James B. Frazier

James Beriah Frazier (October 18, 1856 – March 28, 1937) was an American politician who served as the 28th governor of Tennessee from 1903 to 1905, and subsequently as a United States senator from Tennessee from 1905 to 1911. As governor, he reduced the state's debt and enacted mine safety regulations. He also attempted to control whitecapping.

The controversial manner in which the state legislature elected him to the U.S. Senate created a critical rift in the state's Democratic Party that lasted into the 1910s.

Early life

Frazier was born in Pikeville, Tennessee, the son of Thomas and Margaret (McReynolds) Frazier. In 1867, his family moved to Davidson County, where his father had been appointed to a criminal court judgeship.

Frazier considered public education a priority during his first term. One of the first pieces of legislation he signed was the Romine Bill, which stipulated that any unappropriated funds in the treasury be added to the public school fund. In 1904 alone, this generated more than $270,000 for the state's public schools.

In February 1904, a coal miners' strike in the Coal Creek Valley threatened to erupt into a full-blown uprising, raising fears of a revival of the Coal Creek War, which had plagued the valley in the previous decade. Frazier traveled to the valley to meet with the miners, and managed to defuse the situation. Frazier also signed into law new mine safety standards in response to a string of mining accidents in previous years, most notably the Fraterville Mine disaster of 1902.

Senator and later life

On March 9, 1905, less than a week after the beginning of Frazier's second term, Senator William B. Bate died, prompting a scramble to fill his vacant seat. Former Governor Robert Love Taylor had for years campaigned unsuccessfully for a Senate seat, and believed he should be next in line. Frazier, however, also wanted the Senate seat, and while Taylor was still out of state on a speaking tour, Frazier quickly convened the General Assembly and had himself elected, then resigned the governorship. The Speaker of the Tennessee Senate, John I. Cox (who had helped engineer Frazier's election), succeeded him as governor. An uncle of James B. Frazier, Dr. Beriah Frazier (1812–1886), served as Mayor of Chattanooga in 1841, and represented Knox County at the East Tennessee Convention of 1861.

Frazier married Louise Douglas Keith in 1883. They had four children: Anne, James Jr., Thomas, and Louise. James B. Frazier Jr. represented Tennessee's 3rd congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1949 to 1963.