Thomas Jefferson Terral (December 21, 1882 – March 9, 1946) was an American attorney and the 27th governor of

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, serving one term from 1925 to 1927.

Early life

Terral was born in Union Parish in northern

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. He attended the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

and transferred to the

University of Arkansas School of Law The University of Arkansas School of Law is the law school of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas, a State university system, state university. It has around 445 students enrolled in its Juris Doctor (J.D.) and Master of Law (LL.M ...

in Fayetteville from which he graduated in 1910.

Early career

He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1910 and established a private law practice in

Little Rock Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

. He also worked as a school teacher.

Career

From 1911 to 1915, Terral worked as an assistant secretary of the

Arkansas Senate The Arkansas State Senate is the upper branch of the Arkansas General Assembly. The Senate consists of 35 members, each representing a district with about 83,000 people. Service in the state legislature is part-time, and many state senators have ...

where he learned the mechanics of state politics. In addition to the Senate position, Terral served as deputy state superintendent of public instruction from 1912 to 1916. These dual positions allowed Terral to assemble a range of statewide political contacts.

State politics

In 1916, Terral was elected

Arkansas Secretary of State The Arkansas Secretary of State is one of the elected constitutional officers of the U.S. State of Arkansas. The current Secretary of State is Republican Cole Jester who was appointed by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders after John Thurston b ...

and served two two-year terms from 1917 to 1921.

Campaigns for governor

He ran unsuccessfully for governor in the 1920 Democratic primary, having lost to Thomas Chipman McRae. Preparing to run again for governor in 1924, Terral joined the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

in Morehouse Parish, which adjoins his native Union Parish. He had been rejected for Klan membership by various chapters in Arkansas but wanted to show his commitment to the organization as he mounted his gubernatorial race. In the Democratic

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

, prior to the institution of

runoff election The two-round system (TRS or 2RS), sometimes called ballotage, top-two runoff, or two-round plurality, is a single-winner electoral system which aims to elect a member who has support of the majority of voters. The two-round system involves one ...

s in Arkansas, Terral defeated several opponents, including future

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

William Lee Cazort of Johnson County, the original choice of the Ku Klux Klan hierarchy. Terral also defeated

John Ellis Martineau John Ellis Martineau (December 2, 1873 – March 6, 1937) was the 28th governor of Arkansas and was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. His term as Governor was marked by the G ...

, who came back in 1926 to unseat Terral in the primary. In the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

held that year in October 1924, Terral defeated Republican John W. Grabiel, an

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

native and an attorney from Fayetteville who had also run unsuccessfully against Governor McRae in 1922. Terral received 99,598 votes (79.8 percent) to Grabiel's 25,152 (20.2 percent). Terral served as governor from 1925 to 1927.

Tenure as governor

During Terral's term the first state park was opened at

Petit Jean Mountain Petit Jean State Park is a park in Conway County, Arkansas managed by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism. It is located on top of Petit Jean Mountain next to the Arkansas River in the area between the Ouachita Mountains and the Ozark ...

. Construction of the state hospital was commenced during his tenure and the post of Commissioner of Insurance and Revenue was created. After one term, Terral was unseated in the Democratic primary by Martineau, who accused him of having previously taken kickbacks from publishers in developing the state-approved list of public school textbooks. Terral would become the first of three Arkansas governors denied second terms. The others were Francis Cherry, and Frank White.

Death

After his term as governor, Terral made three unsuccessful comeback bids for Governor and returned to his private law practice in Little Rock, where he died in 1946. Terral is interred at Roselawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Little Rock. He and his wife, Eula Terral (same maiden and married names), originally from Pine Bluff in Jefferson County, had no children.

References

External links

* * Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture entry
Thomas Jefferson Terral

State of Arkansas Governors
{{DEFAULTSORT:Terral, Tom Jefferson Democratic Party governors of Arkansas Secretaries of state of Arkansas Arkansas lawyers 20th-century American educators 1882 births 1946 deaths People from Union Parish, Louisiana Politicians from Little Rock, Arkansas University of Kentucky alumni University of Arkansas School of Law alumni 20th-century Arkansas politicians Educators from Louisiana American Ku Klux Klan members 20th-century American lawyers