B. Carroll Reece
Brazilla Carroll Reece (December 22, 1889 – March 19, 1961) was an American Republican Party politician from Tennessee. He represented eastern Tennessee in the United States House of Representatives for all but six years from 1921 to 1961 and served as the Chair of the Republican National Committee from 1946 to 1948. A conservative, he led the party's Old Right wing alongside Robert A. Taft in crusading against interventionism, communism, and the liberal policies pursued by the Roosevelt and Truman administrations.
Carroll Reece
From 1953 to 1954, as chairman of the House Select Committee to Investigate Tax-Exempt Foundations and Comparable Organizations, often called the Reece Committee, he led an investigation of Communist activities by non-profit organizations, particularly educational institutions and charitable foundations. The Reece Committee concluded that foundations were actively embroiled in efforts to promote socialist and collectivist ideologies.
Early life[edit]
Reece was born on a farm near Butler, Tennessee, as one of thirteen children of John Isaac and Sarah Maples Reece. He was named for Brazilla Carroll McBride, an ancestor who served in the War of 1812, but never used his first name.[1] His brother, Raleigh Valentine Reece, was a reporter for the Nashville Tennessean and the teacher who replaced John Thomas Scopes at Rhea County High School in Dayton, Tennessee following the infamous "Monkey Trial."
Reece attended Watauga Academy in Butler, Tennessee and Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, Tennessee.[2] At Carson-Newman he played basketball and football. After graduating from Carson-Newman in 1914 as class valedictorian, he worked as a high school principal for one year, then enrolled in New York University, where he earned a master's degree in economics and finance in 1916.[1] He also studied at the University of London.
Career[edit]
He was an assistant secretary and instructor at New York University in 1916 and 1917.
In April, 1917 Reece enlisted for World War I and attended officer training in Plattsburgh, New York. During the war he served initially with the 166th Infantry Regiment, a unit of the 42nd Infantry Division.[3] He later transferred to 102nd Infantry Regiment, 26th Infantry Division. He commanded a company, then commanded the regiment's 3rd Battalion, and attained the rank of captain.[4][5] He was discharged in 1919, and was decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross, Distinguished Service Medal, Purple Heart, and French Croix de Guerre with Palm.[6][7]
He was director of the School of Business Administration of New York University in 1919 and 1920, and also studied law there.
He then passed the bar exam and opened a successful law practice in Johnson City, where he was also a banker and publisher.
Reece was married to Louise Goff, daughter of United States Senator Guy Despard Goff of West Virginia.
Death and legacy[edit]
Reece died of lung cancer on March 19, 1961, in Bethesda, Maryland, just two months after being sworn in for his 18th term.[48] He served in the House longer than anyone else in Tennessee history (though Jimmy Quillen, who eventually succeeded him as the 1st District's congressman, holds the record for the longest unbroken tenure in the House for a Tennessee congressman), and only Kenneth McKellar served in both houses longer. Reece's wife, Louise, was elected to serve the remainder of his unexpired term in Congress. Both are buried at Monte Vista Memorial Park in Johnson City, Tennessee.
He received several honorary degrees, including LL.D.s from Cumberland University and Tusculum College, and an L.H.D. from Lincoln Memorial University.[49]