Thomas Gore - Life and Career

Life and Career

He was born Thomas Pryor Gore on December 10, 1870 in Webster County, Mississippi, the son of Caroline Elizabeth (Wingo) and Thomas Madison Gore.

He went blind as a child through two separate accidents but did not give up his dream of becoming a senator. He moved to Lawton, Oklahoma in 1901 and received a law degree from Cumberland University in the following year.Oklahoma Hall of Fame In 1907, he was elected to the Senate as one of the first two senators from the new state of Oklahoma. He was re-elected in 1908 and 1914 but defeated in 1920. He was known as a member of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, who worked with Republicans such as Robert La Follette. He was to a large extent no different from any other politician because of his blindness, but there were problems, as La Follette recounts an example in his memoirs when, during a filibuster, Gore did not realize that the senator who was to take over speaking for him had left the room, and the filibuster failed because he did not continue to speak. Also, some of Gore's colleagues in the Senate would attempt to take advantage of Gore's blindness by tricking him into signing documents that it was not in his party's interest for him to sign. He was famous for turning the tables on these sharp dealers and tricking them into signing documents that they did not intend to sign. These exploits made him popular with the press, who dubbed him "The Blind Cowboy."

During the early stages of World War I, he authored a bill to encourage American citizens not to travel aboard merchant vessels of countries participating in the war. The merchant vessels were under threat of attack by German U-boats, and the Senator felt the loss of American lives in attacks upon these boats put American neutrality at risk. Though previously a strong supporter of President Woodrow Wilson, Gore opposed America's entry into the war even after American involvement began. He unsuccessfully opposed providing manpower for the military by conscription, saying it would create "an army of conscripted slackers." He asked: "Why should we brand the American boy as a conscript without affording him the opportunity to earn the glory of an American volunteer?" This was the principal cause of Gore's defeat in the Democratic primary in 1920 by Congressman Scott Ferris, who was in turn defeated in the general election by Republican John W. Harreld. In addition to his opposition to the draft, Gore "was one of the earliest and most vigorous sponsors of a constitutional amendment to require a popular referendum on any congressional declaration of war." On domestic policy he was a supporter of the interests of farmers and Native Americans.

Gore was re-elected to the Senate in 1930. When Franklin D. Roosevelt took office as President, Gore at first supported his New Deal policies but later feuded with him. In 1935, Gore helped lead the charge against funding the Works Progress Administration (WPA). In written response to constituents who favored of the WPA, he told them that their attitude "shows how the dole spoils the soul. Your telegram intimates that your votes are for sale. Much as I value votes I am not in the market. I cannot consent to buy votes with the people's money. I owe a debt to the taxpayer as well as to the unemployed." After dictating these words, the blind senator was led to the Senate floor to cast the lone vote against the WPA.

After losing the 1936 Democratic primary to Congressman Joshua B. Lee, Gore retired from the Senate in January 1937. He practiced law in Washington, D.C., until his death on March 16, 1949. Gore was buried at Rosehill Cemetery, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, but was later re-interred on July 19, 1949, in Fairlawn Cemetery, also in Oklahoma City. According to his grandson, Gore Vidal, Gore was “the first and, I believe, last senator from an oil state to die without a fortune.”

He married Nina Belle Kay (1877–1963), a Texas plantation owner's daughter, on December 27, 1900. They had two children, Nina S. Gore (1903–1978) (the mother of Gore Vidal), and Thomas Notley Gore (1910–1964).

Gore Vidal has stated that his grandfather was an atheist and had a strong misanthropic streak: "He was a genuine populist; but he did not like people very much. He always said no to anyone who wanted government aid." During a speech to the National Press Club on November 4, 1994, Vidal claimed that Thomas Gore had said "If there was any race other than the human race, I'd go join it."

Thomas Gore was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1932.

A major road artery in Lawton, Oklahoma, Gore Boulevard, is named after him, as is the eastern Oklahoma town of Gore.

In the television play, "The Indestructible Mr. Gore", Gore Vidal dramatized some incidents in his grandfather's youth.