| Ben W. Hooper |
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| 1870 births | |
| 1957 deaths | |
| governors of tennessee | |
| american military personnel of the spanish-american war | |
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Hooper, who was of Illegitimate birth, spent part of his childhood in an Orphanage , was unofficially " Adopted " by members of his Rural Church , and was belatedly acknowledged by his natural father, a prominent Physician . He was a native of Newport in Cocke County, Tennessee . He was admitted to the Bar in 1894 , and served in the state Legislature . He was a captain of volunteer forces in the Spanish-American War of 1898 , and nominated by the Republicans for Governor in 1910 over Alfred A. Taylor . His initial Democratic opponent, incumbent Governor Malcolm R. Patterson , withdrew. The Democrats then nominated United States Senator (and three-term former Governor ) Robert Love Taylor , Alf Taylor's younger brother. The Prohibition issue had badly split the Democrats and a faction of them called the "Independents" endorsed Hooper for governor, leading to his election. During legislative sessions during Hooper's administration, armed guards were employed. Nonetheless, he was reelected in 1912 , but was subsequently defeated for a third term in 1914 by Democrat Thomas C. Rye , a Prohibition advocate. During his terms, early Child Labor laws were enacted and school attendance was made compulsory for young children provided that they lived within a realistic walking distance of a school. The method of the Death Penalty was changed from Hanging to Electrocution . Hooper continued the practice of Law after his time as governor and maintained a keen interest in public affairs and Republican politics until just before his death in 1957. He wrote an Autobiography , ''The Unwanted Boy'', and was widely regarded in East Tennessee as an inspirational figure. |
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