Changes

Bilbo was born on October 13, 1877, during the year [[Reconstruction]] ended, in Juniper Grove, Mississippi.<ref name=msencyclopediabio/> At the age of fifteen, he enrolled in public schools and graduated four years later, subsequently entering a career of teaching briefly. He attended Peabody College and Vanderbilt Law School though graduated from neither institution.<ref name=msencyclopediabio/>

Bilbo was born on October 13, 1877, during the year [[Reconstruction]] ended, in Juniper Grove, Mississippi.<ref name=msencyclopediabio/> At the age of fifteen, he enrolled in public schools and graduated four years later, subsequently entering a career of teaching briefly. He attended Peabody College and Vanderbilt Law School though graduated from neither institution.<ref name=msencyclopediabio/>

In 1903, Bilbo ran for a circuit clerk position though lost to a "one-armed Confederate veteran."<ref name=msencyclopediabio/> He later was elected a state senator, serving from 1908 to 1912.

Bilbo's political career began in the [[Progressive Era]],<ref name=fleegler,p.6>Fleegler, Robert L. [https://web.archive.org/web/20220310171829/https://www.mississippihistory.org/sites/default/files/bilbo.pdf Theodore G. Bilbo and the Decline of Public Racism, 1938–1947], p. 6. ''Internet Archive''. Retrieved December 18, 2022. ran for a circuit clerk position though lost to a "one-armed Confederate veteran."<ref name=msencyclopediabio/> He later was elected a state senator, serving from 1908 to 1912.

 

In 1912, Bilbo was elected [[lieutenant governor]] and later governor four years afterwards.<ref name=fleegler,p.6/> Due to a one-term limit on Mississippi governors, he then sought an open seat in the lower body of the state legislature in the 1920 elections, though "lost badly" and resumed law practice.

==Return to the governorship==

==Return to the governorship==

==U.S. Senate==

==U.S. Senate==

Bilbo unsuccessfully ran for the [[U.S. House of Representatives]] in 1932,<ref name=msencyclopediabio/><ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=483060 MS – District 07 Race – Nov 08, 1932]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved June 16, 2023.</ref> though two years later sought a U.S. Senate seat and denied the renomination of the more conservative incumbent Democratic senator Hubert D. Stephens, proceeding to victory in the general election.<ref name=fleegler,pp.7-8>Fleegler, Robert L. [https://web.archive.org/web/20220310171829/https://www.mississippihistory.org/sites/default/files/bilbo.pdf Theodore G. Bilbo and the Decline of Public Racism, 1938–1947], pp. 7–8. ''Internet Archive''. Retrieved December 18, 2022.</ref> In the primary, Bilbo garnered his usual support from the economically poor "hills" as opposed to the pro-[[Bourbon Democrat|Bourbon]] Delta region. His virulent campaign rife with attacks against Wall Street were noticed and reported on by ''[[The New York Times]]'', and was compared to Louisiana demagogic [[Huey Long]].

Bilbo unsuccessfully ran for the [[U.S. House of Representatives]] in 1932,<ref name=msencyclopediabio/><ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=483060 MS – District 07 Race – Nov 08, 1932]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved June 16, 2023.</ref> though two years later sought a U.S. Senate seat and denied the renomination of the more conservative incumbent Democratic senator Hubert D. Stephens, proceeding to victory in the general election.<ref name=fleegler,pp.7-8>"Theodore G. Bilbo and the Decline of Public Racism, 1938–1947," pp. 7–8.</ref> In the primary, Bilbo garnered his usual support from the economically poor "hills" as opposed to the pro-[[Bourbon Democrat|Bourbon]] Delta region. His virulent campaign rife with attacks against Wall Street were noticed and reported on by ''[[The New York Times]]'', and was compared to Louisiana demagogic [[Huey Long]].

===1930s: hardline New Deal politics, diatribes against anti-lynching legislation===

===1930s: hardline New Deal politics, diatribes against anti-lynching legislation===