clemson

Known as "Pitchfork Ben". Lost his eye from illness during Civil War. Senator from South Carolina, 23 years in the Senate. Racist and vocal opponent of rights for black americans. Founder of Clemson University. Here is his Congressional bio: "..censured by the Senate in 1902 after assaulting another Senator on the Senate floor..." bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=T000274 here is Wikipedia bio: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Tillman During his Senate career, he was censured by the Senate in 1902 after assaulting John L. McLaurin, another Senator.[1] As a result, the Senate added to its rules the provision that "No senator in debate shall, directly or indirectly, by any form of words impute to another Senator or to other Senators any conduct or motive unworthy or unbecoming a Senator."[2] He was also barred from the White House.[3]

Harry Angstrom: Thanks for the additional information. We can add a little more information about Sen. Tillman when we update the record.

Wow. What an unhappy guy. Losing an eye has to suck but a racist senator that managed to get himself banned from the White House? Doesn't sound like someone I'd want to spend much time with. As Tillman proudly proclaimed in 1900, "We have done our level best [to prevent blacks from voting]...we have scratched our heads to find out how we could eliminate the last one of them. We stuffed ballot boxes. We shot them. We are not ashamed of it." (Logan, p. 91) I wonder what his election campaign was like.

"Pitchfork" Ben Tillman was not the founder of Clemson. As governor, and a member of the first board of trustees, Tillman was very active in the college's establishment and management, however, the founder was farmer, engineer, and statesman Thomas Green Clemson, IV (1807-1888) whose will called for the establishment of Clemson Agricultural College of South Carolina "for the benefit of the agricultural and mechanical classes principally, and shall be free of costs to the pupils, as far as the means derived from the endowment hereinafter provided and the use of the land may permit." See www.clemson.edu/about/history/will.html and www.clemson.edu/about/history/ourfounder.html

Thanks for the link to Clemson history, panthermtn. It appears that Tillman was one of the original trustees, but not the founder of Clemson University.

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Portrait★Faces★Open Minded
Seen in Pool: www.flickr.com/groups/947672@N21/pool/29454428@N08/

The first ship in the row is USS Reno (DD-303). She was a Clemson-class destroyer built during World War I.

The ship the destroyers are tied alongside of is the destroyer tender, USS Melville (AD-2). See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Melville_(AD-2)