Thomas E. Watson

Thomas E. Watson
Watson, c. 1920s
United States Senator from Georgia
In office March 4, 1921 – September 26, 1922
Preceded by	M. Hoke Smith
Succeeded by	Rebecca Felton
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 10th district
In office March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1893
Preceded by	George Barnes
Succeeded by	James C. C. Black
Personal details
Born	Thomas Edward Watson (1856-09-05)September 5, 1856 Thomson, Georgia, U.S.
Died	September 26, 1922(1922-09-26) (aged 66) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political party	Democratic (Before 1892, 1920–1922) Populist (1892–1909)
Spouse	Georgia Durham
Education	Mercer University

Thomas Edward Watson (September 5, 1856 – September 26, 1922) was an American Populist and white supremacist politician, attorney, newspaper editor, and writer from Georgia. In the 1890s Watson championed poor farmers as a leader of the Populist Party, articulating an agrarian political viewpoint while attacking business, bankers, railroads, Democratic President Grover Cleveland, and the Democratic Party. He was the nominee for vice president with Democrat William Jennings Bryan in 1896 on the Populist ticket.

Elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1890, Watson pushed through legislation mandating Rural Free Delivery, called the "biggest and most expensive endeavor" ever instituted by the U.S. Postal Service. Politically, he was a leader on the left in the 1890s, calling on poor whites and poor blacks to unite against the elites. After 1900, he shifted to nativist attacks on blacks and Catholics, and after 1914 on Jews. He was elected to the United States Senate two years before his death, dying in office.