Vaughn May

Governor John Cox constitutionally inherited his position as Tennessee's chief executive when Governor James Frazier (1903-5) resigned the office to assume the U.S. Senate seat of the late William B. Bate. Before becoming governor, Cox was a consummate public official,…

Buford Ellington, governor of Tennessee from 1959-63 and 1967-71, alternated power both times with uncertain ally Frank Clement. The differences between Ellington's first and second stints as chief executive, especially in terms of the South's ageless political issue of race,…