Carthage, TN

Carthage is a town in Smith County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,251 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Smith County, and perhaps best-known as the hometown of former Vice President Al Gore, and his father, Senator Albert Gore, Sr. The younger Gore announced his 1988 and 2000 presidential bids, as well as his 1992 vice-presidential bid, from the steps of the Smith County Courthouse.

Smith County Courthouse, Carthage, TN,

Smith County Courthouse

History

Downtown Carthage, TN

The earliest known Euro-American settler in what is now Carthage was William Walton (1760-1816), who arrived in the late 1780s.[5] Around 1800, Walton directed the construction of the Walton Road (Cumberland Turnpike), an early stage coach route connecting the Knoxville area with Middle Tennessee. The road, which roughly paralleled what is now US-70, would prove influential in the early settlement of the Cumberland region. Walton operated a ferry and tavern along the road, around which a small community developed. In 1804, Walton's community was chosen as the county seat of the newly-formed Smith County after a heated election, and the town of Carthage was laid out shortly thereafter.

Carthage's situation at the confluence of the Cumberland and Caney Fork rivers made it an important shipping and steamboat port throughout the first half of the 19th-century. The emergence of railroads later in the century, however, made steamboat and river travel largely obsolete, and the area's industrial focus shifted to South Carthage and Gordonsville.

Notable residents

Albert Gore, Sr. — U.S. Senator,

Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Sr. (December 26, 1907 – December 5, 1998) was an American politician, serving as a U.S. Representative and a U.S. Senator for the Democratic Party from Tennessee.

Gore had two children, Nancy LaFon Gore, born in 1938, who died of lung cancer in 1984, and Albert Gore Jr., who served as Vice President of the United States from 1993 to 2001.

Congressional career
After serving as Tennessee Commissioner of Labor from 1936 to 1937 Gore was elected as a Democrat to the 76th Congress in 1938, re-elected to the two succeeding Congresses, and served from January 3, 1939 until his resignation on December 4, 1944 to enter the U.S. Army.

Re-elected to the 79th and to the three succeeding Congresses January 3, 1945 to January 3, 1953), Gore was not a candidate for re-election but was elected in 1952 to the U.S. Senate. In his 1952 election, he defeated six-term incumbent Kenneth McKellar. Gore's victory, coupled with that of Frank G. Clement for governor of Tennessee over incumbent Gordon Browning on the same day, is widely regarded as a major turning point in Tennessee political history and as marking the end of statewide influence for E. H. Crump, the Memphis political boss. During this term, Gore was instrumental in the sponsoring and enacting the legislation creating the Interstate Highway System. Gore was re-elected in 1958 and again in 1964, and served from January 3, 1953, to January 3, 1971, after he lost reelection in 1970. In the Senate, he was chairman of the Special Committee on Attempts to Influence Senators during the 84th Congress.

Gore was one of only three Democratic senators from the eleven former Confederate states who did not sign the 1956 Southern Manifesto opposing integration, the other two being Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson (who was not asked to sign) and Gore's fellow Tennessean Estes Kefauver, who refused to sign. South Carolina Senator J. Strom Thurmond tried to get Gore to sign the Southern Manifesto, but was told "Hell no" by Gore. Gore could not, however, be regarded as an out-and-out integrationist, having voted against some major civil rights legislation including the Civil Rights Act of 1964. (Gore later claimed that the 1964 vote was his biggest mistake.) He did support the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He had easily won renomination in 1958 over former governor of Tennessee Jim Nance McCord, which at that point was still tantamount to election (because of the traditional weakness of the Republican party in the post-Reconstruction South); by 1964 he faced an energetic Republican challenge from Memphian Dan Kuykendall, who ran a surprisingly strong race against him.

By 1970, Gore was considered to be fairly vulnerable for a three-term incumbent Senator, as a result of his liberal positions on many issues such as the Vietnam War and Civil Rights. This was especially risky, electorally, as at the time Tennessee was moving more and more towards the Republican Party. He faced a spirited primary challenge, predominantly from former Nashville news anchor Hudley Crockett, who used his broadcasting skills to considerable advantage and generally attempted to run to Gore's right.

Gore fended off this primary challenge, but he was ultimately unseated in the 1970 Senate election by Republican Congressman William E. Brock III. In this Senate race, Brock was widely perceived to have won by playing on white voters' fears of civil rights and desegregation for blacks. Gore was one of the key targets in the Nixon/Agnew "Southern strategy"; Spiro T. Agnew traveled to Tennessee in 1970 to mock Gore as the "Southern regional chairman of the Eastern Liberal Establishment". Other prominent issues in this race included Gore's opposition to the Vietnam War, his vote against Sen. Everett Dirksen's amendment on prayer in public schools, and his opposition to appointing Clement Haynsworth and G. Harrold Carswell to the U.S. Supreme Court. Brock won the election by a 51% to 47% margin.

After Congress

After leaving Congress, Gore resumed the practice of law with Occidental Petroleum Company and became vice president and member of the board of directors, taught law at Vanderbilt University 1970–1972. He became chairman of Island Creek Coal Co., Lexington, Kentucky, in 1972, and in his last years operated an antiques store in Carthage. He died three weeks shy of his 91st birthday and is buried in Smith County Memorial Gardens in Carthage.

Albert (Al) Gore, Jr.

Albert Gore, Jr. — U.S. Senator and Vice President,

Albert Arnold Gore, Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American environmental activist, author, businessperson, former politician, and former journalist. He served as the forty-fifth Vice President of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton.

Gore was involved in American politics for over three decades, serving first in the U. S. House of Representatives (1977–85) and later in the U. S. Senate (1985–93) (representing Tennessee) before becoming vice president. In 2000, Gore was the Democratic nominee for president in the presidential election. He won the popular vote but ultimately lost to Republican candidate George W. Bush. A legal controversy over the Florida election recount was eventually settled in favor of Bush by the Supreme Court.

Gore is the recipient of a number of awards including the Nobel Peace Prize (together with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) in 2007, a Primetime Emmy Award for Current TV in 2007, and a Webby Award in 2005. He also starred in the 2006 documentary An Inconvenient Truth, which won an Academy Award in 2007.

He is currently the founder and chair of Alliance for Climate Protection, the co-founder and chair of Generation Investment Management, the co-founder and chair of Current TV, a member of the Board of Directors of Apple Inc., and a senior advisor to Google. He is also a partner in the venture capital firm, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, heading that firm's climate change solutions group.In addition, Gore is on the faculty of Middle Tennessee State University as a visiting professor, and was a visiting professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, Fisk University, and the University of California, Los Angeles.

Childhood
Albert Gore, Jr. was born in Washington, D.C., to Albert Gore, Sr., a U.S. Representative (1939–1944, 1945–1953) and Senator (1953–1971) from Tennessee, and Pauline LaFon Gore, one of the first women to graduate from Vanderbilt University Law School. His older sister Nancy, who was born in 1938, died of lung cancer in 1984

Gore divided his childhood between Washington, D.C. and Carthage, Tennessee. During summer vacations, Gore worked on the family farm in Carthage where the Gores grew hay and tobacco and raised cattle. Each school year, however, the family lived in Fairfax Hotel along Embassy Row in Washington D.C. Gore attended St. Albans School from 1956 to 1965, while his sister Nancy attended Holton-Arms School. While at St. Albans, Gore played on the varsity football team, threw discus for the track and field team, and participated in basketball, art, and government. Gore met the date of a classmate, Mary Elizabeth Aitcheson (Tipper) from nearby St. Agnes at his senior prom in 1965.


Tipper and Al with President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton

Harvard

Gore joined Harvard University in 1965, the only college he had applied to. Tipper, whom he had been dating since his senior prom, followed him to Boston, first attending Garland Junior College and later transferring to Boston University where she majored in psychology.

As a freshman, Gore planned to be an English major and was working on a novel. He was not tremendously engaged in his studies until the upheavals of 1968 and the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Gore took a political science course, developed an interest in politics, and changed his major to government. He and his friends, however, did not participate in Harvard demonstrations. John Tyson, a former roommate, recalled that "We distrusted these movements a lot because a lot of this stuff was very emotional and not well thought out. We were a pretty traditional bunch of guys, positive for civil rights and women's rights but formal, transformed by the social revolution to some extent but not buying into something we considered detrimental to our country."

Gore graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in government cum laude on June 12, 1969. The Washington Post described his commencement ceremony as a "Sixties period piece" of tradition and chaos. This included the moment when "President Nathan Pusey delivered his time-honored welcoming of the graduates to 'the company of educated men,' [and] hundreds of seniors rose from their folding chairs, raised their fists in defiance, and walked out."

Vietnam War and journalism,

In 1969, neither Gore nor his father were supporters of the Vietnam War. However, as a college graduate, he could no longer defer being drafted into the U.S. military. In addition, his "low draft number assured that he would be called up soon."In debating how to proceed, his father, Albert Gore, Sr., later recalled that Gore "sat around with his mother and I in the living room and talked about it. He said he didn't believe in the Vietnam War. I said, 'Well, it isn't given in our law for an individual to go contrary to the law.' We discussed all the various things young men were doing to dodge the draft."Also according to his Senate biography, Gore's "mother said that she would support whatever he wanted to do – 'including going to Canada with him.' "The Washington Post later added in 1999 that very few of his Harvard classmates went to Vietnam. Instead, "most of his peers at Harvard were looking for a way out, and finding one. Some took refuge in the National Guard or the reserves, options that might save them from Vietnam. A few resisted or became conscientious objectors or left for Canada."

Gore has stated that he finally enlisted in the army for two reasons: he was concerned over the impact it would have upon his father's career and he did not want someone with fewer advantages than he to go in his place. Al Gore, Sr. was engaged in a difficult political campaign for the 1970 Senate election, one which would have been adversely affected if his son did not enlist in the military. Al Gore, Sr., had authorized American involvement in Vietnam by voting for the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in 1964, but by 1969 had become a vocal opponent of the war. Thus the elder Gore appeared to some to be "too tolerant of social protest of all kinds and of change in general [...] Young Al worried that if he found a way around military service, he would be handing an issue to his father's opponents."

Gore also chose to enlist because he did not want someone to go in his place. Actor Tommy Lee Jones (a former housemate) later recalled Gore saying that "if he found a fancy way of not going, someone else would have to go in his place." His Harvard advisor, Richard Neustadt, also stated that Gore, "decided that he would have to go and that he would have to go as an enlisted man because, he said, 'In Tennessee, that's what most people have to do.'"In addition, Michael Roche, his editor for The Castle Courier, stated that "anybody who knew Al Gore in Vietnam knows he could have sat on his butt and he didn't."

Gore refused the option of signing up for the National Guard, choosing instead to volunteer for the United States Army, which meant enlisting for two years (he served from 1969 - to 1971). After enlisting in August 1969, Gore returned to the Harvard campus in his military uniform to say goodbye to his adviser and was "jeered" at by students. He later described the visit as a "Ralph Ellison experience in that I was the same person inside but my physical appearance conveyed a message that completely overwhelmed the message of my humanity. It was just an emotional field of negativity and disapproval and piercing glances that shot arrows of what certainly felt like real hatred, and I was astonished."

Gore had basic training at Fort Dix from August to October, and then was assigned to be a journalist at Fort Rucker, Alabama. In April 1970, he was "Soldier of the Month". On May 19, 1970, Gore married Tipper at the Washington National Cathedral.

Gore with the 20th Engineer Brigade in Bien Hoa as a journalist with the paper, The Castle Courier.His orders to be sent to Vietnam were "held up" for some time and he suspected that this was due to a fear by the Nixon administration that if something happened to him, his father would gain sympathy votes. He was finally shipped to Vietnam on January 2, 1971, after his father had lost his seat in the Senate during the 1970 Senate election, one "of only about a dozen of the 1,115 Harvard graduates in the Class of '69 who went to Vietnam." Gore was stationed with the 20th Engineer Brigade in Bien Hoa and was a journalist with the paper, The Castle Courier. He received an honorable discharge from the Army in May 1971.

Of his time in the Army, Gore later stated, "I don't pretend that my own military experience matches in any way what others here have been through [...] I didn't do the most, or run the gravest danger. But I was proud to wear my country's uniform. And my own experiences gave me strong beliefs about America's obligation to keep our national defenses strong." He also later stated that his experience in Vietnam "didn't change my conclusions about the war being a terrible mistake, but it struck me that opponents to the war, including myself, really did not take into account the fact that there were an awful lot of South Vietnamese who desperately wanted to hang on to what they called freedom. Coming face to face with those sentiments expressed by people who did the laundry and ran the restaurants and worked in the fields was something I was naively unprepared for.

Al Gore in Vietnam
Gore with the 20th Engineer Brigade in Bien Hoa as a journalist with the paper, The Castle Courier.

Vanderbilt and journalism,

Gore was "dispirited" after his return from Vietnam. NashvillePost.com noted that, "his father's defeat made service in a conflict he deeply opposed even more abhorrent to Gore. His experiences in the war zone don't seem to have been deeply traumatic in themselves; although the engineers were sometimes fired upon, Gore has said he didn't see full-scale combat. Still, he felt that his participation in the war was wrong."While his parents wanted him to go to law school, Gore attended Vanderbilt University Divinity School instead, studying there from 1971 to 1972. He later said he went there in order to explore "the spiritual issues that were most important to me at the time."Tipper would also later refer to it as an act of "purification."Gore also began to work the night shift for The Tennessean as an investigative reporter (he worked for the paper from 1971-1976). His investigations of possible corruption among members of Nashville's Metro Council resulted in the arrest and prosecution of two councilmen for separate offenses.

Gore attended Vanderbilt Divinity School on a yearlong Rockefeller Foundation scholarship for people planning secular careers; he had never intended to become a minister and later said that "he had hoped to make sense of the social injustices that seemed to challenge his religious beliefs." Gore left divinity school to work full time at the The Tennessean. His first child, Karenna, was born on August 6, 1973. A year later, he took a leave of absence from the The Tennessean and returned to graduate study, attending Vanderbilt University Law School from 1974 to 1976. His decision to attend law school was a partial result of his time as a journalist, as he realized that while he could expose corruption, he could not change it. Eventually, however, Gore "took away no degrees, deciding abruptly in 1976 to run for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives."When he found out that his father's former seat in the House was about to be vacated.

Senator Gore

Gore during his congressional years,

Congress and first presidential run (1976-1993,

See also: Al Gore and information technology and Al Gore and the environment
Gore began serving in the United States Congress at the age of 28 and stayed there for the next 17 years, serving in both the House (1976-1984) and the Senate (1984-1993). During this time, the Gores had three more children, Kristin (born on June 5, 1977), Sarah (born on January 7, 1979), and Albert III (born on October 19, 1982) and bought the house belonging to Tipper's grandparents in Arlington, Virginia. Gore spent many weekends in Tennessee, working with his constituents.

House and Senate

Gore during his congressional years At the end of February 1976, U.S. Representative Joe L. Evins unexpectedly announced his retirement from Congress, making the Tennessee's 4th congressional district seat to which he had succeeded Albert Gore, Sr. in 1953 open. Within hours after Tennessean publisher John Seigenthaler, Sr. called him to tell him the announcement was forthcoming. Gore decided to quit law school and run for the House of Representatives:

Gore's abrupt decision to run for the open seat surprised even himself; he later said that 'I didn't realize myself I had been pulled back so much to it.' The news came as a 'bombshell' to his wife. Tipper Gore held a job in the Tennessean's photo lab and was working on a master's degree in psychology, but she joined in her husband's campaign (with assurance that she could get her job at the Tennessean back if he lost). By contrast, Gore asked his father to stay out of his campaign: 'I must become my own man,' he explained. 'I must not be your candidate.'
Gore won a seat in Congress in 1976 "with 32 percent of the vote, three percentage points more than his nearest rival. "He won the next three elections in 1978, 1980, and 1982 where "he was unopposed twice and won 79 percent of the vote the other time. "In 1984, Gore successfully ran for a seat in the United States Senate, which had been vacated by Republican Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker. He was "unopposed in the Democratic Senatorial primary and won the general election going away," despite the fact that Republican President Ronald Reagan swept Tennessee in his reelection campaign the same year.

During his time in Congress, Gore was considered a "moderate" (he referred to himself as a "raging moderate") opposing federal funding of abortion, voting in favor of a bill which supported a moment in silence in schools, and voting against a ban on interstate sales of guns. His position as a moderate (and on policies related to that label) shifted later in life after he became vice president and ran for president in 2000.

Gore sat on the United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the United States House Committee on Science and Technology, chairing that committee for four years. He also sat on the House Intelligence Committee and in 1982 introduced the Gore Plan concerning arms control, to "reduce chances of a nuclear first strike by cutting multiple warheads and deploying single-warhead mobile launchers. "While in the Senate, he sat on the Governmental Affairs, the Rules and Administration, and the Armed Services Committees. In 1991, Gore was one of ten democrats who supported the Gulf War.

Gore was one of the Atari Democrats who were given this name due to their "passion for technological issues, from biomedical research and genetic engineering to the environmental impact of the "greenhouse effect."On March 19, 1979 he became the first member of Congress to appear on C-SPAN. During this time, Gore co-chaired the Congressional Clearinghouse on the Future, along with Newt Gingrich. In addition, he has been described as having been a "genuine nerd, with a geek reputation running back to his days as a futurist Atari Democrat in the House. Before computers were comprehensible, let alone sexy, the poker-faced Gore struggled to explain artificial intelligence and fiber-optic networks to sleepy colleagues."Internet pioneers Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn have also noted that, "as far back as the 1970s, Congressman Gore promoted the idea of high speed telecommunications as an engine for both economic growth and the improvement of our educational system. He was the first elected official to grasp the potential of computer communications to have a broader impact than just improving the conduct of science and scholarship [...] the Internet, as we know it today, was not deployed until 1983. When the Internet was still in the early stages of its deployment, Congressman Gore provided intellectual leadership by helping create the vision of the potential benefits of high speed computing and communication. As an example, he sponsored hearings on how advanced technologies might be put to use in areas like coordinating the response of government agencies to natural disasters and other crises."

As a Senator, Gore began to craft the High Performance Computing and Communication Act of 1991 (commonly referred to as "The Gore Bill") after hearing the 1988 report Toward a National Research Network submitted to Congress by a group chaired by UCLA professor of computer science, Leonard Kleinrock, one of the central creators of the ARPANET (the ARPANET, first deployed by Kleinrock and others in 1969, is the predecessor of the Internet). The bill was passed on December 9, 1991 and led to the National Information Infrastructure (NII) which Gore referred to as the "information superhighway."

After joining the United States House of Representatives, Gore also held the "first congressional hearings on the climate change, and co-sponsor[ed] hearings on toxic waste and global warming."He continued to speak on the topic throughout the 1980s. In 1990, Senator Gore presided over a three-day conference with legislators from over 42 countries which sought to create a Global Marshall Plan, "under which industrial nations would help less developed countries grow economically while still protecting the environment."

First presidential run (1988),

Gore campaigned for President of the United States as a Democratic candidate during the 1988 presidential election, against Democratic candidates Joe Biden, Dick Gephardt, Paul Simon, Jesse Jackson, and Michael Dukakis (who eventually won the Democratic nomination). Despite eventual defeat, Gore (with a strong third place) was one of the front-runners that year.

While Gore initially denied an interest in running, he was the subject of speculation prior to his announcement: "National analysts make Senator Gore a long-shot for the Presidential nomination, but many believe he could provide a natural complement for any of the other candidates: a young, attractive, moderate Vice Presidential nominee from the South. He currently denies any interest, but he carefully does not reject the idea out of hand." At the time, he was 39 years old, making him the "youngest serious Presidential candidate since John F. Kennedy."

After announcing that he would run, Gore ran his campaign as "a Southern centrist, [who] opposed federal funding for abortion. He favored a moment of silence for prayer in the schools and voted against banning the interstate sale of handguns." In addition, CNN noted that, "in 1988, for the first time, 12 Southern states would hold their primaries on the same day, Super Tuesday. Gore thought he would be the only Southern candidate. He had not counted on Jesse Jackson." Jackson defeated Gore in the South Carolina Primary, winning, "more than half the total vote, three times that of his closest rival here, Senator Albert Gore Jr. of Tennessee. "Gore next placed great hope on Super Tuesday where they split the Southern vote: Jackson winning Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Virginia; Gore winning Arkansas, North Carolina, Kentucky, Nevada, Tennessee, and Oklahoma. Gore was later endorsed by New York Mayor, Ed Koch who made statements in favor of Israel and against Jackson. These statements further cast Gore in a negative light. The endorsement led voters away from Gore who only received 10% of the vote in the New York Primary. Gore then dropped out of the race. The New York Times argued that he lost support due to his attacks against Jackson, Dukakis, and others, as well as for his endorsement by Koch.

Gore was eventually able to mend fences with Jesse Jackson, who supported the Clinton-Gore ticket in 1992 and 1996, and who also campaigned for the Gore-Lieberman ticket during the 2000 presidential election. Gore's policies changed substantially in 2000, reflecting his eight years as Vice President.

Son's 1989 accident, 1992 election, and first book,

On April 3, 1989, the Gores and their six-year-old son Albert were crossing a street after a baseball game when Albert ran across the street to see his friend and was hit by a car. He flew 30 feet (9.1 m) into the air and then traveled along the pavement for another 20 feet (6.1 m). Gore later recalled: "I ran to his side and held him and called his name, but he was motionless, limp and still, without breath or pulse [...] His eyes were open with the nothingness stare of death, and we prayed, the two of us, there in the gutter, with only my voice."Albert was tended to by two nurses who happened to be present during the accident. The Gores spent the next month in the hospital with Albert. Gore also commented: "Our lives were consumed with the struggle to restore his body and spirit."This event was "a trauma so shattering that [Gore] views it as a moment of personal rebirth" and a "key moment in his life" which "changed everything."

In August 1991, Gore announced that his son's accident had "left a deep impression on our family" and that it was a factor in his decision not to run for president during the 1992 presidential election. Gore stated: "I would like to be President [...] But I am also a father, and I feel deeply about my responsibility to my children [...] I didn't feel right about tearing myself away from my family to the extent that is necessary in a Presidential campaign."During this time, Gore wrote, Earth in the Balance, a text which became the first book written by a sitting U.S. Senator to make the New York Times bestseller list since John F. Kennedy's Profiles in Courage.


President Bill Clinton installing computer cables with Vice President Al Gore on NetDay at Ygnacio Valley High School in Concord, CA. March 9, 1996.


Vice President Gore with President Bill Clinton walk from the Executive Mansion to the West Wing via the White House Rose Garden.

Vice presidency (1993–2001),

Glenn T. Seaborg with Vice President Gore in the White House during a visit of the 1993 Science Talent Search (STS) finalists on March 4, 1993.Gore initially hesitated to accept a position as Bill Clinton's running mate for the 1992 United States presidential election. After clashing with the Bush Administration over global warming, Gore decided to accept Clinton's request and became his running mate on July 10, 1992. Clinton's choice was perceived as unconventional (as rather than pick a running mate who would diversify the ticket, Clinton chose a fellow Southerner, who shared his political ideologies and who was also close in age) and was criticized by some. Clinton stated that he chose Gore due to his foreign policy experience, work with the environment, and commitment to his family. Clinton and Gore accepted the democratic nomination at the Democratic National Convention on July 17, 1992.

Known as the Baby Boomer Ticket and the Fortysomething Team, The New York Times noted that if elected, Clinton (who was 45) and Gore (who was 44) would be the "youngest team to make it to the White House in the country's history." Theirs was the first ticket since 1972 to try and capture the youth vote, a ticket which Gore referred to as "a new generation of leadership. Washington Bureau Chief for The Baltimore Sun, Paul West, later suggested that, "Al Gore revolutionized the way vice presidents are made. When he joined Bill Clinton's ticket, it violated the old rules. Regional diversity? Not with two Southerners from neighboring states. Ideological balance? A couple of left-of-center moderates. [...] And yet, Gore has come to be regarded by strategists in both parties as the best vice presidential pick in at least 20 years."

Tipper and Al with President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham ClintonThe ticket increased in popularity after the candidates traveled with their wives, Hillary and Tipper on a "six-day, 1,000-mile bus ride, from New York to St. Louis." Gore also successfully debated against the other vice presidential candidates, Dan Quayle (a longtime colleague from the House and the Senate) and James Stockdale. The result of the campaign was a win by the Clinton-Gore ticket (43%) over the Bush-Quayle ticket (38 %). Clinton and Gore were inaugurated on January 20, 1993 and were re-elected to a second term in the 1996 election. At the beginning of the first term in 1992, Clinton and Gore developed a "two-page agreement outlining their relationship. Clinton committed himself to regular lunch meetings, recognized Gore as a principal adviser on nominations, and appointed some of Gore's chief advisers to key White House staff positions [...] Clinton involved Gore in decision making to an unprecedented degree for a vice president. Through their weekly lunches and daily conversations, Gore became the president's "indisputable chief adviser."

Gore had a particular interest in reducing "waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government and advocated trimming the size of the bureaucracy and the number of regulations." In addition, under the Clinton Administration, the U.S. economy expanded, according to David Greenberg (professor of history and media studies at Rutgers University) who argued that "by the end of the Clinton presidency, the numbers were uniformly impressive. Besides the record-high surpluses and the record-low poverty rates, the economy could boast the longest economic expansion in history; the lowest unemployment since the early 1970s; and the lowest poverty rates for single mothers, black Americans, and the aged."

President Bill Clinton installing computer cables with Vice President Al Gore on NetDay at Ygnacio Valley High School in Concord, CA. March 9, 1996.This economic success was due in part to Gore's continued role as an Atari Democrat, promoting the development of information technology, which led to the dot-com boom (c. 1995-2001). Clinton and Gore entered office planning to finance research that would "flood the economy with innovative goods and services, lifting the general level of prosperity and strengthening American industry." Their overall aim was to fund the development of, "robotics, smart roads, biotechnology, machine tools, magnetic-levitation trains, fiber-optic communications and national computer networks. Also earmarked [were] a raft of basic technologies like digital imaging and data storage." These initiatives met with skepticism from critics who claimed that their initiatives would "backfire, bloating Congressional pork and creating whole new categories of Federal waste." During the election and while Vice President, Gore popularized the term Information Superhighway (which became synonymous with the internet) and was involved in the creation of the National Information Infrastructure. Gore first discussed his plans for the growing importance of information technology at UCLA on January 11, 1994 in a speech at the The Superhighway Summit. He was involved in a number of projects including NetDay'96 and 24 Hours in Cyberspace. The Clinton-Gore administration also launched the first official White House website in 1994 and subsequent versions through 2000.

The Clipper Chip, which "Clinton inherited from a multi-year National Security Agency effort," was a method of hardware encryption with a government backdoor. It met with strong opposition from civil liberty groups and was abandoned by 1996.

Vice President Gore with President Bill Clinton walk from the Executive Mansion to the West Wing via the White House Rose Garden.Gore was also involved in a number of initiatives related to the environment. He launched the GLOBE program on Earth Day '94, an education and science activity that, according to Forbes magazine, "made extensive use of the Internet to increase student awareness of their environment". During the late 1990s, Gore strongly pushed for the passage of the Kyoto Protocol, which called for reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Gore was opposed by the Senate, which passed unanimously (95-0) the Byrd-Hagel Resolution (S. Res. 98). In 1998, Gore began promoting a NASA satellite that would provide a constant view of the earth, marking the first time such an image would have been made since The Blue Marble photo from the 1972 Apollo 17 mission. During this time, he also became associated with Digital Earth.

In 1996 Gore became involved in a finance controversy over his attendance at an event at the Buddhist Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights, California. In an interview on NBC's Today the following year, Gore stated that, "I did not know that it was a fund-raiser. I knew it was a political event, and I knew there were finance people that were going to be present, and so that alone should have told me, 'This is inappropriate and this is a mistake; don't do this.' And I take responsibility for that. It was a mistake." In March 1997, Gore had to explain phone calls which he made to solicit funds for the Democratic Party for the 1996 election. In a news conference, Gore stated that, "all calls that I made were charged to the Democratic National Committee. I was advised there was nothing wrong with that. My counsel tells me there is no controlling legal authority that says that is any violation of any law." The phrase "no controlling legal authority" was criticized by some such as Charles Krauthammer, who stated: "Whatever other legacies Al Gore leaves behind between now and retirement, he forever bequeaths this newest weasel word to the lexicon of American political corruption." Robert Conrad, Jr. was the head of a Justice Department task force appointed by Attorney General Janet Reno to investigate Gore's fund-raising controversies. In Spring 2000, Conrad asked Reno to appoint an independent counsel to continue the investigation. After looking into the matter, Reno judged that the appointment of an independent counsel was unwarranted.

Soon afterwards, Gore also had to contend with the Lewinsky scandal, involving an affair between President Clinton and an intern, Monica Lewinsky. Gore initially defended Clinton, whom he believed to be innocent, stating, "He is the president of the country! He is my friend [...] I want to ask you now, every single one of you, to join me in supporting him." After Clinton was impeached Gore continued to defend him stating, "I've defined my job in exactly the same way for six years now [...] to do everything I can to help him be the best president possible."

Second presidential run (2000),

Pre-campaign,

There was talk of a potential run in the 2000 presidential race by Gore as early as January 1998.[89] Gore discussed the possibility of running during a March 9, 1999 interview with CNN's Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer. In response to Wolf Blitzer's question: "Why should Democrats, looking at the Democratic nomination process, support you instead of Bill Bradley," Gore responded:

I'll be offering my vision when my campaign begins. And it will be comprehensive and sweeping. And I hope that it will be compelling enough to draw people toward it. I feel that it will be. But it will emerge from my dialogue with the American people. I've traveled to every part of this country during the last six years. During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet. I took the initiative in moving forward a whole range of initiatives that have proven to be important to our country's economic growth and environmental protection, improvements in our educational system.

UCLA professor of information studies, Philip E. Agre and journalist Eric Boehlert argued that three articles in Wired News led to the creation of the widely spread urban legend that Gore claimed to have "invented the Internet," which followed this interview.

In addition, computer professionals and congressional colleagues argued in his defense. Internet pioneers Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn stated that "we don't think, as some people have argued, that Gore intended to claim he 'invented' the Internet. Moreover, there is no question in our minds that while serving as Senator, Gore's initiatives had a significant and beneficial effect on the still-evolving Internet." Cerf would also later state: "Al Gore had seen what happened with the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act of 1956, which his father introduced as a military bill. It was very powerful. Housing went up, suburban boom happened, everybody became mobile. Al was attuned to the power of networking much more than any of his elective colleagues. His initiatives led directly to the commercialization of the Internet. So he really does deserve credit." Former Republican Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Newt Gingrich also stated: "In all fairness, it's something Gore had worked on a long time. Gore is not the Father of the Internet, but in all fairness, Gore is the person who, in the Congress, most systematically worked to make sure that we got to an Internet, and the truth is -- and I worked with him starting in 1978 when I got [to Congress], we were both part of a "futures group" -- the fact is, in the Clinton administration, the world we had talked about in the '80s began to actually happen." Finally, Wolf Blitzer (who conducted the original 1999 interview) stated in 2008 that: "I didn't ask him about the Internet. I asked him about the differences he had with Bill Bradley [...] Honestly, at the time, when he said it, it didn't dawn on me that this was going to have the impact that it wound up having, because it was distorted to a certain degree and people said they took what he said, which was a carefully phrased comment about taking the initiative and creating the Internet to -- I invented the Internet. And that was the sort of shorthand, the way his enemies projected it and it wound up being a devastating setback to him and it hurt him, as I'm sure he acknowledges to this very day."

Gore, himself, would later poke fun at the controversy. In 2000, while on the The Late Show with David Letterman he read Letterman's Top 10 List (which for this show was called, "Top Ten Rejected Gore - Lieberman Campaign Slogans") to the audience. Number nine on the list was: "Remember, America, I gave you the Internet, and I can take it away!" A few years later in 2005, when Gore was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award "for three decades of contributions to the Internet" at the Webby Awards he joked in his acceptance speech (limited to five words according to Webby Awards rules): "Please don't recount this vote." He was introduced by Vint Cerf who used the same format to joke: "We all invented the Internet." Gore, who was then asked to add a few more words to his speech, stated: "It is time to reinvent the Internet for all of us to make it more robust and much more accessible and use it to reinvigorate our democracy."

Campaign,

Gore formally announced his candidacy for president in a speech on June 16, 1999, in Carthage, Tennessee. He was introduced by his eldest daughter, Karenna Gore Schiff, who was pregnant at the time with her first child. In making the speech, Gore also distanced himself from Bill Clinton, whom he stated had lied to him. Gore was "briefly interrupted" by AIDS protesters claiming Gore was working with the pharmaceutical industry to prevent access to generic medicines for poor nations and chanting "Gore's greed kills." Additional speeches were also interrupted by the protesters. Gore responded, "I love this country. I love the First Amendment [...] Let me say in response to those who may have chosen an inappropriate way to make their point, that actually the crisis of AIDS in Africa is one that should command the attention of people in the United States and around the world." Gore also issued a statement saying that he supported efforts to lower the cost of the AIDS drugs, provided that they "are done in a way consistent with international agreements."

Gore faced an early challenge by former New Jersey senator Bill Bradley. Bradley was the only candidate to oppose Gore and was considered a "fresh face" for the White House." Gore challenged Bradley to a series of debates which took the form of "town hall" meetings. Gore went on the offensive during these debates leading to a drop in the polls for Bradley. Gore eventually went on to win every primary and caucus and in March of 2000, secured the Democratic nomination.

On August 13, 2000, Gore announced that he had selected Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut as his vice presidential running mate. Lieberman became "the first person of the Jewish faith to run for the nation's second-highest office" (Barry Goldwater, who ran for president in 1964, was of "Jewish origin"). Lieberman, who was a more conservative Democrat than Gore, had publicly blasted President Clinton for the Monica Lewinsky affair. Many pundits saw Gore's choice of Lieberman as another way of trying to distance himself from the scandals of the Clinton White House. Gore's daughter, Karenna, together with her father's former Harvard roommate Tommy Lee Jones, officially nominated Gore as the Democratic presidential candidate during the 2000 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles. Gore accepted his party's nomination and spoke about the major themes of his campaign, stating in particular his plan to extend Medicare to pay for prescription drugs, to work for a sensible universal health-care system. Soon after the convention, with running mate Joe Lieberman, Gore hit the campaign trail. He and Bush were deadlocked in the polls. Gore and Bush participated in three televised debates. While both sides claimed victory after each, Gore was critiqued as either too stiff, too reticent, or too aggressive in contrast to Bush.

Election recount,

On election night, news networks first called Florida for Gore, later retracted the projection, and then called Florida for Bush, before finally retracting that projection as well. Florida's Republican Secretary of State, Katherine Harris, eventually certified Florida's vote count. This led to the Florida election recount, a move to further examine the Florida results.

The Florida recount was stopped a few weeks later by the Supreme Court of the United States. In the ruling, Bush v. Gore, the Florida recount was called unconstitutional and that no constitutionally valid recount could be completed by the December 12 deadline, effectively ending the recounts. This 7-2 vote ruled that the standards the Florida Supreme Court provided for a recount were unconstitutional due to violations of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and further ruled 5-4 that no constitutionally valid recount could be completed by the December 12 deadline. This case ordered an end to recounting underway in selected Florida counties, effectively giving George W. Bush a 534 vote victory in Florida and consequently Florida's 25 electoral votes and the presidency. The results of the decision led to Gore winning the popular vote by approximately 500,000 votes nationwide, but receiving 266 electoral votes to Bush's 271 (1 District of Columbia Elector abstained). On December 13, 2000, Gore conceded the election. Gore strongly disagreed with the Court's decision, but in his concession speech stated that, "for the sake of our unity as a people and the strength of our democracy, I offer my concession."

The 2000 election is the subject of a 2008 made-for-TV movie directed by Jay Roach, produced by, and starring Kevin Spacey called Recount. It premiered on the HBO cable network on May 25, 2008.


Chris Anderson asks: "Will you run again?" Gore replies that he is not going to get caught on that one.


Gore giving his global warming talk in Mountain View, CA on in 2006

Post-Vice Presidency environmental activism and Nobel Peace Prize

Gore giving his global warming talk in Mountain View, CA on in 2006In 2004, Gore co-launched Generation Investment Management, a company for which he serves as Chair. The company was "a new London fund management firm that plans to create environment-friendly portfolios. Generation Investment will manage assets of institutional investors, such as pension funds, foundations and endowments, as well as those of 'high net worth individuals,' from offices in London and Washington, D.C."

Gore receives the Nobel Peace Prize in the city hall of Oslo, 2007,In 2006, Gore founded The Alliance for Climate Protection, an organization which eventually founded the We Campaign. Also in 2006, Gore starred in the documentary film An Inconvenient Truth, which won the Academy Award for Documentary Feature. Director Davis Guggenheim asked Gore to join him and other members of the crew on stage, where Gore gave a brief speech, stating: "My fellow Americans, people all over the world, we need to solve the climate crisis. It's not a political issue; it's a moral issue. We have everything we need to get started, with the possible exception of the will to act. That's a renewable resource. Let's renew it."

In 2007, Gore was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, which was shared by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, headed by Rajendra K. Pachauri (Delhi, India). The award was given "for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change." Gore and Pachauri accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway on December 10, 2007. He also helped to organize the 2007 benefit concert for global warming, Live Earth.

Gore also became a partner in the venture capital firm, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, heading that firm's climate change solutions group.

In 2008, Gore gave a speech at the DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. in which he called for a move towards replacing a dependence upon "carbon-based fuels" with Green energy by the United States within 10 years. Gore stated: "When President John F. Kennedy challenged our nation to land a man on the moon and bring him back safely in 10 years, many people doubted we could accomplish that goal. But 8 years and 2 months later, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the surface of the moon." Some criticized his plan. According to the BBC, "Robby Diamond, president of a bipartisan think tank called Securing America's Future Energy, said weaning the nation off fossil fuels could not be done in a decade. 'The country is not going to be able to go cold turkey [...] We have a hundred years of infrastructure with trillions of dollars of investment that is not simply going to be made obsolete.'"

Gore's estate has been criticized twice by the group the Tennessee Center for Policy Research (TCPR). In February 2007 the group stated that their analysis of records from the Nashville Electric Service indicated that the Gore household uses "20 times as much electricity as the average household nationwide." In reporting on TCPR's claims, MSNBC noted that the Nashville Electric Service report "omits several other key facts. The former vice president's home has 20 rooms, including home offices for himself and his wife, as well as a guest house and special security measures. Furthermore, the Gores buy energy produced from renewable sources, such as wind and solar. Tonight, Countdown confirmed with the local utility officials that their program, called the Green Power Switch, actually costs more for the Gores -- four dollars for every 150 kilowatt hours. Meaning, by our calculations, our math here, that the Gores actually chose to increase their electric bill by $5,893, more than 50 percent, in order to minimize carbon pollution." A few months later, the Associated Press reported on December 13, 2007 that Gore "has completed a host of improvements to make the home more energy efficient, and a building-industry group has praised the house as one of the nation's most environmentally friendly [...] 'Short of tearing it down and starting anew, I don't know how it could have been rated any higher,' said Kim Shinn of the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council, which gave the house its second-highest rating for sustainable design."

Gore was criticized by the TCPR again in June 2008, after the group obtained his public utility bills from the Nashville Electric Service and compared "electricity consumption between the 12 months before June 2007, when it says he installed his new technology, and the year since then." According to their analysis, the Gores consumed 10% more energy in the year since their home received its eco-friendly modifications. TCPR also argued that, while the "average American household consumes 11,040 kWh in an entire year," the Gore residence "uses an average of 17,768kWh per month –1,638 kWh more energy per month than before the renovations." Gore's spokeswoman Kalee Kreider countered the claim by stating that the Gores' "utility bills have gone down 40 percent since the green retrofit." and that "the three-year renovation on the home wasn't complete until November, so it's a bit early to attempt a before-and-after comparison." She also noted that TCPR did not include Gore's gas bill in their analysis (which they had done the previous year) and that the gas "bill has gone down 90 percent [...] And when the Gores do power up, they pay for renewable resources, like wind and solar power or methane gas." Media Matters for America also discussed the fact that "100 percent of the electricity in his home comes from green power" and quoted the Tennessee Valley Authority as stating that "[a]lthough no source of energy is impact-free, renewable resources create less waste and pollution."


Gore receives the Nobel Peace Prize in the city hall of Oslo, 2007


Simon Pollard Hughes, Jr. — Governor of Arkansas, 1885-1889,

Simon Pollard Hughes, Jr. (14 April 1830 - 29 June 1906) was a Democratic Governor of the State of Arkansas and an officer in the American Civil War.

Early life
Simon Pollard Hughes, Jr. was born in Carthage, Tennessee the son of Simon P. Hughes and Mary Hubbard Hughes. Hughes Sr. originally from Prince Edward County, Virginia was a farmer, sheriff and a member of the Tennessee legislature from 1842-1843, Mary Hubbard was a native of Oglethorpe County, Georgia. In 1842 Mary Hughes died and the family moved to Bowie County, Texas. Hughes Sr. died in Texas in 1844.

Hughes moved to Arkansas in December of 1849. Hughes was educated at Sylvan Academy and Clinton College in Tennessee. In 1853 Hughes was elected Sheriff of Monroe County, Arkansas and served for two years. Hughes was admitted to the Arkansas bar in 1857 and started private practice in Clarendon, Arkansas.

Political service,

Following the war, Hughes served in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1866 to 1867 and was a delegate to the 1874 Arkansas Constitutional Convention. Hughes was elected to the post of Arkansas Attorney General and served from 1874 to 1877.

Hughes was elected Governor of Arkansas, being sworn in on January 1885. He was reelected in 1886. During his terms public executions were abolished in Arkansas and the sale of liquor was restricted.

In 1889 Hughes was elected to the Arkansas Supreme Court as an associate justice and served 16 years in this capacity.

Simon Pollard Hughes, Jr. died in Little Rock, Arkansas and is buried in historic Mount Holly Cemetery in Little Rock.

Cordell Hull
Cordell Hull — U.S. Secretary of State; practiced law in Carthage,

Cordell Hull (October 2, 1871–July 23, 1955) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Tennessee. He is best-known as the longest-serving Secretary of State, holding the position for 11 years (1933–1944) in the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Hull received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1945 for his role in establishing the United Nations, and was referred to by President Roosevelt as the Father of the United Nations.

Overview
Hull was born in a log cabin in Olympus, which is now part of Pickett County, Tennessee, but was then part of Overton County. He became the elected chairman of the Clay County Democratic Party at the age of 19.

In 1891, Hull graduated from Cumberland School of Law at Cumberland University and was admitted to the bar as a teenager. He served in the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1893 to 1897. During the Spanish-American War, he served in Cuba as a captain in the Fourth Regiment of the Tennessee Volunteer Infantry.

Hull served 11 terms in the United States House of Representatives (1907–1921 and 1923–1931) and authored the federal income tax laws of 1913 and 1916 and the inheritance tax of 1916. After an electoral defeat in 1920, Hull served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee. He was elected to the Senate in 1930, but resigned upon being named Secretary of State in 1933.

In 1933 Hull was appointed Secretary of State by Franklin D. Roosevelt; he served 11 years until he retired from public office. Hull became the underlying force and architect in the creation of the United Nations, drafting, along with his staff, the United Nations Charter in mid-1943. He resigned as Secretary of State in November 1944 because of failing health.

In 1945 Cordell Hull was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for "co-initiating the United Nations".

Hull died after suffering several strokes and heart attacks in 1955 in Washington, D.C., and is buried in the vault of the Chapel of St. Joseph of Arimathea in the Washington National Cathedral, which is an Episcopal church.

There is now a Cordell Hull Museum located near his birthplace in Byrdstown, Tennessee, which houses his papers and other memorabilia.

Early life and family
Hull was born in Olympus, Pickett County, Tennessee, third of the five sons of William Paschal Hull (1840–1923) and Elizabeth (Riley) Hull (1841–1903). His brothers were named Orestes (1868), Sanadius (1870), Wyoming (1875), and Roy (1881). He attended college from 1889 until 1890. At the age of 19, Hull became the elected chairman of the Clay County Democratic Party. In 1891, he graduated from Cumberland School of Law at Cumberland University and was admitted to the bar. He served in the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1893 to 1897.

During the Spanish-American War, Hull served in Cuba as a captain in the Fourth Regiment of the Tennessee Volunteer Infantry.

Hull married Rose Frances (Witz) Whitney (1875–1954) in 1917; the couple had no children.

Early national career,

From 1903 to 1907, Hull served as a local judge; later he was elected to the United States House of Representatives where he served 11 terms (1907–1921 and 1923–1931) totaling 22 years. After his defeat in 1920, he served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee. As a member of the powerful Ways and Means committee, he fought for low tariffs and claimed authorship of the federal income tax laws of 1913 and 1916 and the inheritance tax of 1916. Hull was influential in advising Albert Gore, Sr., then a state legislator, to run for the U.S. Congress in 1938.


Japanese Ambassador Admiral Kichisaburō Nomura (left) and Special Envoy Saburō Kurusu (right) meet Hull for the last time moments before the attack on Pearl Harbor (7 December 1941).


U.S. Senate, Secretary of State
He was elected to the Senate in 1930. In 1933, Roosevelt named him Secretary of State and appointed him to lead the American delegation to the London Economic Conference. Hull strove to enlarge foreign trade and lower tariffs. In 1939, Hull advised President Roosevelt to reject the SS St. Louis carrying 936 Jews seeking asylum. Hull's decision sent these people back to Europe on the heels of the Nazi Holocaust. In 1943, Hull served as United States delegate to the Moscow Conference.

Japanese Ambassador Admiral Kichisaburō Nomura (left) and Special Envoy Saburō Kurusu (right) meet Hull for the last time moments before the attack on Pearl Harbor (7 December 1941).Hull was the Secretary of State responsible for foreign relations before and during the attack on Pearl Harbor. He sent the Hull note to Japan prior to the attack, which was formally titled "Outline of proposed Basis for Agreement Between The United States and Japan" but had been part of the United States' attempt to open Chinese markets to U.S. goods against Japanese interests there.

On the day of the attack, not long after it had begun, Hull received the news that it was taking place. The Japanese ambassador and Japan's special envoy were waiting to see Hull at that moment. Admiral Edwin T. Layton, at the time chief intelligence officer to the commander of the Pacific Fleet, tells the rest of the story:

"Roosevelt advised him not to tell them about the raid but 'to receive them formally and coolly bow them out.

"After he had glanced at their copy of the fourteen-part message [Japan's declaration that negotiations were at an end], Hull's anger burst forth. 'In all my fifty years of public service,' he told the astonished diplomats, 'I have never seen such a document that was more crowded with infamous falsehood and distortion.' Nomura and Kurusu, who had not been told of the attack, bowed themselves out in an embarrassed fluster. A department official overheard Hull muttering under his breath as the door closed, 'Scoundrels and piss-ants.' "

Hull chaired the Advisory Committee on Postwar Foreign Policy, created in February 1942.

When the Free French Forces of Charles de Gaulle liberated the islands of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon south of Newfoundland in December 1941, Hull lodged a very strong protest and even went as far as referring to the Gaullist naval forces as "the so called Free French." His request to have the Vichy governor reinstated was met with strong criticism in the American press. The islands remained under the Free French movement until the end of World War II.

There is some controversy over Hull's role in the 1939 SS St. Louis affair, where Jewish refugees were denied entry into the US. These Jews fled Europe to escape from the Nazis and after being denied entry into Cuba and the U.S. were granted refuge in England and in continental European nations. Many of the latter group became victims of the Holocaust after the Nazis invaded Western Europe in the following years.

To wit, there were two conversations on the subject between (Secretary of the Treasury) Morgenthau and Secretary of State Cordell Hull. In the first, 3:17 PM on 5 June 1939, Hull made it clear to Morgenthau that the passengers could not legally be issued U.S. tourist visas as they had no return addresses. Furthermore, Hull made it clear to Morgenthau that the issue at hand was between the Cuban government and the passengers. The U.S., in effect, had no role. In the second conversation at 3:54 PM on 6 June 1939, Morgenthau said they did not know where the ship was and he inquired whether it was “proper to have the Coast Guard look for it.” Hull responded by saying that he didn’t see any reason why it could not. Hull then informed him that he did not think that Morgenthau would want the search for the ship to get into the newspapers. Morgenthau said. “Oh no. No, no. They would just—oh, they might send a plane to do patrol work. There would be nothing in the papers.” Hull responded, “Oh, that would be all right.”

Hull and Chinese Ambassador Wey Daw-ming at the State Department exchanging ratifications of the treaty abolishing extra-territorial "rights" of the United States in China.In September 1940, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt maneuvered with another State Department official to bypass Hull's refusal to allow Jewish refugees aboard a Portuguese ship, the Quanza, to receive visas to enter the U.S. Through Mrs. Roosevelt's efforts, the Jewish refugees disembarked on September 11, 1940, in Virginia.

Hull was the underlying force and architect in the creation of the United Nations, as recognized by the 1945 Nobel Prize for Peace, an honor for which Franklin D. Roosevelt nominated him. During World War II Hull and Roosevelt spent tireless hours working toward the development of a world organization to prevent a third World War. Hull and his staff drafted the "Charter of the United Nations" in mid-1943.

Never one to sit idly by if American interests were (in his view) threatened, Hull would think nothing of dressing down close allies, such as what happened to New Zealand Prime Minister Peter Fraser in early 1944, over U.S. objections to the Canberra Pact (a military treaty of alliance between Australia and New Zealand made in February 1944 without U.S. consultation).

Hull - Dawming
Hull and Chinese Ambassador Wey Daw-ming at the State Department exchanging ratifications of the treaty abolishing extra-territorial "rights" of the United States in China.

Cordell Hull Birthplace
Cordell Hull Birthplace State Park is a state park in Pickett County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. Cordell Hull (1871-1955) served as U.S. Secretary of State under President Franklin Roosevelt and played a pivotal role in the creation of the United Nations in the mid-1940s.

Cordell Hull Birthplace State Park is situated along the Highland Rim, a barren and hilly area where the Cumberland Plateau descends westward into the Central Basin. The site is approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) south of the Wolf River, 4 miles (6.4 km) north of the Obey River, and 7 miles (11 km) east of the confluence of these two rivers at Dale Hollow Lake. The park is located along Tennessee State Route 325 a few miles west of the road's junction with Tennessee State Route 111 at Byrdstown. The park is managed by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.

History and features,

The 45 acre (.18 km²) site includes the refurbished log cabin where Hull was born in 1871 and a museum housing a number of Hull's personal items, including his 1945 Nobel Peace Prize. In 1953, the State of Tennessee purchased the cabin from the Amonett family and placed it in the hands of the Cordell Hull Birthplace and Memorial Association. The cabin was taken apart and rebuilt in the 1950s after its purchase by the state, and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. The museum was built in the 1960s.

In the 1970s and 1980s, oversight of the Hull Birthplace shifted between Pickett State Park to Standing Stone State Park, although the staff of both were deemed lacking in the necessary background for historical interpretation. After a report by Tennessee Technological University placed the structure on its endangered places list in 1986, the State of Tennessee and Pickett County improved the site's management. The cabin was again rebuilt in 1996 in hopes of reestablishing historical accuracy that had been ignored by the previous rebuilding. In 1997, Cordell Hull Birthplace State Park was created when the state legislature approved funding for a full-time staff for the site.

Brandon Maggart — actor,

Brandon Maggart (born 12 December 1933) is an American actor.

Maggart was born Roscoe Maggart, Jr. in Carthage, Tennessee. He appeared in half of the "Buddy and Jim" sketches with James Catusi in the first season of Sesame Street, in 1969. In 1970, he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical for his role in Applause. After appearing as Harry Stadling in Christmas Evil, and Cleveland Sam in Dressed To Kill, (both in 1980), he went on to play George Elliot in the short lived NBC series Jennifer Slept Here with Georgia Engel and Ann Jillian in 1983. He was also a cast member of the groundbreaking Showtime original comedy Brothers, where he played Lou Waters. The show was on the air from 1984 to 1989.

Maggart is the father of actor Garett Maggart, singers Fiona Apple and Maude Maggart, and writer/director Spencer Maggart

Benton McMillin
“The U.S. House of Representatives - Portraits of Congressmen” (detail), Harper’s Weekly 1891, Collection of U.S. House of Representatives
Benton McMillin — Governor of Tennessee, 1899-1903,

Benton McMillin (September 11, 1845 – January 8, 1933) was governor of the U.S. state of Tennessee from 1899 to 1903. A Democrat, he was a native of Kentucky and an attorney.

McMillin was a member of the state legislature from 1875 to 1877, and served in the United States Congress from 1879 until his election as governor in November, 1898. He was governor during the settlement of a long-running boundary dispute between Tennessee and Virginia. He pushed for the adoption of uniform textbooks in the state public schools and a tax increase to support public high schools. Re-elected in 1900, he subsequently entered the insurance business at the end of his second term.

McMillin later was appointed by President Woodrow Wilson as U.S. Minister to Peru from 1913 to 1919, and as Minister to Guatemala from 1919 to 1923.

He advocated the introduction of an income tax while serving in Congress and in a later article in the Saturday Evening Post.

Ron Meredith — President/Owner WYSH TV & Radio,

Defeated Creek Marina

Defeated Creek beach

Defeated Creek Park

Veterans & Cordull Hull from Caney Fork

Cordell Hull Dam just north of Carthage

Covered Bridge

Smith County is proud to be the home of former Vice President, Al Gore, and at onetime was the home of former US Secretary of State, Cordell Hill, who practiced law here as a young man.

The county is also known for its Second Empire-style Courthouse, built in 1879, its many antique shops, historic homes, and the beautiful Cordell Hull Lake, where you can camp, boat, hike, fish, swim or just relax.

"Southern Hospitality" is not just a phrase, but a reality in this progressive southern county. Nestled in a rural setting that offers the four seasons to cover the countryside in varying arrays of color, Smith County offers the beauty and grace of an area rich in past, present, and future.

"Share in the pride of our heritage and enjoy our hospitality!"

Smith County Courthouse
This drawing of the Smith County Courthouse was done by Clarksville artist
Tony Baigri. A Vietnam veteran, Mr. Biagri's studio is located at 901 Madison Street, Clarksville.

Copies of the Smith County Courthouse drawing are available at Kim's Frame & Art in Carthage.


The Smith County Chamber of Commerce and the Smith County
Historical and Genealogical Society have joined forces to establish
a Heritage Museum for Smith County, Tennessee.


Where is Smith County?

Smith County is within the state of Tennessee in the United States. It is located near the northern center of Tennessee in that portion of the State known as the Central Basin. The county embraces an area of 325 miles which is comprised of a varying terrain ranging from flat bottom lands, to undulating, hilly uplands, to precipitous slopes and cliffs. Traversing the county are the Cumberland and Caney Fork Rivers, which attracted the first known settlers to the area including William Walton, the builder of the famed Walton Road across the Cumberland Plateau.

Geographically from a national level, it is located in the Southeast region of the US. Geographically from a state level, it is located in Middle Tennessee area. Situated 50 miles East of Nashville, Smith County is conveniently located between Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga.

A History of Smith County (Est. 1799)


Carthage, the county seat of Smith County, Tennessee, is situated on the north bank of the Cumberland River approximately one mile below the junction of the Caney Fork River.


Smith County was part of the Western District of North Carolina set aside for military grants for service in the Revolutionary War. Smith County was named in honor of David Smith, a colonel in the Revolutionary War. It was established by a private act in October of 1799 and was the fifth county to be created in Middle Tennessee. In 1789, William Walton, our first settler, chose this spot of land in redemption of his land grant and built his home on the north side of the Cumberland River, opposite the mouth of the Caney Fork River. When, after a heated election featuring the "bear meat and spirituous liquors," Waltons Ferry was chosen as the county seat, Walton deeded 50 acres in exchange for $1.00 to the commissioners who in turn sold lots with the proceeds being used for erection of public buildings. By decree of the State Legislature the new town was to be called Carthage. In 1806, a post office established. By 1879, "the largest and most elegant brick courthouse ... within the state of Tennessee" had been constructed. The county is known for this Second Empire-Style Courthouse.


As Indian treaties opened up the land that is now Tennessee for settlement, settlers rushed in to clear farms and establish communities. The new inhabitants sought protection for life and property and other benefits of government courts of law, militia organizations, and legal title to newly acquired land. Counties were quickly organized once migration into the frontier region had begun. Access to the seat of government was a main difficulty for the pioneers, since it was necessary to travel to the county seat to conduct legal business or present oneself to the court. Over time, residents in areas remote from the county seat would petition the General Assembly for a new county centered closer to their homes. The area of land that Smith County consisted of in 1799 was much larger than that of present day Smith County. Since its organization in 1799, seven other counties were organized from land that was originally part of Smith County. These counties are Jackson (1801), White (1806), Warren (1807), Cannon (1836), Macon (1842), Putnam (1854), and Trousdale (1870). This process of carving counties out of the land began in the 1780s and ended a century later.


The majestic Cumberland River is an integral part of the history and growth of the county. The first settlers sent their products to market by flatboat or keelboat. With the coming of the steamboats in 1820's Carthage, Rome and Dixon Springs became thriving towns on the river. In those days, Carthage had three ferries providing transportation across the river and elegant hotels providing food and lodging for the travelers. In 1906, a toll bridge was constructed abolishing the need for ferries. On May 3, 1936, traffic was opened on the sparkling new Cordell Hull bridge. As hundreds of saddened and curious onlookers lined the banks, the old toll bridge was toppled into the river.
Smith County has always been rural and agricultural - the traditional "hog and hominy" economy. Corn was the chief crop grown for livestock and could be converted into whiskey for cash for the farmer. The cultivation of tobacco was introduced early and continues to be the major cash crop of the county.


Early industries in the county were those connected with the farm and forest. The grist mills, distilleries, sawmills and tanneries were developed from the necessity of converting crops and goods into marketable products. The limestone caves were rich in saltpeter used in making gun powder. The rivers yielded rich deposits of mussel beds which were gleaned for the coveted Cumberland River pearls they produced, many being sold to Tiffanys of New York. "Split Silk" flour, "Natural Twist" tobacco twists, Bilbery-Welsh spokes and hogsheads were only a few of the Smith County industrial products on the market in the 19th century.


The names of those Smith Countians who have died while defending their country are etched in stone on the memorial monument on the courthouse lawn. The Revolutionary War was history when Smith County was created in 1799, but many of the old veterans of that war settled, lived and died in the county contributing much to the development of the area. Their patriotic zeal was evident when, during the War of 1812, they formed a Home Guard, freeing the younger men to march off to do battle. Two companies of Smith County soldiers fought in the Battle of New Orleans under the command of future president Andrew Jackson. Four companies of soldiers were raised in Smith County for service during the Mexican War. During the Civil War, twelve companies or an estimated 1200 Smith Countians served in the Confederate Army. No companies were formed in the county, but some Union sympathizers joined forces with the Federal Army. Hundreds of people from over the county gathered in Carthage to bid farewell to the first draftees leaving for the training for World War I. Many Smith County boys made the supreme sacrifice in this terrible conflict, and many others received traumatic effects from the poison gas used for the first time during warfare. At the advent of World War II, it was declared in The Carthage Courier that "the people of Smith County can do it if we take a notion, and we've got the notion... and we are in this fight to the last man."
The railroad also brought income and development into our county giving us thriving little towns such as Lancaster, Hickman, Brush Creek, Sykes and Gordonsville producing numerous jobs for our people then and now.


The building of Interstate 40, which follows close to the same route as the Walton Road that was literally hacked out of the wilderness of the Cumberland Mountains under the direction of William Walton, has contributed significantly to the growth of our industries.


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A History of Carthage (Est. 1803)


Carthage, the county seat of Smith County, is situated on the north bank of the Cumberland River approximately one mile below the junction of the Caney Fork River. It is perhaps the oldest established county seat in the 14-county Upper Cumberland region. Established in 1803, according to Dr. J.W. Bowen in Smith County History, Carthage's name and location were a matter of grave dispute for 50 years or more. The name "Carthage" was chosen for the town by the State Legislature. The name was no more than "that the lawyers in the legislature wanted to impress people with their knowledge. So they named towns such things as Engima, Rome, Carthage, etc." William Walton, famed builder of Walton Road and Smith County resident, donated 50 acres of land in exchange for $1.00 to the commissioners who in turn sold lots with the proceeds being used for erection of public buildings to the County to begin the town. In 1806, a post office established. "Carthage, soon after it was located, attracted the attention of not a few men of enterprise and business experience. Situated on the banks of the Cumberland, a stream of rare beauty, near the mouth of its largest affluent, itself a river of no mean proportions, in a region of unsurpassed fertility, it was not unreasonable to expect it to become a place of commercial importance." By 1879, "the largest and most elegant brick courthouse ... within the state of Tennessee" had been constructed. The county is known for this Second Empire-Style Courthouse.

Timeline of Smith County History


-1776 - US Revolutionary War began
-1782 - US Revolutionary War ends
-1787-1789 - Tilman Dixon built Dixona, located in Dixon Springs.
-1789 - William Walton, our first settler, built his home on the north side of the Cumberland River, opposite the mouth of the Caney Fork River.
-1799 - Smith County established from Western District of North Carolina set aside for military grants for service in the Revolutionary War
October 31, 1800 - Dixon Spring's post office opened.
-1801 - Jackson County was created from part of Smith County and Indian lands
-1803 - Carthage established from 50 acres of land donated by William Walton
-1806 - Carthage post office opened.
-1806 - White County was created from parts of Jackson and Smith counties
-1807 - The original Smith County Courthouse was built in the same location as the present day courthouse.
-1807 - The Carthage Gazette began publication.
-1807 - Warren County was created from parts of White, Jackson, Smith counties and Indian lands
-June 1812 - War of 1812 begins
-December 1814 - War of 1812 ends
-January 1815 - Battle of New Orleans. Two companies of Smith County soldiers fought in the battle under the command of Andrew Jackson.
-April 1815 - Round Lick post office opened.
-April 11, 1816 - Free and Accepted Masons Carthage Benevolent Lodge No. 14 organized
-1819 - Montgomery post office opened.
-May 18, 1821 - Lancaster post office opened.
-1821 - Alexander post office opened. In 1838, this became part of Dekalb County.
-August 8, 1823 - Gordonsville post office opened.
-February 1824 - Mulberry Grove post office opened.
-1824 - Montgomery post office closed.
-1827 - Bratton's post office opened. In 1842, this became part of Macon County.
-1827 - Mulberry Grove post office closed.
-May 7, 1830 - Round Lick post office closed.
-1830 - Brevard's post office opened.
-1830 - Rome post office opened.
-1830 - Pleasant Shade post office opened and closed.
-December 1832 - Bagdad post office opened.
-January 10, 1833 - Pleasant Shade post office re-opened.
-January 19, 1833 - Witchers Crossroads (or Wichers Crossroads) post office opened.
-1833 - Salt Lick Creek post office opened. In 1842, this became part of Macon County.
-1834 - New Durham post office opened and closed.
-1834 - Clinton College established by Dr. Francis Gordon in present day New Middleton.
-March 17, 1835 - Clinton College post office opened. Now known as New Middleton.
-1836 - Cannon County was created from parts of Rutherford, Smith and Warren counties
-1837 - Brevard's post office closed.
-1837 - Meadorville post office opened. This became part of Macon County in 1842 and the post office closed in 1913.
-1838 - Coopers post office opened. This became part of Macon County in 1842 and the post office closed in 1844.
-1840 - William's Mill post office opened.
-1842 - William's Mill post office closed.
-1842 - Macon County was created from parts of Smith and Sumner counties
-October 7, 1843 - Rome was incorporated.
-February 26, 1844 - Convenient post office opened. This area is now called Elmwood.
-1844 - Stone Bridge post office opened.
-May 13, 1846 - Mexican War begins. Four companies of soldiers from Smith County fought in this war.
-April 17, 1848 - Peyton's Creek post office opened.
-July 4, 1848 - Mexican War ends.
-1849 - Stone Bridge post office closed.
-January 1851 - Montrose post office opened.
-January 1854 - Witchers Crossroads (or Wichers Crossroads) post office renamed to Gibbs Crossroads.
-1854 - Clinton College post office renamed to New Middleton.
-1854 - Putnam County was created from parts of Fentress, Jackson, Smith, White and Overton counties
-1855 - Bairdsville post office opened. This area is now called Sykes.
-1855 - Chestnut Mound post office opened.
-October 10, 1856 - New Middleton Masonic Lodge #249 organized
-January 30, 1857 - Peyton's Creek post office closed.
-December 30, 1857 - Peyton's Creek post office re-opened.
-January 16, 1858 - Jennings Fork post office opened. This town no longer exists and is now known as Grant.
-1860 - Bairdsville post office closed. This area is now called Sykes.
-April 12, 1861 - Civil War begins as Confederate troops attack Fort Sumter in Charleston, SC. An estimated 1200 Smith Countians served in the Confederate Army.
-April 26, 1865 - Civil War ends
-February 14, 1866 - Difficult post office opened.
-September 1866 - Pleasant Shade post office closed.
-September 1866 - Peyton's Creek post office closed.
-September 22, 1866 - Convenient post office closed. This area is now known as Elmwood.
-December 22, 1866 - Lancaster post office closed.
-1866 - New Middleton Royal Arch Masons Chapter No. 55 organized
-August 13, 1867 - Montrose post office closed.
-July 23, 1869 - Snow Creek post office opened. This area is now called Elmwood.
-1870 - Trousdale County was created from parts of Wilson, Macon, Smith and Sumner counties
-April, 1871 - Peyton's Creek post office re-opened.
-February 13, 1871 - Jennings Fork post office renamed to Grant.
-June 7, 1871 - Snow Creek post office closed. This area is now called Elmwood.
-July 10, 1871 - Snow Creek post office re-opened. This area is now called Elmwood.
-October 2, 1871 - Cordell Hull born in Overton County, Tennessee
-November 25, 1871 - Peyton's Creek post office closed.
-May 25, 1872 - Montrose post office re-opened.
-1872 - Peyton's Creek (also known as Buzzard's Roost) renamed to Monoville.
-November 10, 1873 - Difficult Lodge No. 451, Free and Accepted Masons organized
-October, 1874 - Lancaster post office re-opened.
-1875 - Riddleton post office opened.
-October 18, 1875 - Stonewall post office opened.
-July 28, 1876 - Pleasant Shade post office re-opened.
-1876 - Montrose post office closed.
-1878 - Cundall's Mill post office opened.
-1879 - The original Smith County Courthouse was torn down and the current one completed
-July 28, 1879 - Lancaster post office re-closed.
-1879 - Brush Creek post office opened.
-January 5, 1880 - Defeated post office opened. This post office was once named Montrose.
-February 28, 1881 - Rome repealed the incorporation of 1843.
-1881 - Cundall's Mill post office closed.
-May 28, 1882 - Snow Creek post office renamed to Elmwood.
-April 4, 1882 - Enoch post office opened. This town no longer exists and is part of South Carthage.
-December 26, 1882 - Enigma post office opened.
-1883 - Knobton post office opened.
-June 13, 1884 - Monoville post office opened.
-August 12, 1885 - Monoville post office closed.
-August 31, 1885 - Monoville post office re-opened.
-October 27, 1885 - Lancaster post office re-opened.
-April 9, 1886 - Sykes post office opened. The town was renamed from Bairdsville to Sykes.
-1886 - Hickman post office opened.
-1886 - Maggart post office opened.
-May 16, 1887 - Kempville post office opened.
-October 28, 1887 - Lancaster post office closed.
-December 28, 1888 - Lancaster post office re-opened.
-1889 - Bluff Creek post office opened.
-January 28, 1890 - Carthage Royal Arch Masons Chapter No. 128 organized
-1890 - Bridges post office opened.
-1891 - Marada post office opened.
-1892 - Bagdad post office moved to another location in Bagdad that is part of Jackson County.
-November 18, 1892 - Dixon Spring's post office renamed to Dixon Spring.
-1893 - Oliver post office opened.
-1894 - A post office called Hogans was opened and closed.
-1895 - Knobton post office closed.
-1896 - Brush Creek post office renamed to Tuxedo, but only for a couple of months.
-1896 - Spanish-American War begins
-1897 - Tuxedo post office renamed back to Brush Creek.
-December 10, 1898 - Treaty of Paris signed, ending the Spanish-American War
-May 21, 1900 - Punch post office opened. This town was known as Jonesboro prior to 1900 and is also known as Watervale.
-April 1, 1900 - The old Stonewall Bridge completed. This is the first bridge in the county.
-1900 - Cowenville post office opened.
-1901 - Dows post office opened.
-November 11, 1902 - Club Springs post office opened.
-1903 - Maggart post office closed.
-1903 - Dows post office closed.
-December 15, 1904 - Club Springs post office closed.
-1904 - Cowenville post office closed.
-May 18, 1905 - Enigma post office closed.
-April 30, 1906 - Grant post office closed.
-1906 - Bluff Creek post office closed.
-April, 1907 - Kempville post office closed.
-October 31, 1907 - Enoch post office closed. This town no longer exists and is part of South -Carthage.
-October 31, 1907 - Punch post office closed. This town no longer exists and is part of South -Carthage.
-1907 - Marada post office closed.
-1907 - Oliver post office closed.
-1907 - Cordell Hull elected to US House of Representatives (first stint). Re-elected for 6 more terms. (1907-1921)
-December 26, 1907 - Al Gore, Sr. born in Jackson County
-February 1908 - Toll bridge crossing Cumberland River was opened ending the need for ferries into Carthage.
-1909 - Gordonsville incorporated. First Mayor was R. M. MacDonald.
-1909 - Bluff Creek post office re-opened.
-1890 - Bridges post office closed.
-1910 - Rome post office closed.
-1910 - Seabowisha post office opened.
-1912 - Seabowisha post office closed.
-1912 - Smith County 4-H Club organized
-February 28, 1913 - Bluff Creek post office closed.
-July 3, 1913 - The Carthage Courier began publication.
-1913 - Gordonsville High School constructed. The first high school in Smith County.
-1914 - Rome post office re-opened.
-1914 - Lancaster school built.
-June 1914 - World War I begins
-March 20, 1917 - US enters World War I conflict
-July 24, 1917 - Order of the Eastern Star, Carthage Chapter No. 190 organized
-November 11, 1918 - The Armistice is signed, ending World War I.
-1920 - Stonewall post office closed.
-1920 - One lane Sykes bridge built.
-September 15, 1921 - Dixon Spring post office renamed to Dixon Springs.
-1923 - Cordell Hull elected to US House of Representatives (second stint). Re-elected for 3 more terms. (1923-1931)
-1923 - Brush Creek post office renamed to North Alexandria.
-1926 - North Alexandria post office renamed back to Brush Creek.
-January 16, 1928 - United Daughters of the Confederacy, Captain Henry W. Hart Chapter organized
-January 31, 1929 - Defeated post office closed.
-1931 - Cordell Hull elected to US Senate (1931-1933)
-December 1932 - Rome post office closed.
-1932 - Lancaster school closed. Consolidated with Gordonsville.
-1932 - New Middleton Royal Arch Masons Chapter No. 55 held their last meeting.
-1933 - Cordell Hull appointed US Secretary of State (1933-1944)
-October 18, 1935 - Carthage Rotary Club organized
-May 3, 1936 - Cordell Hull Bridge opened
-September 1, 1939 - World War II begins
-1939 - Al Gore, Sr. elected to US House of Representatives (1939-1952)
-December 8, 1941 - US enters World War II after Japanese attack Pearl Harbor.
-September 2, 1945 - World War II ends
-1945 - Cordell Hull awarded Nobel Peace Prize for his role in forming the United Nations
-March 31, 1948 - Al Gore, Jr. born in Washington, DC
-June 1950 - Korean War begins
-August 2, 1951 - Carthage Lions Club organized
-1952 - Old Gordonsville High School demolished and new one built.
-1952 - Al Gore, Sr. elected to US Senate (1953-1970)
-July 1953 - Korean War ends
-July 23, 1955 - Cordell Hull died in Bethesda, Maryland at age 83.
-May 1957 - Difficult post office closed.
-August 31, 1957 - Sykes post office closed.
-May 1963 - Cordell Hull Dam construction began
-June 10, 1963 - South Carthage incorporated.
-November 29, 1965 - Smith County Historical and Genealogical Society organized
-1965 - New Middleton post office closed.
-1966 - Construction of Interstate 40 through Smith County was completed.
-November 1968 - US deploys troops to Vietnam War
-1971 - Smith County Chamber of Commerce established
-January 1973 - US involvement in Vietnam War ends
-November 1973 - Cordell Hull Dam construction completed
-April 17, 1976 - Daughters of the American Revolution, Caney Fork Chapter organized
-1976 - Al Gore, Jr. elected to US House of Representatives. Re-elected for 2 more terms. (1977-1982)
-August 1977 - Smith County Shrine Club organized
-1981 - Smith County Industrial Park built.
-1984 - Dana Corporation was the first manufacturer to locate in the Smith County Industrial Park.
-1984 - Al Gore, Jr. elected to US Senate (first stint)
-1988 - Al Gore, Jr. unsuccessful bid for US President Democratic nomination
-1990 - Al Gore, Jr. elected to US Senate (second stint)
-November 1992 - Al Gore, Jr. elected 45th US Vice President (1st term)
-November 1996 - Al Gore, Jr. re-elected US Vice President (2nd term)
-December 5, 1998 - Al Gore, Sr. died

Waterways/Tributaries
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Cumberland River,

Cumberland River is formed on the Cumberland Plateau by the confluence of Poor and Clover forks in Harlan County, Kentucky. Looping through northern Tennessee, it joins the Ohio River after a course of 687 miles at Smithland, KY, 12 miles upstream from the mouth of the Tennessee River. From its headwaters to the Cumberland (or Great) Falls, in Whitley County, Kentucky, the river is a mountain stream that is of little volume during late summer but is subject to heavy floods during winter and spring. From Williamsburg, Kentucky, above the falls, to the Kentucky-Tennessee state line, the Cumberland crosses a highland bench in the Cumberland Plateau and flows in a gorge between cliffs 300-400 feet high. Then the river enters the central limestone basin of Tennessee and, turning north, crosses the plain of western Kentucky to the Ohio River. At one point it is less than 2 miles from the lower Tennessee River. The Cumberland's drainage area is 18,080 square miles.
The Cumberland's chief tributaries, all entering downstream from the falls, are the Laurel, Rockcastle, and South Fork in Kentucky; the Obey, Caney Fork, Stones, Harpeth, and Red in Tennessee; and the Little River in western Kentucky. Nashville, Tennessee is the largest city along the river. Other centers include Pineville, Barbourville, and Williamsburg in eastern Kentucky; Carthage, Clarksville, and Dover in Tennessee; and Eddyville in western Kentucky.

The development of a series of lakes on the Cumberland took place as part of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) system. Wolf Creek Dam (1952) for flood control and power, in Russell County, Kentucky, created Lake Cumberland, which extends to the base of Cumberland Falls and Cordell Hull Dam in Smith County, Tennessee upstream from Carthage. Large power dams are in operation on two tributaries: Dale Hollow Dam (1953) on the Obey River near Celina, Tennessee; and Center Hill Dam (1951) on Caney Fork, southeast of Carthage. Old Hickory Dam, upstream from Nashville, ponds the water to Carthage, the head of navigation on the river. Cheatham Dam is upstream from Clarksville. Barkley Dam (in operation since 1966) controls the lower river.

Caney Fork River,

Caney Fork River is formed by the confluence of the Collins and Rocky rivers in central Tennessee. It flows for 144 miles in a northwesterly direction to the Cumberland River, near Carthage. On the river are two dams: Center Hill Dam (completed in 1951), impounding Center Hill Lake; and the Great Falls Dam (1925), creating Great Falls Reservoir, part of the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Cordell Hull Lake,

Cordell Hull Lake is located on the Cumberland River in Smith, Jackson, and Clay counties of Tennessee. It is operated and managed by the Nashville District of the US Army Corps of Engineers. The lake is named in honor of one of America's outstanding statesmen, Cordell Hull, in recognition of his contributions to the people of the United States and the world. The dam is located at river mile 313.5, about 5 miles upstream from Carthage in Smith County. The project is one of the multipurpose projects in the Corps of Engineers' coordinated plan for development of the water resources of the Cumberland River Basin.
The project was authorized by the River and Harbor Act of 1946. Construction of the project, designed and supervised by the US Army Corps of Engineers, began in May 1963 and was completed for full beneficial use in November 1973. Cordell Hull Dam impounds a 72-mile reservoir with 381 miles of shoreline when the lake is at the power pool elevation of 504 feet above mean sea level. Its reservoir is a run-of-the-river type without a regulating storage other than for incidental flood control and for creating an impoundment for power generations and lockages. Cordell Hull Dam is one of the few dams in Tennessee that have navigation locks which allow water vessels to pass to and from the reservoir above the dam and river below the dam.

The project is operated for the primary purposes of navigation, hydropower generation, and recreation. It provides an adequate river channel depth and modern lock facilities for thru-river traffic from above Nashville, TN to the head of navigation near Celina, TN. The power plan produces clean, safe, and efficient hydroelectric power. The lake provides an abundance of recreational opportunities.

Each year Cordell Hull Lake provides recreational opportunities to millions of visitors. Because of the temperate climate and relatively long recreation season, visitors have many opportunities to fish, hunt, camp, picnic, boat, canoe, hike, ride horseback, and enjoy the outdoors in many other ways. The lake and/or river contain Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Crappie, Catfish, White Bass, Striped Bass (Rockfish), Sauger, Trout, and Bream. Fishing and hunting licenses are required by the State of Tennessee and may be purchased at the County Clerk's office, lake concessionaires, and many commercial establishments in Tennessee.

The Cordell Hull visitor centers are located at the Resource Managers Office and the Power plant at Cordell Hull Dam. The Resource Management Office visitor center includes exhibits about wildlife management and animals native to middle Tennessee. It is open year round on weekdays from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. The Power plant visitor center offers visitors the opportunity to learn how hydroelectric power is produced. It is open from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm - seven days a week - from Memorial Day (the last Monday in May) to Labor Day (the first Monday in September). For group tours or special programs, contact the Cordell Hull Resource Managers Office at 615-735-1034 or the Power plant Superintendent's Office at 615-735-1023.


Following is a list of cities, towns, and communities within Smith County.

Bagdad/Dean Hill
Beasley's Bend
Bluff Creek
Boston Spring
Boulton's Bend
Bowling's Branch
Brush Creek
Buffalo Creek
Carthage (County Seat)
Carthage Junction
Cartwright
Chestnut Mound
Club Springs
Conditt Hollow
Defeated
Devil's Garden
Difficult
Dillard's Creek
Dixon Creek
Dixon Springs
Donoho
Edgefield
Elmwood
Enigma
Flat Rock
Gordonsville
Grant
Graveltown
Helms Bend
Hickman
Hogan's Creek
HoggTown Horseshoe Bend
Kempville
Kenney's Bend
Lancaster
Lancaster Hill
Law's Creek (Lost Creek)
Long Branch
Mace's Hill
Maggart
McClure's Bend
Monoville
New Middleton
Payne's Bend (Lock Seven)
Pea Ridge
Pigeon Roost
Pleasant Shade (Upper Peyton's Creek)
Plunkett's Creek (Barnett's Camp Ground)
Pope's Hill
Rawls Creek
Riddleton
Rock City
Rome
Sanderson Branch
South Carthage
Stonewall
Sullivan's Bend
Sykes
Tanglewood
Turkey Creek
Watervale (Punch)

Al Gore, Jr's Home
Al Gore's home in Nashville's exclusive Belle Meade district, Tennessee

New Solar Roof Panel

Al Gore knows a thing or two about the vicissitudes of public life. Six years ago he was virtually written off as a has-been vice-president after he won the popular vote only to lose the 2000 race for the White House. On Sunday night his rehabilitation was completed as he was crowned the moral mouthpiece of Hollywood, receiving an Oscar for his global warming documentary An Inconvenient Truth.
In front of the cream of the movie industry and the world's cameras, he stood alongside fellow eco-warrior Leonardo DiCaprio and proclaimed the ceremony the first in the Academy Awards' history to be run on "environmentally intelligent" lines. "And you know what?" he told the adoring crowd. "It's not as hard as you might think. We have a long way to go but all of us can do something in our own lives to make a difference."

Twenty four hours is a long time in green politics. By Monday night Mr Gore found himself back in that all-too familiar place - the eye of the storm.

A little-known group based in his home state, the Tennessee Centre for Policy Research, had the idea of looking up Mr Gore's energy bills for his large home in the Belle Meade area of Nashville to see whether he practised what he preached.

The headline figures, released to the group under federal freedom of information rules, were striking. Last year the Gore household consumed 221,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity - more than 20 times the national annual average.

His household consumption of energy rose between 2005 and 2006, the bills showed, from 16,200 kWh a month to 18,400 kWh last year. In addition, he spent on average $1,080 (£550) a month on natural gas. Combined, his electricity and gas bills reached almost $30,000.

The group released the information on Monday night under the title "Al Gore's personal energy use is his own inconvenient truth". Its president, Drew Johnson, told the Guardian that he had no objection to someone spending $30,000 on energy to light and heat a multimillion dollar house. "I only have a problem with that person telling us what light-bulbs to buy and that we should get a new low-energy refrigerator. That's hypocrisy, and I'm proud to have exposed it," he said.

By yesterday the news of Mr Gore's energy bills was flying around the internet at a rate which, were the web petrol-powered, would have led to instant sea level rises. Conservative and libertarian bloggers, from Instapundit to Hot Air and Red State, luxuriated over the details, while progressive and liberal blogs led by the Huffington Post tried to discredit the report by describing it as a typical smear campaign. It had been timed for the Oscars, the Post's blogger said, by a group that had no official status and had connections with rightwing groups funded by ExxonMobil.

Mr Johnson denied the oil industry link and said he had no intention of smearing Mr Gore, but had been motivated simply by a desire to hold public figures to account.

His group, which is registered as a non-profit organisation, describes itself as an independent thinktank that promotes a vision of a free society grounded in property rights, individual liberty and limited government.

By yesterday morning Mr Gore's team was pulled into the controversy. Kalee Kreider, his environmental adviser, told the Guardian that "you can attack the messenger but the message remains the same". She said Mr Gore's fuel bills failed to tell the whole picture. All the energy used for the Nashville home came from a green power provider to the Tennessee Valley that draws its energy from solar, wind-powered and methane gas supplies, among other sources.

The Gores were installing solar panels on the roof of their home, Ms Kreider added, and making efforts to reduce their energy needs. Besides, Mr Gore had adopted a "carbon neutral" life whereby any emissions for which he was personally responsible were offset by buying green credits such as parcels of forests.

"The point about vice-president Gore is that he's devoted 30 years of his life to educating people about global warming. That says something about the man," she said.

Laurie David, the producer of An Inconvenient Truth, said that the furore was only to be expected. A leading global warming campaigner, she is familiar with criticism of this kind having been called a "jetstream liberal" for using private planes. "What this lame attempt to discredit Al Gore tells me is that we are winning. This is comedy at its best - it's straight out of the David Letterman show."

Mr Gore, or the Goracle as he is now known, has so far kept out of the fray. He is flying high, his old image as Bill Clinton's wooden sidekick long since forgotten. The Washington Post has dubbed him Al Gore: rock star, and he is planning a global round of Live Earth concerts for the summer. Rumours persist that he will make a late run for the 2008 election, prompting an elaborate joke at the Oscars in which he pretended to be announcing a presidential bid only to be shooed off stage.

With all that riding in his favour, he will wish to swat away the present noise as quickly as possible. If nothing else, though, this is a reminder that in politics - even if it's green - you should never take anything for granted.