Thomas M. Bell (Georgia politician) explained

Thomas Montgomery Bell
Birth Date:17 March 1861
Birth Place:near Cleveland, Georgia
Death Place:Gainesville, Georgia
Termend:1915
Office:House Majority Whip
Termstart:1913
District2:9th
State2:Georgia
Predecessor:John Wilbur Dwight
Predecessor2:Farish Carter Tate
Successor:Harold Knutson
Successor2:John Stephens Wood
Termend2:March 3, 1931
Termstart2:March 4, 1905
Party:Democratic

Thomas Montgomery Bell (March 17, 1861 – March 18, 1941) was an American politician who served as House majority whip from 1913 to 1915.

Bell was born in Nacoochee Valley, near Cleveland, Georgia. He graduated from Moore's Business University at Atlanta, then taught public school in Cleveland from 1878 to 1879. He then worked as a traveling salesman for several years. He served as clerk of the superior court of Hall County, Georgia from 1898 to 1904, then was elected as a congress member in the Democratic Party of the United States, serving from March 4, 1905, to March 3, 1931. He served as majority whip from 1913 to 1915. In 1922, he was a prominent voice of racist opposition to anti-lynching legislation, arguing that political equality for African Americans is "something that would never be tolerated and should never be advocated by anyone."[1] After an unsuccessful renomination in 1930, he returned to the private sector and died in Gainesville, Georgia.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Dyer Bill: Anti-Lynching Legislation Debated in Congress • The Congressional Digest, 1922 • . Old Magazine Articles . 23 October 2019.