View source for B. Carroll Reece

{{Short description|American politician (1889–1961)}}

{{Infobox officeholder
|name         = Carroll Reece
|image        = B. Carroll Reece.jpg
|caption      = Reece c. 1924
|state        = [[Tennessee]]
|district     = {{ushr|TN|1|1st}}
|term_start   = January 3, 1951
|term_end     = March 19, 1961
|predecessor  = [[Dayton E. Phillips]]
|successor    = [[Louise Goff Reece]]
|term_start1  = March 4, 1933
|term_end1    = January 3, 1947
|predecessor1 = [[Oscar Lovette]]
|successor1   = Dayton E. Phillips
|term_start2  = March 4, 1921
|term_end2    = March 3, 1931
|predecessor2 = [[Sam R. Sells]]
|successor2   = Oscar Lovette
|office3      = Chair of the [[Republican National Committee]]
|term_start3  = April 1, 1946
|term_end3    = June 27, 1948
|predecessor3 = [[Herbert Brownell Jr.]]
|successor3   = [[Hugh Scott]]
|birth_name   = Brazilla Carroll Reece
|birth_date   = {{birth date|1889|12|22}}
|birth_place  = [[Butler, Tennessee]], U.S.
|death_date   = {{death date and age|1961|3|19|1889|12|22}}
|death_place  = [[Bethesda, Maryland]], U.S.
|party        = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
|spouse       = [[Louise Goff Reece|Louise Goff]]
|education    = [[Appalachian State University]]<br/>[[Carson–Newman University|Carson-Newman University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br/>[[New York University]] ([[Master of Arts|MA]])<br/>[[London School of Economics]]
}}

'''Brazilla Carroll Reece''' (December 22, 1889 &ndash; March 19, 1961) was an American [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] politician from [[Tennessee]]. He represented eastern Tennessee in the [[United States House of Representatives]] for all but six years from 1921 to 1961 and served as the Chair of the [[Republican National Committee]] from 1946 to 1948. A conservative, he led the party's [[Old Right (United States)|Old Right]] wing alongside [[Robert A. Taft]] in crusading against interventionism, communism, and the Progressive policies pursued by the Roosevelt and Truman administrations.

From 1953 to 1954, as chairman of the [[United States House Select Committee to Investigate Tax-Exempt Foundations and Comparable Organizations|House Select Committee to Investigate Tax-Exempt Foundations and Comparable Organizations]], often called the Reece Committee, he led an investigation of Communist activities by non-profit organizations, particularly educational institutions and charitable foundations. The Reece Committee concluded that foundations were actively embroiled in efforts to promote socialist and collectivist ideologies.

==Early life==
Reece was born on a farm near [[Butler, Tennessee]], as one of thirteen children of John Isaac and Sarah Maples Reece. He was named for Brazilla Carroll McBride, an ancestor who served in the [[War of 1812]], but never used his first name.<ref name=TNenc>Michael Rogers, "[http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=1115 Brazilla Carroll Reece, 1889-1961]," ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture''</ref>  His brother, Raleigh Valentine Reece, was a reporter for the ''[[The Tennessean|Nashville Tennessean]]'' and the teacher who replaced [[John Thomas Scopes]] at Rhea County High School in Dayton, Tennessee following the infamous "Monkey Trial."

Reece attended Watauga Academy in Butler, Tennessee and [[Carson-Newman College]] in [[Jefferson City, Tennessee]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url= http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=R000108|title=REECE, Brazilla Carroll, (1889 - 1961)|dictionary= Biographical Directory of the United States Congress|access-date= September 16, 2012}}</ref> At Carson-Newman he played [[basketball]] and [[American football|football]]. After graduating from Carson-Newman in 1914 as class [[valedictorian]], he worked as a high school principal for one year, then enrolled in [[New York University]], where he earned a [[master's degree]] in economics and finance in 1916.<ref name=TNenc/> He also studied at the [[University of London]].

==Career==
He was an assistant secretary and instructor at New York University in 1916 and 1917.

In April, 1917 Reece enlisted for [[World War I]] and attended officer training in [[Plattsburgh, New York]].  During the war he served initially with the 166th Infantry Regiment, a unit of the [[42nd Infantry Division (United States)|42nd Infantry Division]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Bowers |first=F. Suzanne |date=2010 |title=Republican, First, Last, and Always: A Biography of B. Carroll Reece |url=http://www.cambridgescholars.com/download/sample/60228 |location=Newcastle, UK |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |pages=12–14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208024325/https://www.cambridgescholars.com/download/sample/60228 |archive-date=February 8, 2015}}</ref>  He later transferred to 102nd Infantry Regiment, [[26th Infantry Division (United States)|26th Infantry Division]].  He commanded a company, then commanded the regiment's 3rd Battalion, and attained the rank of captain.<ref>{{cite book |last=Winship |first=A. L. |date=1919 |title= The Book of Salutation to the Twenty-sixth ("Yankee") Division of the American Expeditionary Forces |url=https://archive.org/stream/bookofsalutation00bost#page/n31/mode/2up/search/reece |location=Boston, MA |publisher=Everett Press |pages=27, 39}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |date=1988 |title=From the Museum |url=http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED313197.pdf |journal=Now and Then |volume=5 |issue=2 |location=Johnson City, TN |publisher=East Tennessee State University |page=7 }}</ref>  He was discharged in 1919, and was decorated with the [[Distinguished Service Cross (United States)|Distinguished Service Cross]], [[Distinguished Service Medal (U.S. Army)|Distinguished Service Medal]], [[Purple Heart]], and [[France|French]] [[Croix de guerre 1914–1918 (France)|Croix de Guerre]] with Palm.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=1948 |title=Biography: B. Carroll Reese |magazine=Magazine of Sigma Chi |volume=67 |issue=3 |location=Evanston, IL |publisher=Sigma Chi Fraternity |page=13 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lancaster |first1=Frank H. |last2=Birmingham |first2=Ernest F. |date=1925 |title=Congressman's Brother to Teach at Dayton High School |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=s825VqpuZDgC&dq=%22Congressman%27s+Brother+to+Teach+at+Dayton+High+School%22.&pg=RA23-PA6 |journal=Fourth Estate: A Weekly Newspaper for Publishers, Advertisers, Advertising Agents and Allied Interests |location=New York, NY |publisher=Fourth Estate Publishing Company |page=130}}</ref>

He was director of the School of Business Administration of [[New York University]] in 1919 and 1920, and also studied law there.

He then passed the bar exam and opened a successful law practice in [[Johnson City, Tennessee|Johnson City]], where he was also a banker and publisher.

Reece was married to [[Louise Goff Reece|Louise Goff]], daughter of [[United States Senator]] [[Guy D. Goff|Guy Despard Goff]] of [[West Virginia]].

==Congressional service==
Reece served as a delegate to the [[Republican National Convention]]s in [[1928 Republican National Convention|1928]], [[1932 Republican National Convention|1932]], [[1936 Republican National Convention|1936]], [[1940 Republican National Convention|1940]], [[1944 Republican National Convention|1944]], and [[1948 Republican National Convention|1948]].   He was a member of the Board of Regents of the [[Smithsonian Institution]] in 1945 and 1946.

According to a 1981 pamphlet by [[Stephen Alan Sampson]] of [[Anti-Communist Crusade]], republished by [[Liberty University]], Reece was a conservative derided by intraparty moderates as an "Old Guard reactionary".<ref name=libertyuniversity>Samson, Steven Alan. [https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1291&context=gov_fac_pubs Charity For All: B. Carroll Reece and the Tax-Exempt Foundations]. ''Liberty University''. Retrieved March 2, 2022.</ref>

===Denying renomination of Sam R. Sells and winning election to the U.S. House===
Reece first successfully ran for the House of Representatives in 1920, challenging incumbent Republican Sam R. Sells. Although supporters of Sells initially dismissed Reece's candidacy as a joke,<ref name=part1>Hill, Ray (February 14, 2021). [https://knoxfocus.com/archives/this-weeks-focus/carroll-reece-tennessees-mr-republican-i/ Carroll Reece: Tennessee’s ‘Mr. Republican,’ I]. ''The Knoxville Focus''. Retrieved March 2, 2022.</ref> the political newcomer ran on his military service as Sells campaigned on his personality rather than his congressional voting record. During the campaign, Reece, who went to all counties in the district,<ref>Hill, Ray (February 21, 2021). [https://knoxfocus.com/archives/this-weeks-focus/carroll-reece-tennessees-mr-republican-ii/ Carroll Reece: Tennessee’s ‘Mr. Republican’ II]. ''The Knoxville Focus''. Retrieved August 12, 2021.</ref> promised to serve only up to ten years, a vow he eventually broke.<ref name=part1/> He also attacked the incumbent Sells, a lumber businessman, for alleged conflicts of interest in voting to "exempt excess profit taxes on corporations," furthermore stating:<ref name=part1/>
{{cquote|Why don’t your congressman and mine in explaining how much he made in 1917 and 1918, tell our people how much he made in 1919, and why he voted to exempt these excess profits from taxes?}}

Reece ultimately defeated Sells in an upset to win the GOP nomination and cruise to victory in the general election.<ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=300758 TN District 01 Race - Nov 02, 1920]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved May 29, 2021.</ref> He would later recount his first interaction with his predecessor:<ref name=part1/>
{{cquote|Old [[Goliath]] showed that same spirit when he came face to face with [[David]]. What his attitude implied was, do you think that you can oppose me for this office? He knew who I was. Well might he have recalled the days when my father and mother lived in a log cabin which sat within the shadow of his mother’s stately mansion, and when I came to the back door of his house peddling butter and eggs. He thought he could break my spirit and that I would sneak away like a whipped cur. ‘You haven’t a chance to win the nomination,’ he said. ‘I’m in better shape than ever financially to fight competition, and when I get ready to retire I am going to name my successor.’ There was just one thing my friend overlooked and that is you can’t disregard the wishes of a great people in things like this.}}

The region had voted not to secede at the state convention in 1861. This region was heavily Republican&mdash;in fact, Republicans had represented this district for all but four years since 1859, and was one of the few regions in the former [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]] where Republicans won on a regular basis.

===1920s===
Once in office, Reece placed heavy emphasis on helping constituents with problems both large and small, a precedent continued by later elected Republicans from Eastern Tennessee.<ref name=part1/> In 1922, Reece joined the majority of his House Republican colleagues in voting for the [[Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill]].<ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/67-2/h169 TO PASS H. R. 13.]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved March 2, 2022.</ref>

====1930 defeat, 1932 comeback====
Following his first election, Reece was re-elected four consecutive times.<ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=300757 TN District 01 Race - Nov 07, 1922]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved March 2, 2022.</ref><ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=300751 TN District 01 Race - Nov 04, 1924]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved March 2, 2022.</ref><ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=300750 TN District 01 Race - Nov 02, 1926]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved March 2, 2022.</ref><ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=300749 TN District 01 Race - Nov 06, 1928]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved March 2, 2022.</ref> He lost in the 1930 midterms to Independent Republican [[Oscar Lovette]]<ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=300748 TN District 01 Race - Nov 04, 1930]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved March 2, 2022.</ref> following backlash from constituents over the [[George W. Norris]] Muscle Shoals bill (the Senate version, which is considered a forerunner to the [[Tennessee Valley Authority]]) being vetoed by President [[Herbert Hoover]] as well as having failed to ensure the Cove Creek Dam being built.<ref>Hill, Ray (May 9, 2021). [https://knoxfocus.com/columnist/hill/carroll-reece-tennessees-mr-republican-pt9/ Carroll Reece: Tennessee’s ‘Mr. Republican’ Pt9]. ''The Knoxville Focus''. Retrieved March 2, 2022.</ref> Many of Reece's constituents turned against him due to his siding with private enterprise in his support of Muscle Shoals development over the government initiative to provide nitrates for farmers,<ref>Hill, Ray (June 13, 2021). [https://knoxfocus.com/archives/this-weeks-focus/carroll-reece-tennessees-mr-republican-part-11/ Carroll Reece: Tennessee’s ‘Mr. Republican’ Part 11]. ''The Knoxville Focus''. Retrieved March 2, 2022.</ref> which Lovette emphasized his support for.<ref name=part7>Hill, Ray (April 25, 2021). [https://knoxfocus.com/archives/ray-hills-archives/carroll-reece-tennessees-mr-republican-pt7/ Carroll Reece: Tennessee’s ‘Mr. Republican’ Pt7]. ''The Knoxville Focus''. Retrieved March 2, 2022.</ref> The incumbent congressman, who President Hoover offered to help in his sinking re-election bid, claimed that the Muscle Shoals bill introduced by Norris which emphasized a larger size and scope of the federal government "originated in Red Russia."<ref name=part7/>

Reece ran for his old seat in 1932, campaigning in part against the refusal of Lovette to maintain consistent affiliation as a Republican (Lovette ran as an "Independent Republican" in the general election, again).<ref>Hill, Ray (June 6, 2021). [https://knoxfocus.com/archives/this-weeks-focus/carroll-reece-tennessees-mr-republican-part-10/ Carroll Reece: Tennessee’s ‘Mr. Republican’ Part 10]. ''The Knoxville Focus''. Retrieved March 2, 2022.</ref> During this period, although he was out of office during the time, his favorability among President Hoover ensured that patronage and significant influence went through his hands rather than Lovette's.<ref name=part12>Hill, Ray (June 20, 2021). [https://knoxfocus.com/archives/this-weeks-focus/carroll-reece-tennessees-mr-republican-pt12/ Carroll Reece: Tennessee’s ‘Mr. Republican’ Pt12]. ''The Knoxville Focus''. Retrieved March 2, 2022.</ref> Reece narrowly re-emerged successfully and defeated Lovette,<ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=300747 TN District 01 Race - Nov 08, 1932]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved March 2, 2022.</ref> who in turn claimed [[voter fraud]]. An investigation by a House subcommittee uncovered some "questionable" election procedures practices, though Reece was ultimately seated.<ref>Hill, Ray (July 25, 2021). [https://knoxfocus.com/archives/this-weeks-focus/carroll-reece-tennessees-mr-republican-part-14/ Carroll Reece: Tennessee’s ‘Mr. Republican’ Part 14]. ''The Knoxville Focus''. Retrieved March 2, 2022.</ref>

However, the landslide defeats the GOP suffered nationally that year would mark the start of solid Democratic control in the federal government as the [[Great Depression]] continued.<ref name=part12/> Reece continued being re-elected consecutively until unsuccessfully running for an open Senate seat in 1948; afterwards he returned to the House yet again and continued serving until his death. According to Tennessee historian Ray Hill, a historian who writes for ''The Knoxville Focus'':<ref name=knoxvillefocuspart13>Hill, Ray (July 18, 2021). [https://knoxfocus.com/columnist/carroll-reece-tennessees-mr-republican-part-13/ Carroll Reece: Tennessee’s ‘Mr. Republican’ Part 13]. ''The Knoxville Focus''. Retrieved March 2, 2022.</ref>
{{cquote|Reece never forgot why he had lost to Oscar B. Lovette in 1930; following his return to the House of Representatives, Carroll Reece became a supporter of the Tennessee Valley Authority. Reece frequently voted against the majority of his fellow Republicans, many of whom disliked the very notion of the TVA, to support the Tennessee Valley Authority. When asked why he didn’t go along with his party, Carroll Reece candidly replied no politician in Tennessee could survive politically by opposing the TVA. Reece had fought the bill sponsored by Senator [[George W. Norris]] of Nebraska, while Second District Congressman [[J. Will Taylor]] had supported it. Reece had lost his seat in Congress because of his opposition while the controversial Taylor had continued to hang on to his seat.}}

===Return to the House===
Reece thus returned to Congress, serving until 1947, when he stepped down to devote his full energies to serving as chairman of the [[Republican National Committee]], a position he had held since 1946.

An adamant conservative, Reece generally opposed the [[New Deal]] during the presidency of [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] along with Progressive initiatives such as Federal wage and price controls.<ref name=TNenc/> He was also an [[isolationist]], according to Sampson,<ref name=libertyuniversity/> and a [[non-interventionist]]<ref>Krock, Arthur (April 3, 1946). [https://www.nytimes.com/1946/04/03/archives/reece-was-noninterventionist-opposed-the-draft-lendlease-and-other.html Reece Was Non-Interventionist; Opposed the Draft, Lend-Lease and Other Pre-War Moves, but Voted for Larger Navy]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved March 2, 2022.</ref> prior to [[World War II]] and voted against the [[Lend-Lease Act]].<ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/77-1941/h6 TO PASS H.R. 1776, A BILL TO PROMOTE THE DEFENSE OF THE UNITED STATES (LEND-LEASE BILL).]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved March 2, 2022.</ref> A supporter of civil rights, he advocated the passage of federal anti-lynching legislation and anti-poll tax measures.<ref name=TNenc/>

A member of the conservative "Old Guard" faction of the Republican Party, Reece was a strong supporter of Ohio Senator [[Robert A. Taft]], the leader of the GOP's conservative wing.<ref name="ufdc.ufl.edu">Bowen, Michael D. [https://ufdc.ufl.edu/UFE0015635/00001 Fight for the Right: The Quest for Republican Identity in the Postwar Period], p. 19. ''University of Florida Digital Collections''. Retrieved March 2, 2022.</ref> In 1948 and 1952 Reece was a leading supporter of Taft's candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination; however, Taft lost the nomination both times to moderate Republicans from New York.

Reece was the Republican nominee for an open [[United States Senate|Senate]] seat in [[United States Senate election, 1948|1948]], but lost to [[United States Democratic Party|Democratic]] Congressman [[Estes Kefauver]], who had unseated incumbent Democrat [[Tom Stewart (politician)|Tom Stewart]] in the party primary. Kefauver carried the support of the influential editor [[Edward J. Meeman]] of the now-defunct ''[[Memphis Press-Scimitar]]'', who had for years fought to topple the [[E. H. Crump|Edward "Boss" Crump]] [[political machine]] in [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]]. Crump supported Stewart.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=883|title=Edward John Meeman|encyclopedia=The Tennessee Encyclopedia|date=January 1, 2010|access-date=May 24, 2015}}</ref>

===Republican Party leadership===
Allied with [[Ohio]] senator Taft,<ref name="ufdc.ufl.edu"/> who he joined in opposing President [[Harry S. Truman]]'s anti-[[inflation]] plan,<ref>Knowles, Clayton (November 24, 1947). [https://www.nytimes.com/1947/11/24/archives/reece-joins-taft-against-truman-fights-antiinflation-plan-in-gop.html REECE JOINS TAFT AGAINST TRUMAN; Fights Anti-Inflation Plan in GOP Editorial Entitled 'A Cop in Every Kitchen']. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved August 13, 2021.</ref> Reece succeeded [[Herbert Brownell, Jr.]] (later [[United States Attorney General]] under president [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]]), as the chair of the [[Republican National Committee]] in early April 1946<ref>April 2, 1946. [https://www.nytimes.com/1946/04/02/archives/republicans-elect-reece-as-chairman-stassen-is-critical-the.html REPUBLICANS ELECT REECE AS CHAIRMAN; STASSEN IS CRITICAL; The Tennessee Representative Wins on Third Ballot Over Danaher and Hanes NEGRO VOTE IS STRESSED Minnesotan Says Selection Does Not 'Constitute a Decision' on Party's Policy ... Dewey Said to Back Danaher Negro Vote Is Stressed REECE IS ELECTED BY REPUBLICANS Liberals" Backed Hanes]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved March 2, 2022.</ref> and presided over [[GOP]] victories in the 1946 midterms. Due to his independent wealth inherited from his father-in-law,<ref name=knoxvillefocuspart13/> Reece did not accept a salary.<ref name=TNenc/>

During his tenure in leading the GOP on the national stage, Reece was a part of the conservative faction opposed by [[Minnesota]] liberal Republican [[Harold Stassen]]<ref name=TNenc/> and [[Vermont]] moderate Republican [[George Aiken]].<ref>November 27, 1947. [https://www.nytimes.com/1947/11/27/archives/aiken-asks-reece-to-quit-gop-helm-lays-failure-to-win-confidence-of.html AIKEN ASKS REECE TO QUIT GOP HELM; Lays Failure to Win Confidence of Voters to Chairman, Who Is Also Attacked by Tobey]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved March 2, 2022.</ref><ref>Krock, Arthur (December 3, 1947). [https://www.nytimes.com/1947/12/03/archives/futility-in-aikens-call-move-to-oust-reece-as-gop-chairman-doomed.html Futility in Aiken's Call; Move to Oust Reece as GOP Chairman Doomed by Senator's Party Irregularity]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved March 2, 2022.</ref> In February 1948, Reece called for purging [[communists]] from the [[United States]], asserting:<ref>February 1, 1948. [https://www.nytimes.com/1948/02/01/archives/reece-urges-purge-of-communists-in-us.html REECE URGES PURGE OF COMMUNISTS IN U.S.]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved March 2, 2022.</ref>
{{cquote|...the spread of Communist power throughout the world constitutes the greatest menace to our nation.}}

Reece also opposed President Truman's use of "public funds" for his Western trip, calling it a "pre-nomination campaign tour."<ref>June 6, 1948. [https://www.nytimes.com/1948/06/06/archives/reece-hits-using-public-funds-for-trumans-campaign-tour-reece-hits.html Reece Hits Using Public Funds For Truman's 'Campaign Tour'; REECE HITS PAYING TRUMAN TOUR COSTS]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved March 2, 2022.</ref>

===Defeating Phillips, returning to the U.S. House===
In 1950, Reece ran against the man who succeeded him in the House, [[Dayton Phillips]], and defeated him in the Republican [[Partisan primary|primary]].  This all but assured him of a return to Congress in the heavily Republican district.  He was reelected five more times.  When the Republicans gained control of the House after the [[United States House election, 1952|1952]] elections, Reece served as chairman of the Select Committee to Investigate Tax-Exempt Foundations and Comparable Organizations, losing this post after the Democrats regained control in [[United States House election, 1954|1955]].

In the [[1952 United States presidential election]], Reece threw support to [[Robert A. Taft]], who he predicted the GOP delegations in Southern and border states would support.<ref>December 17, 1951. [https://www.nytimes.com/1951/12/17/archives/gop-in-south-solid-for-taft-says-reece.html G.O.P. IN SOUTH SOLID FOR TAFT, SAYS REECE]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved August 13, 2021.</ref> Taft ultimately lost in the Republican primaries to the more moderate [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], an [[Internationalism (politics)|internationalist]].

During his time in Congress, he was a social and fiscal conservative who supported [[isolationism]] and [[civil rights]] legislation, being one of the few Southern Congressmen who declined to sign the 1956 anti-desegregation [[Southern Manifesto]] and voted in favor of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1957|Civil Rights Acts of 1957]] and [[Civil Rights Act of 1960|1960]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/85-1957/h42|title=HR 6127. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1957.|work=GovTrack.us}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/86-1960/h102|title=HR 8601. PASSAGE.}}</ref> He was a rarity in politics at the time—a truly senior Republican congressman from a former Confederate state.

====International controversy====
During the [[Cold War]], Reece's statement that "The citizens of [[Gdańsk|Danzig]] are [[Germans|German]] as they always had been" caused a reply from [[Jędrzej Giertych]], a leading Polish emigrant in London and writer, publicist, and publisher of [[National-Democratic Party (Poland)|National Democratic]] background.<ref>Jędrzej Giertych, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=tg4gAAAAMAAJ&q=danzig+1308 Poland and Germany: A Reply to Congressman B. Carroll Reece of Tennessee]''. (1958). p. 15</ref> Danzig was separated from Germany and had been established as the [[Free City of Danzig]] in accordance with the [[Treaty of Versailles]] following [[World War I]]. It was annexed by [[Nazi Germany]] in 1939 and subsequently grouped with [[Poland]] in the [[Potsdam Conference|Potsdam Agreement]].

Reece was opposed to the [[Oder–Neisse line|Oder-Neisse line]], advocating the return to Germany of its [[Former eastern territories of Germany|former Eastern territories]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Allen|first=Debra J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7LRuWXPmqxMC&q=Reece&pg=PA300|title=The Oder-Neisse Line: The United States, Poland, and Germany in the Cold War|date=2003|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-32359-1|pages=186|language=en}}</ref>

====Cox Committee====
Reece was a member of the 1952 [[Select Committee to Investigate Tax-Exempt Foundations and Comparable Organizations]], established by the House in April that year to probe major foundations for subversive activities.<ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/82-1952/h133 H RES 561. RESOLUTION CREATING A SELECT COMMITTEE TO CON- DUCT AN INVESTIGATION AND STUDY OF FOUNDATIONS AND OTHER COMPARABLE ORGANIZATIONS.]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved September 21, 2021.</ref> It was known during the congressional session as the [[Cox Committee]], named after its chair [[Edward E. Cox|Eugene "Goober" Cox]], a Democratic segregationist from Georgia.

Due to family illnesses, Reece was absent for most of the hearings the Cox Committee conducted.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} Cox suddenly died in December 1952, and the final report which was soon released cleared the investigated foundations of any wrongdoing.<ref name=fascinatingpoliticsreececommittee>FascinatingPolitics (December 22, 2019). [https://fascinatingpolitics.com/2019/12/22/the-reece-committee-on-foundations-conspiratorial-nonsense-or-an-expose-of-a-threat-to-the-nation/comment-page-1/ The Reece Committee on Foundations: Conspiratorial Nonsense or an Expose of a Threat to the Nation?]. ''Mad Politics: The Bizarre, Fascinating, and Unknown of American Political History''. Retrieved March 2, 2022.</ref> Reece asserted the following, as listed in the Cox Committee report:<ref>January 1, 1953. [https://coxcommitteereport.weebly.com/uploads/1/3/9/4/139443759/82_h_rept_2514.pdf Final Report Of The Select Committee To Investigate Foundations And Other Organizations (Pursuant to H. Res. 561, 82d Cong.)], p. 1. Retrieved October 6, 2021. Final Report, pp. 14. Retrieved March 2, 2022.</ref>
{{cquote|As pointed out and stressed in this report, the select committee has had insufficient time for the magnitude of its task. Although I was unable to attend the full hearing I feel compelled to observe that, if a more comprehensive study is desired, the inquiry might be continued by the Eighty-third Congress with profit in view of the importance of the subject, the fact that tax-exempt funds in very large amounts are spent without public accountability or official supervision of any sort, and that, admittedly, considerable question able expenditures have been made.}}

Among the remaining committee members, only Reece sought a do-over, believing that the scope of the investigations were insufficient. He in addition stated in a long, detailed House speech:
{{cquote|Some of these activities and some of these institutions support efforts to overthrow our Government and to undermine our American way of life.

These activities urgently require investigation. Here lies the story of how communism and socialism are financed in the United States, where they get their money. It is the story of who pays the bill.

'''There is evidence to show that there is a diabolical conspiracy back of all this. Its aim is the furtherance of socialism in the United States.'''

The method by which this is done seems fantastic to reasonable men, for these Communists and Socialists seize control of fortunes left behind by Capitalists when they die, and turn these fortunes around to finance the destruction of Capitalism.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}}}

The Cox Committee report recommended a possible investigation of whether major foundations used their privileges for the purpose of [[tax evasion]], as stated in page 12 of the report:<ref>''Final Report of the Cox Committee'', p. 13.</ref>
{{quote box|The committee regards questions 11 and 12 as matters for the consideration of the Committee on Ways and Means. It therefore has made no attempt to find the answers to these questions. We feel the questions are of sufficient importance to warrant inquiry.

...

We respectfully suggest that the [Committee on Ways and Means] reexamine pertinent tax laws, to the end that they may be so drawn as to encourage the free-enterprise system with its rewards from which private individuals may make gifts to these meritorious institutions.}}

Reece ignored this aspect and only focused on subversive activities.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} Texas liberal populist Democrat [[Wright Patman]] later took up the report's particular suggestion in the 1960s as chairman of the Select Committee on Small Business, also known as the Patman Committee.<ref>FascinatingPolitics (July 3, 2021). [https://fascinatingpolitics.com/2021/07/03/texas-legends-7-wright-patman/ Texas Legends #7: Wright Patman]. ''Mad Politics: The Bizarre, Fascinating, and Unknown of American Political History''. Retrieved March 2, 2022.</ref>

====Reece Committee====
{{Main article|Reece Committee}}
Reece led the [[United States House Select Committee to Investigate Tax-Exempt Foundations and Comparable Organizations|House Select Committee to Investigate Tax-Exempt Foundations and Comparable Organizations]] which investigated the use of funds by tax-exempt non-profit organizations, and in particular [[private foundation (United States)|foundations]], to determine if they were using their funds to support communism in educational institutions.<ref>[http://www.2facts.com.wylproxy.minlib.net/Archive/temp/76987temp1954020050.asp?DBType=News World News Digest: Foundations Probe: Reece Unit vs. Foundations; Other Developments] (subscription required)</ref> Reece selected attorney [[Norman Dodd]] to lead the investigation, which lasted eighteen months. Reece would later declare that "The evidence that has been gathered by the staff pointed to one simple underlying situation, namely that the major foundations, by subsidizing collectivistic-minded educators, had financed a socialist trend in American government."<ref>{{cite book |last=Epperson |first=Ralph |date=1985 |title=The Unseen Hand |publisher=Publius |page=208}}</ref>

==Death and legacy==
Reece died of lung cancer on March 19, 1961, in [[Bethesda, Maryland]], just two months after being sworn in for his 18th term.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1961/03/20/page/40/article/tennessees-rep-reece-71-dies-of-cancer |title=Tennessee's Rep. Reece, 71, Dies of Cancer |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=March 19, 1960}}</ref>  He served in the House longer than anyone else in Tennessee history (though [[Jimmy Quillen]], who eventually succeeded him as the 1st District's congressman, holds the record for the longest unbroken tenure in the House for a Tennessee congressman), and only [[Kenneth McKellar (politician)|Kenneth McKellar]] served in both houses longer. Reece's wife, [[Louise Goff Reece|Louise]], was elected to serve the remainder of his unexpired term in Congress. Both are buried at Monte Vista Memorial Park in [[Johnson City, Tennessee]].

He received several [[honorary degrees]], including [[Legum Doctor|LL.D.]]s from [[Cumberland University]] and [[Tusculum College]], and an [[Doctor of Humane Letters|L.H.D.]] from [[Lincoln Memorial University]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Reece |first=B. Carroll |date=1965 |title=Peace Through Law: A Basis for an East-West Settlement in Europe |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qYhAAAAAIAAJ&q=%22carroll+reece%22+%22honorary+degree%22 |location=New Cannan, CT |publisher=The Long House, Inc. |page= 6|isbn=9780912806211 }}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|Conservatism}}
* [[List of members of the United States Congress who died in office (1950–1999)]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.etsu.edu/cass/Archives/Collections/afindaid/a3.html B. Carroll Reece Archives] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071113064654/http://etsu.edu/cass/Archives/Collections/afindaid/a3.html |date=2007-11-13 }}
{{CongBio|R000108}} Retrieved on 2008-07-24
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060618194636/http://johnsonsdepot.com/cemeteries/cemeteries.htm B. Carroll Reece Gravesite]
*
*
* [http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/reece.html The Political Graveyard]
*{{Find a Grave|7020449|access-date=2009-02-19}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|us-hs}}
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{{s-aft|after=[[Oscar Lovette]]}}
|-
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{{s-non|reason=Position abolished}}
|-
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{{s-ttl|title=Chair of the [[Republican National Committee]]|years=1946–1948}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Hugh Scott]]}}
|-
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{{s-ttl|title=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee for [[United States Senator|U.S. Senator]] from [[Tennessee]]<br/>([[Classes of United States Senators|Class 3]])|years=[[1948 United States Senate election in Tennessee|1948]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Tom Wall (politician)|Tom Wall]]}}
{{s-end}}

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{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reece, B. Carroll}}
[[Category:1889 births]]
[[Category:1961 deaths]]
[[Category:Activists for African-American civil rights]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of London]]
[[Category:American anti-communists]]
[[Category:American anti-lynching activists]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:Candidates in the 1948 United States presidential election]]
[[Category:Carson–Newman University alumni]]
[[Category:Deaths from lung cancer in Maryland]]
[[Category:New York University alumni]]
[[Category:New York University faculty]]
[[Category:People from Johnson County, Tennessee]]
[[Category:American recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States)]]
[[Category:Republican National Committee chairs]]
[[Category:Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee]]
[[Category:United States Army officers]]
[[Category:20th-century United States representatives]]