E. Gwinn, a prominent Memphis attorney whose specialty was criminal law, was brought in along with other attorneys, and the detailed preparation of the North Carolina case was entrusted to him.[8] The Leas were convicted on three of seven counts. Luke was sentenced to six to 10 years in prison.[9]
After the Leas’ appeals were exhausted and after the U.S. Supreme Court denied their petition for a writ of certiorari, both Leas reported for imprisonment at Raleigh in May 1934. Lea received a parole in April 1936, and he received a full pardon in June 1937. Through the end of his life, Lea maintained that he and his son were wrongly prosecuted and convicted and that the prosecution was political in nature, with Lea being made the scapegoat for the Central Bank and Trust’s failure by his Republican foes in North Carolina and Tennessee.
Death and burial
Lea died on November 18, 1945, at the Vanderbilt University Hospital in Nashville, at the age of 66.[10] He was buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Nashville.
Family
Lea married Mary Louise Warner in 1906. They were the parents of Luke Lea Jr. and Percy Warner Lea. Mary Lea died while Luke Lea was en route to France during World War I. Lea married Percy Warner in 1920; she was the sister of his first wife. Luke and Percy Lea were the parents of Mary Louise, Laura, and Overton.
Legacy
They resided at 3700 Whitland Avenue in Nashville, Tennessee.[10] The house, known as Washington Hall, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing property to the Whitland Area Neighborhood.[11]
Lea Heights in Nashville's
Representation in other media
The book
See also
References
- ISBN 9780817350628.
- ^ "Unrivaled: Sewanee 1899", Wikipedia, 2023-01-23, retrieved 2023-01-31
- ^ Tidwell, 56-58.
- ^ Tidwell, 58-62.
- ^ Tidwell, 74-75.
- ^ ISSN 0260-9592. Retrieved 2018-10-13.
- ^ "The bizarre tale of a kidnapping attempt, the German kaiser and a beloved ashtray". Washington Post. 2018-08-14.
- ^ Tidwell, 218-226.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
- ^ Newspapers.com.
- ^ "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Whitland Area Neighborhood". National Park Service. United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
Resources
- Mary Louise Lea Tidwell, Luke Lea of Tennessee, Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1993, ISBN 0-87972-624-5.
External links
- United States Congress. "Luke Lea (id: l000165)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- Luke Lea at Find a Grave
- TIME Magazine Archives -- "More Tennessee Trouble" (December 22, 1930)
- Essay, Doris Boyce, "Luke Lea in the Great War"
- Essay, Doris Boyce, "Luke Lea in the Great Depression"
- Bill Carey, "'Tennessean' Founder Made News Throughout His Life". The Tennessean Archives (November 30, 2003)
- Luke Lea Papers Collection, Tennessee State Library and Archives
- Percie Warner Lea Papers, University of North Carolina-Asheville