Thomas Mitchell Campbell

Thomas Mitchell Campbell
24th Governor of Texas
In office 1907–1911
Lieutenant	Asbury Bascom Davidson
Preceded by	S. W. T. Lanham
Succeeded by	Oscar Branch Colquitt
Personal details
Born	April 22, 1856 Rusk, Texas
Died	April 1, 1923 (aged 66) Galveston, Texas
Political party	Democratic

Thomas Mitchell Campbell (April 22, 1856 – April 1, 1923) was the 24th Governor of Texas from 1907 to 1911.

Life

Campbell was born in Rusk, Texas, the son of Thomas Duncan and Rachel (Moore) Campbell. He attended school at Rusk and entered Trinity University in 1873 to study law. He was unable to support himself and withdrew after a year. Campbell went to work in the Gregg county clerk's office and continued his studies at night. In 1878, he was admitted to the Texas bar. In the same year, he married Fannie Irene Bruner of Shreveport, Louisiana.

Campbell practiced law in Longview until he became involved with the troubled International-Great Northern Railroad in 1889. He became its court-appointed receiver in 1891 and moved his family to Palestine. The next year, after lifting the line from bankruptcy, he remained in Palestine as the general manager of the railroad.

Political career

Campbell distrusted monopolistic big business and sympathized with trade unions. He shared many of the reformist political views of former Texas governor James Stephen Hogg. In 1897, Campbell resigned from the railroad and became active in Democratic party politics. At Hogg's urging, he decided to run for governor.

Campbell was elected governor in 1906. In his two terms in office, 1907-1911, Campbell initiated a number of reforms involving railroad regulation, equitable taxation, and lobbying restrictions. In 1907, he named the legendary Captain Bill McDonald of the Texas Rangers as the state revenue agent. During his two-year appointment, McDonald increased the state's valuation by a nearly a billion dollars.^[1] The most significant legislation centered on prison reform, as Campbell's administration ended the contract lease system for inmates and implemented more humane treatment of prisoners. Under Campbell, many state agencies also came into being, including the Department of Insurance and Banking, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the State Board of Health, and the Texas State Library.

Campbell returned to private law practice in Palestine but remained active in Democratic politics. In 1916, he ran unsuccessfully for the United States Senate. He died in Galveston and was buried in Palestine.

References

• CAMPBELL, THOMAS MITCHELL. The Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved Apr. 11, 2005.

External links

• Message of Governor T.M. Campbell to the thirtieth legislature of Texas, to which is appended the State Democratic Platform adopted at Dallas, Texas, August 13, 1906., hosted by the Portal to Texas History
• Message of Governor T.M. Campbell to the first called session of the thirtieth legislature of Texas: together with the proclamation of the Governor convening the legislature in extra-ordinary session., hosted by the Portal to Texas History

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