John Randolph Neal, Jr.
| John Randolph Neal, Jr. | |
|---|---|
Neal (left) with John T. Scopes
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| Born |
John O'Brien Neal September 17, 1876 Rhea Springs, Tennessee, United States |
| Died | November 23, 1959 (aged 83) Rockwood, Tennessee |
| Resting place | Ault Cemetery Roane County, Tennessee 35°52′32″N 84°37′38″W / 35.87563°N 84.62715°W |
| Education |
University of Tennessee, A.B. Vanderbilt University, LL.B. Columbia University, Ph.D. |
| Occupation | Attorney, professor, politician |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Parent(s) | John Randolph Neal and Mary Elizabeth Brown |
John Randolph Neal, Jr. (September 17, 1876 – November 23, 1959) was an American attorney, law professor, politician, and activist, best known for his role as chief counsel during the 1925 Scopes Trial, and as an advocate for the establishment of the Tennessee Valley Authority in the 1920s and 1930s. He also taught law at the University of Denver and the University of Tennessee, and served in the Tennessee state legislature. He was a candidate for governor or senator numerous times between 1912 and 1954.
Known as "The Great Objector" for his uncomprising (and often unpopular) support of progressive causes, Neal was among the U.T. faculty members fired in 1923 by the school's administration in a controversy that became known as the "Slaughter of the Ph.Ds." He campaigned for civil liberties, public control of waterways, and workers' rights, and defended striking workers pro bono on several occasions.
Neal is often remembered for his eccentric personality and unconventional behavior, which included an almost total disregard for his own appearance.
Neal was born John O'Brien Neal in Rhea Springs, Tennessee, the son of John Randolph Neal and Mary Elizabeth Brown Neal. His father had been an officer in the Confederate army during the Civil War, and served in the United States House of Representatives from 1885 to 1889, when he died. Following his death, his son took his name.
Neal was educated by private tutors. He received his A.B. from the University of Tennessee in 1893, and obtained his law degree from Vanderbilt in 1896. Neal graduated from Columbia University with a Ph.D in History in 1899. His dissertation, entitled, "Disunion and Restoration in Tennessee," analyzed the state's post-Civil War period. In late 1899, Neal moved to Denver, where his sister lived, and accepted a position teaching law at the University of Denver.
In 1906, Neal ran successfully for the Tennessee House of Representatives for the district encompassing his native Rhea County and adjacent Meigs County. He continued lecturing at the University of Denver during months when the legislature was not in session, however, and thus lived in the district he represented for only part of the year, causing some agitation among his constituents. Neal spent his term in the House advocating legislation to better organize boards of education, acquiring consistent funding for schools, and implementing more rigid mine inspection standards.
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