Changes

==Political career==

==Political career==

===U.S. House of Representatives, 1920s, 30s, and 40s===

===U.S. House of Representatives===

Reece first successfully ran for the House of Representatives in 1920, challenging incumbent Republican Sam R. Sells. Although supporters of Sells initially dismissed Reece's candidacy as a joke,<ref name=part1>Hill, Ray (February 14, 2021). [https://knoxfocus.com/archives/this-weeks-focus/carroll-reece-tennessees-mr-republican-i/ Carroll Reece: Tennessee’s ‘Mr. Republican,’ I]. ''The Knoxville Focus''. Retrieved August 12, 2021.</ref> the political newcomer ran on his military service; Sells campaigned on his personality rather than his congressional voting record. During the campaign, Reece, who went to all counties in the district,<ref>Hill, Ray (February 21, 2021). [https://knoxfocus.com/archives/this-weeks-focus/carroll-reece-tennessees-mr-republican-ii/ Carroll Reece: Tennessee’s ‘Mr. Republican’ II]. ''The Knoxville Focus''. Retrieved August 12, 2021.</ref> promised to serve only up to ten years, a vow he eventually broke.<ref name=part1/> He also attacked the incumbent Sells, a lumber businessman, for alleged conflicts of interest in voting to "exempt excess profit taxes on corporations," furthermore stating:<ref name=part1/>

Reece first successfully ran for the House of Representatives in 1920, challenging incumbent Republican Sam R. Sells. Although supporters of Sells initially dismissed Reece's candidacy as a joke,<ref name=part1>Hill, Ray (February 14, 2021). [https://knoxfocus.com/archives/this-weeks-focus/carroll-reece-tennessees-mr-republican-i/ Carroll Reece: Tennessee’s ‘Mr. Republican,’ I]. ''The Knoxville Focus''. Retrieved August 12, 2021.</ref> the political newcomer ran on his military service; Sells campaigned on his personality rather than his congressional voting record. During the campaign, Reece, who went to all counties in the district,<ref>Hill, Ray (February 21, 2021). [https://knoxfocus.com/archives/this-weeks-focus/carroll-reece-tennessees-mr-republican-ii/ Carroll Reece: Tennessee’s ‘Mr. Republican’ II]. ''The Knoxville Focus''. Retrieved August 12, 2021.</ref> promised to serve only up to ten years, a vow he eventually broke.<ref name=part1/> He also attacked the incumbent Sells, a lumber businessman, for alleged conflicts of interest in voting to "exempt excess profit taxes on corporations," furthermore stating:<ref name=part1/>

{{cquote|Why don’t your congressman and mine in explaining how much he made in 1917 and 1918, tell our people how much he made in 1919, and why he voted to exempt these excess profits from taxes?}}

{{cquote|Why don’t your congressman and mine in explaining how much he made in 1917 and 1918, tell our people how much he made in 1919, and why he voted to exempt these excess profits from taxes?}}

{{quotebox-float|Reece never forgot why he had lost to Oscar B. Lovette in 1930; following his return to the House of Representatives, Carroll Reece became a supporter of the Tennessee Valley Authority. Reece frequently voted against the majority of his fellow Republicans, many of whom disliked the very notion of the TVA, to support the Tennessee Valley Authority. When asked why he didn’t go along with his party, Carroll Reece candidly replied no politician in Tennessee could survive politically by opposing the TVA. Reece had fought the bill sponsored by Senator [[George W. Norris]] of Nebraska, while Second District Congressman [[J. Will Taylor]] had supported it. Reece had lost his seat in Congress because of his opposition while the controversial Taylor had continued to hang on to his seat.}}

{{quotebox-float|Reece never forgot why he had lost to Oscar B. Lovette in 1930; following his return to the House of Representatives, Carroll Reece became a supporter of the Tennessee Valley Authority. Reece frequently voted against the majority of his fellow Republicans, many of whom disliked the very notion of the TVA, to support the Tennessee Valley Authority. When asked why he didn’t go along with his party, Carroll Reece candidly replied no politician in Tennessee could survive politically by opposing the TVA. Reece had fought the bill sponsored by Senator [[George W. Norris]] of Nebraska, while Second District Congressman [[J. Will Taylor]] had supported it. Reece had lost his seat in Congress because of his opposition while the controversial Taylor had continued to hang on to his seat.}}

====Party leadership, conservatism====

An adamant [[conservative]], Reece opposed the [[New Deal]] during the presidency of [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] and [[liberal]] initiatives such as a federal wage and price controls.<ref name=tennesseeencyclopedia/> He was also an [[isolationist]] prior to [[World War II]]. Reece succeeded [[Herbert Brownell]] as the chair of the [[RNC]] in the mid-1940s and presided over [[GOP]] victories in the [[1946 Midterm Elections|1946 midterms]].

 

====Party leadership, conservatism, civil rights====

An adamant [[conservative]], Reece opposed the [[New Deal]] (with the notable exception of the [[TVA]], as mentioned above) during the presidency of [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] and [[liberal]] initiatives such as a federal wage and price controls.<ref name=tennesseeencyclopedia/> He was also an [[isolationist]] prior to [[World War II]]. Reece succeeded [[Herbert Brownell]] as the chair of the [[RNC]] in the mid-1940s and presided over [[GOP]] victories in the [[1946 Midterm Elections|1946 midterms]].

 

He supported the strongly [[conservative]], isolationist [[Robert A. Taft]] in the [[United States presidential election, 1952|1952 presidential election]], who ultimately lost in the Republican primaries to the more moderate [[Dwight Eisenhower]], an [[internationalist]].

He supported the strongly [[conservative]], isolationist [[Robert A. Taft]] in the [[United States presidential election, 1952|1952 presidential election]], who ultimately lost in the Republican primaries to the more moderate [[Dwight Eisenhower]], an [[internationalist]].

He was the namesake of the '''[[Reece Committee]]''', which was the Select Committee to Investigate Tax-Exempt Foundations and Comparable Organizations during the 83rd Congress. Expressing dissatisfaction over the committee's ineptitude during the previous Congress when it was chaired by [[Georgia]] [[segregation]]ist Edward E. Cox, Reece led the committee to conduct a thorough investigation of subversion in tax-exempt organizations.<ref>FascinatingPolitics (December 22, 2019). [https://fascinatingpolitics.com/2019/12/22/the-reece-committee-on-foundations-conspiratorial-nonsense-or-an-expose-of-a-threat-to-the-nation/comment-page-1/ The Reece Committee on Foundations: Conspiratorial Nonsense or an Expose of a Threat to the Nation?]. ''Mad Politics: The Bizarre, Fascinating, and Unknown of American Political History''. Retrieved August 7, 2021.</ref> Although undermined by House Minority Leader [[Sam Rayburn]] and President Eisenhower,<ref>Jasper, William F. (February 6, 2017). [https://thenewamerican.com/cutting-off-the-toxic-funding-flow/ Foundations: Cutting Off the Toxic Funding Flow]. ''The New American''. Retrieved August 7, 2021.</ref> it exposed plots by major foundations to subvert American society towards left-wing ideologies.

He was the namesake of the '''[[Reece Committee]]''', which was the Select Committee to Investigate Tax-Exempt Foundations and Comparable Organizations during the 83rd Congress. Expressing dissatisfaction over the committee's ineptitude during the previous Congress when it was chaired by [[Georgia]] [[segregation]]ist Edward E. Cox, Reece led the committee to conduct a thorough investigation of subversion in tax-exempt organizations.<ref>FascinatingPolitics (December 22, 2019). [https://fascinatingpolitics.com/2019/12/22/the-reece-committee-on-foundations-conspiratorial-nonsense-or-an-expose-of-a-threat-to-the-nation/comment-page-1/ The Reece Committee on Foundations: Conspiratorial Nonsense or an Expose of a Threat to the Nation?]. ''Mad Politics: The Bizarre, Fascinating, and Unknown of American Political History''. Retrieved August 7, 2021.</ref> Although undermined by House Minority Leader [[Sam Rayburn]] and President Eisenhower,<ref>Jasper, William F. (February 6, 2017). [https://thenewamerican.com/cutting-off-the-toxic-funding-flow/ Foundations: Cutting Off the Toxic Funding Flow]. ''The New American''. Retrieved August 7, 2021.</ref> it exposed plots by major foundations to subvert American society towards left-wing ideologies.

====Death in office====

====Civil rights legislation, later career====

Reece held a pro-[[civil rights]] record, voting for [[anti-lynching legislation]] from supporting the Dyer bill of 1922<ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/67-2/h169 TO PASS H. R. 13.]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved August 5, 2021.</ref> to the 1937 Gavagan-Wagner bill<ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/75-1/h27 TO PASS H. R. 1507, AN ANTI-LYNCHING BILL.]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved April 26, 2021.</ref> and the 1940 Gavagan-[[Hamilton Fish III|Fish]] bill.<ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/76-3/h96 TO PASS H.R. 801, A BILL TO MAKE LYNCHING A FEDERAL CRIME.]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved August 13, 2021.</ref> He backed an end to the [[poll tax]],<ref name=tennesseeencyclopedia/> voting for such a measure in 1942.<ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/77-1942/h150 TO PASS H.R. 1024 WHICH DECLARES ILLEGAL THE REQUIREMENT OF A POLL TAX AS A PREREQUISITE FOR VOTING OR REGISTERING TO VOTE FOR PRESIDENT, VICE-PRESIDENT, OR U.S. REPRESENTATIVE.]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved August 13, 2021.</ref> He did not sign the 1956 [[Southern Manifesto]],<ref>[https://www.congress.gov/84/crecb/1956/03/12/GPO-CRECB-1956-pt4-3.pdf GPO-CRECB-1956-pt4-3.pdf]. ''Congressional Record''. Retrieved April 27, 2021.</ref> which opposed the [[Supreme Court]] ruling in ''[[Brown v. Board of Education]]'' that ordered the desegregation of all U.S. public schools. Reece also voted in favor of the [[Civil Rights Act]]s of [[Civil Rights Act of 1957|1957]]<ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/85-1957/h42 HR 6127. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1957.]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved April 26, 2021.</ref> and 1960.<ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/86-1960/h106 HR 8601. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1960. APPROVAL BY THE HOUSE OF THE SENATE'S AMENDMENTS.]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved April 26, 2021.</ref>

 

Reece died in office on March 19, 1961 at the age of seventy-one. He was succeed by his wife [[Louise Goff Reece]], who won a special election held two months later.<ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=378466 TN District 1 - Special Election Race - May 16, 1961]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved May 29, 2021.</ref> Holding a [[fiscal conservatism|fiscally conservative]] tenure like her late husband did, she was a supporter of business interests and opposed excessive government initiatives.<ref>[https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/20216 REECE, Louise Goff]. ''US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives''. Retrieved May 29, 2021.</ref> Deciding not to run for re-election to a full House term in 1963, she was succeeded by James Henry "Jimmy" Quillen, who was similar to Carroll Reece in the sense that he was not an orator.<ref name=part1/>

Reece died in office on March 19, 1961 at the age of seventy-one. He was succeed by his wife [[Louise Goff Reece]], who won a special election held two months later.<ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=378466 TN District 1 - Special Election Race - May 16, 1961]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved May 29, 2021.</ref> Holding a [[fiscal conservatism|fiscally conservative]] tenure like her late husband did, she was a supporter of business interests and opposed excessive government initiatives.<ref>[https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/20216 REECE, Louise Goff]. ''US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives''. Retrieved May 29, 2021.</ref> Deciding not to run for re-election to a full House term in 1963, she was succeeded by James Henry "Jimmy" Quillen, who was similar to Carroll Reece in the sense that he was not an orator.<ref name=part1/>

==Quotes==

==Quotes==