pitchforkbentillman

Senator Tillman (LOC)

from The Library of Congress

• Joe said:

  He's the cheerful looking fellow nearest the camera. Benjamin Ryan Tillman (1847-1918) was a U.S. Senator from South Carolina, from 1895 until his death in 1918. He gained the sobriquet "Pitchfork Ben" after threatening from the Senate floor to "...poke old [President] Grover [Cleveland] with a pitchfork...." Prior to his time in the Senate, he had been Governor of South Carolina from 1890 to 1894. During the period after the Civil War, he had been the leader of a paramilitary group called the Red Shirts, which had terrorized and sometimes murdered Republicans and African Americans. He was an advocate of lynching. There is a statue of him outside the South Carolina Statehouse. Fairly decent biographical sketch at Wikipedia.

• The Library of Congress said:

  Thanks! We'll add the additional names to the source data and reload the description.

• JGT4 said:

  "terrorized and sometimes murdered Republicans and African Americans. He was an advocate of lynching. There is a statue of him outside the South Carolina Statehouse" So in other words he's a typical Democrat

• John said:

  South Carolina's disgrace