John P. Buchanan
| John P. Buchanan | |
|---|---|
Portrait of Buchanan by Willie Betty Newman
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| 25th Governor of Tennessee | |
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In office January 19, 1891 – January 16, 1893 |
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| Preceded by | Robert Love Taylor |
| Succeeded by | Peter Turney |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
John Price Buchanan October 4, 1847 Williamson County, Tennessee |
| Died | May 14, 1930 (aged 82) Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| Resting place | Evergreen Cemetery Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Frances McGill (m. 1869) |
| Relations |
James S. Buchanan (brother) James M. Buchanan (grandson) |
| Profession | Farmer |
John Price Buchanan (October 4, 1847 – May 14, 1930) was an American politician and farmers' advocate. He served as Governor of Tennessee from 1891 to 1893, and was president of the Tennessee Farmers' Alliance and Laborers' Union in the late 1880s. Buchanan's lone term as governor was largely marred by the Coal Creek War, an armed uprising by coal miners aimed at ending the state's convict lease system.
Buchanan was born in Williamson County, Tennessee, the son of Thomas and Rebecca (Shannon) Buchanan. He attended common schools, and joined the Confederate Army as a private in the Fourth Alabama Cavalry in 1864. After the war, he moved to Rutherford County, Tennessee, where he engaged in farming and livestock breeding. By the 1880s, his 325-acre (132 ha) farm was one of the most successful in the county. He was elected to the county's seat in the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1886, and again in 1888. Among the legislation he sponsored was a bill exempting farmers' co-ops from the state's merchant tax.
In the decades after the Civil War, Tennessee's farmers struggled with both falling crop prices and rising transportation costs, and called for regulation of railroad rates. Governor William B. Bate had established a railroad commission during his first term, but the party's Bourbon and industrial wings repealed the act authorizing this commission in 1885, leaving farmers outraged. The state's farmers formed a chapter of the Farmers' Alliance, the Tennessee Farmers' Alliance, which elected Buchanan its first president in 1888. The following year, Buchanan helped implement the Farmers' Alliance's merger with a rival group, the Agricultural Wheel, to form the Tennessee Farmers' Alliance and Laborers' Union (TFLU).
By the late 1880s, the TFLU and its supporters comprised a significant faction of the state Democratic Party, known as the "Hayseed" or "Wool-hat" Democrats. In the gubernatorial race of 1890, incumbent Robert Love Taylor was not seeking reelection, and at the party's July convention, various factions put forth their own candidates for the party's nomination. The Bourbon faction supported Congressman Josiah Patterson, the New South faction supported railroad magnate Jere Baxter, and the Hayseeds supported Buchanan. After six days and multiple ballots, Buchanan was declared the nominee. Many Democrats blasted Buchanan as too unsophisticated to run as the party's nominee, and he was ridiculed by newspapers across the state.
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