Archibald Hill Carmichael (June 17, 1864 – July 15, 1947) was an American Democratic politician who represented Alabama's 8th congressional district in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from November 1933 to January 1937.

Early life

Archibald Hill Carmichael was born in

Dale County, Alabama Dale County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census the population was 49,326. Its county seat and largest city is Ozark. Its name is in honor of General Samuel Dale. Dale County compr ...

, near the community of Sylvan Grove. His father, Jesse Malcolm Carmichael, who fought in the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

and lost a hand at the Battle of Antietam, served as

Alabama Secretary of State The secretary of state of Alabama is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Alabama. The office actually predates the statehood of Alabama, dating back to the Alabama Territory. From 1819 to 1901, the secretary of state served ...

.Welcome to the Alabama State Legislature
The younger Carmichael received his education in public schools and studied at the

University of Alabama School of Law The University of Alabama School of Law, (formerly known as the Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr. School of Law at The University of Alabama) located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama is a nationally ranked top-tier law school and the only public law school in the st ...

, graduating in 1886. He was admitted to the bar that same year and moved to north Alabama to practice law in Tuscumbia. Carmichael married Annie Sugg in 1890.

Political life

Carmichael served four years (1890–1894) as solicitor for the 8th judicial district of Alabama. In 1901 he was a delegate to the Alabama state constitutional convention. It was this convention which drafted the

Alabama constitution The Constitution of the State of Alabama is the basic governing document of the U.S. state of Alabama. It was adopted in 2022 and is Alabama's seventh constitution. History Alabama has had seven constitutions to date, all but the current one est ...

presently in use in Alabama today and which is one of the longest such documents in the world. Carmichael served in the Alabama House of Representatives from 1907 until 1911 and then again from 1915 until 1919. During those tenure's he served as the

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

in 1907 and 1911. Active in partisan politics Carmichael was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1916, 1928 and 1932.

School boards

Carmichael was active in both state and local education issues. In fact, he held three elected positions at the same time. He was elected to the

Alabama State Senate The Alabama State Senate is the upper house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alabama. The body is composed of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, with each district conta ...

from 1919 to 1923; the Alabama State Board of Education from 1919 to 1947 and the local Tuscumbia Board of Education from 1920 to 1947. During that same period, he was appointed as a trustee of the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...

from 1924 to 1947.

U.S. Congress

Carmichael's first election to the U.S. House of Representatives came on November 7, 1933, when he was elected to fill the unexpired term of Edward B. Almon who had died while in office. Carmichael was elected to a full term in the

74th Congress The 74th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1935, ...

serving from 1935 to 1937. During this session, the Social Security Act became law. He did not seek re-election, returning, instead, to Alabama, where he continued to practice law until his death. Archibald Hill Carmichael died in Tuscumbia at the age of 83.

References

*Alabama Legislative History Overview, Accessed 19 April 2007. *Biographical Directory of the United States Congres
"Archibald Hill Carmichael"
Accessed 19 April 2007. *Brant & Fulle
Colbert County Alabama Archives and Biographies - Archibald Hill Carmichael
Accessed via rootsweb.com on 19 April 2007.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carmichael, Archibald Hill 1864 births 1947 deaths People from Tuscumbia, Alabama Democratic Party Alabama state senators Democratic Party members of the Alabama House of Representatives Speakers of the Alabama House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Alabama 20th-century American politicians