Doyle E. Carlton
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Doyle Elam Carlton, Sr. (July 6, 1885 – October 25, 1972) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 25th
Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
of the
state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
of
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
from 1929 to 1933.


Early life

Doyle Elam Carlton, the son of Albert and Martha Winfield McEwen Carlton, was born in Wauchula, Florida on July 6, 1885. He was born eighth out of ten children. He received his primary education in Wauchula and, as there was then no local high school, attended Stetson Academy where he served as an editor for the school newspaper and officer of the Phi Kappa Delta Society (later to become
Delta Sigma Phi Delta Sigma Phi (), commonly known as Delta Sig, is a fraternities and sororities, fraternity established in 1899 at City College of New York, The City College of New York (CCNY). It was the first fraternity to be founded based on religious and e ...
). He subsequently graduated from the Liberal Arts College of Stetson University with an A.B. in 1909. Doyle then attended
The University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, near the shore of Lake Michigan about fr ...
where he received an A.B. in 1910. He earned his L.L.B. in 1912 from
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
. In 1912, he was admitted to the practice of law in Florida and practiced law in Tampa beginning in that year. On July 30, 1912, in Tampa, Doyle married Nell Ray, daughter of Edward Dennis and Mary Ellen Smith Ray.


Early political career

His political career began in 1916 when he was elected to the Florida state senate for a two-year term as the State Senator from the 11th District, composed of Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. After serving in the State Senate, Carlton would serve as Tampa's city attorney from 1925 to 1927. William J. Howey would claim during his gubernatorial campaign run in 1928 that Carlton would get large fees from selling municipal bonds when he was attorney and dodged serving in
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
.


1928 Gubernatorial election

In the Democratic primary on June 5, 1928 he received 77,569 first choice and 28,471 second choice votes to win in a field of five candidates, who included former Governor Sidney J. Catts. In November 1928, Doyle defeated his Republican opponent, William John Howey, by a margin of 148,455 votes to 95,018 votes. He assumed the office of governor on January 8, 1929. During Carlton's campaign he ran on the platform of "good government, good schools, and good roads".


Governorship

During his term, he faced several financial problems caused by the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
which begun under his term. He had to reduce payrolls and cut many state jobs in an attempt to reduce the state's budget. Carlton would also support more banking regulations. He would even personally reduce his own salary as governor from $9,000 to $7,500.Dunn, Hampton (1987) "The Day the Gamblers Tried to Bribe the Governor of Florida," Sunland Tribune: Vol. 13 , Article 13. During his tenure as governor the state would face several other issues such as: the collapse of the state's land boom, a violent
hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...
hit the state and a Mediterranean
Tephritidae The Tephritidae are one of two fly families referred to as fruit flies, the other family being the Drosophilidae. The family Tephritidae does not include the biological model organisms of the genus '' Drosophila'' (in the family Drosophilidae ...
infestation. He left office on January 3, 1933, returning to
Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...
. Although Carlton was against inheritance and income taxes along with legalizing
parimutuel betting Parimutuel betting, or pool betting, is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the ''house-take'', or ''vigorish'', are deducted, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among a ...
, a three cent gas tax would be created during his term in order to help with the construction of highways. A tax commission and purchasing agency would be established in order to combat overspending in the state government. In 1931, a bill legalizing pari-mutuel betting would be passed despite Carlton's veto. Despite this, the legislature would nullify it by a margin of one state senator's vote as many members of the state legislature were desperate for more income for the state.


Post-gubernatorial political career and life

In 1936, Governor Carlton ran for the Democratic nomination for
U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...
. Although he was endorsed by the Democratic executive committee and most state newspapers, Charles O. Andrews lined up a powerful bloc of forces opposed to Carlton, and by a margin of 67,387 votes to 62,530 votes defeated Governor Carlton in the primary of August 11, 1936.


Eisenhower administration

President Eisenhower would appoint Carlton as a member of the Commission on Civil Rights in December 1957 staying there until 1961. After leaving the Commission on Civil Rights, he would serve as a member of the National Agricultural Advisory Commission starting in 1961 and leaving the advisory commission in 1963.


Personal life

On July 30, 1912, Carlton married Nell Ray in Tampa. He died in Tampa in 1972 and was buried at Myrtle Hill Memorial Park in Tampa. They had three children, Martha Katharine Carlton Ward, Mary Ellen Carlton Ott, and Doyle Elam Carlton, Jr., all of whom are deceased. The latter served as a state senator and ran for Governor of Florida in 1960, but was defeated in the Democratic primary run-off election by C. Farris Bryant.


References


External links


Official Governor's portrait and biography from the State of Florida
*http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~crackerbarrel/Carl6.html Rootwebs * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carlton, Doyle E. Democratic Party governors of Florida Democratic Party Florida state senators 1885 births 1972 deaths Politicians from Tampa, Florida People from Wauchula, Florida Columbia Law School alumni Stetson University alumni Delta Chi members 20th-century members of the Florida Legislature