Emmet O'Neal
Emmet O'Neal | |
|---|---|
 O'Neal in 1913 | |
| 34thGovernor of Alabama | |
| In office January 17, 1911 – January 18, 1915 | |
| Lieutenant | Walter D. Seed Sr. |
| Preceded by | B. B. Comer |
| Succeeded by | Charles Henderson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 23, 1853 Florence, Alabama,US |
| Died | September 7, 1922(aged 68) Birmingham, Alabama,US |
| Resting place | Florence Cemetery |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Lizzie Kirkman |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
Emmet O'Neal(September 23, 1853 – September 7, 1922) was an AmericanDemocraticpolitician and lawyer who was the34th Governor of Alabamafrom 1911 to 1915. He was a reformer in the progressive mold and is best known for securing the commission form of government for the cities of Alabama.
Career[edit]
O'Neal was born on September 23, 1853, inFlorence, AlabamatoEdward A. O'Nealand Olivia Moore O'Neal. His father, Edward A. O'Neal, was a lawyer who became aConfederate States Armyofficer during theAmerican Civil War.A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected as Governor of Alabama, serving from 1882 to 1886 in the post-Reconstruction era. Emmet O'Neal received his early schooling in Florence and was a student at theUniversity of Mississippiin 1870 and 1871. He received the degree of A.B. from theUniversity of Alabamain 1873.
Reading law under the supervision of his father, he was admitted to the bar in Florence in 1876. In 1901 and 1910, he was elected and served as president of theAlabama Bar Association.In 1911 he was made a member of the governing board of theAmerican Bar Association.[1]
State politics[edit]
O'Neal served as apresidential electorinAlabama's 8th congressional districtin 1888 and was an elector at large from Alabama in 1892 and 1908. He was appointed asUnited States District Attorneyfor theNorthern District of Alabamaand served in that capacity from 1893 to 1897. In 1901, he served as a member at large in theConstitutional Convention of 1901,where he was a member of the committees on rules and regulations and suffrage; and chair of the committee on local legislation. He played a prominent role in framing the suffrage provisions, adding apoll tax,literacy test(administered subjectively by white officials), and property ownership requirements. These constitutional changes resulted in a "precipitous" decline in voter registration, dramatically suppressing election turnout for both Black and poor white voters.[2]Most blacks were effectively disenfranchised until after passage of federal civil rights legislation in the mid-1960s, including theVoting Rights Act of 1965.
In the runup to the1908 presidential election,O'Neal made an extensive speaking tour in the West campaigning forWilliam Jennings Bryan.In 1909, he campaigned against the addition of aprohibitionamendment to theConstitution of Alabama.[1]
Governor 1911–1915[edit]
O'Neal was elected governor in1910,began his term of service in January 1911, and served four years. Among the more important achievements of his administration was the improvement of the convict system, the impetus given to good roads, and the creation of the State Highway Commission. Enforcement of the law was achieved by calling special court terms to handle backlogs. Special counsels were appointed in both civil and criminal cases where the interests of the public and the State were concerned. Legislation was passed to establish the commission form of city government in those jurisdictions that qualified. He also worked to improve the judiciary. He actively urged a new constitutional convention, and his legal writings were published and read.[1]
He was an active member of the Governors' conference and participated in all the debates during his term. At the Governors' conference meeting in Richmond, Virginia, he delivered an address on the importance of establishing a system for rural credit (including the availability of cooperative credit unions, cooperative land banks, and similar organizations). His work as a pioneer in that movement resulted in the Congressional passage of legislation with a Presidential signature. O'Neal was chair of the Alabama delegation at the1912 Democratic National Convention,which nominatedWoodrow Wilsonfor president; he was the first Southerner to be elected to the presidency since the war. At the time of the conference of Governors, Governor O'Neal served as a member of that body's executive committee.[1]
Middle-class business and professional activists in the cities were frustrated with the old-fashioned politicized city governments. They demanded a commission form in which experts rather than politicians would very largely run municipal affairs. Governor O'Neal made the commission system his favored reform and secured its passage by the legislature in 1911. Birmingham, Montgomery, and Mobile quickly adopted the commission form.[3]
Other activities[edit]
He was a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Elks, the Presbyterian church, and thePhi Beta Kappasociety. In 1915, Governor O'Neal was appointed referee in bankruptcy, with offices in the Federal building in Birmingham. After his term as governor, he also worked in manufacturing in Birmingham, serving as secretary and treasurer of theSouthern Steel Works Company.Governor O'Neal frequently contributed toThe North American Reviewand other publications. He also served as a vice-president of theAmerican Bar Association.[1]
He spoke at the 1919National Conference on Lynching.
On July 21, 1891, Governor O'Neal married Elizabeth Kirkman, the daughter of ColonelSamuel Kirkmanand his wife. They had three children, Kirkman, Olivia, and Elizabeth O'Neal.[1]
References[edit]
- ^abcdefDaniel Decatur Moore (1922).Men of the South: A Work for the Newspaper Reference Library.Southern Biographical Association. pp. 43, 151.
- ^Flint, Wayne (2013).A Century of Controversy: Constitutional Reform in Alabama.Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama Press. pp. 34–49.ISBN978-0-8173-1218-3.
- ^Allen W. Jones, "Political Reforms of the Progressive Era,"Alabama Review21 (1968): 175—206.
External links[edit]
- Alabama Department of Archives and History, Emmet O'NealArchivedMarch 4, 2016, at theWayback Machine
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