B . Carroll Reece Brazilla Carroll Reece ( December 22 , 1889 – March 19 , 1961 ) was an American politician from Tennessee . He served in the United States House of Representatives . Early life . Reece was born on a farm near Butler , Tennessee , 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 . His brother , Raleigh Valentine Reece , was a reporter for the " Nasvhille Tennessean " and the teacher who replaced John Thomas Scopes at Rhea County High School in Dayton , Tennessee following the infamous " Monkey Trial . " He attended Watauga Academy in Butler , and Carson - Newman College in Jefferson City , Tennessee . At Carson - Newman he played basketball and 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 . He also studied at the University of London . Career . He was an assistant secretary and instructor at New York University in 1916 and 1917 . During the First World War , he enlisted in May 1917 and served with the American Expeditionary Force s from October 1917 to July 1919 . He was decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross , Distinguished Service Medal , Purple Heart , and the French Croix de Guerre with Palm ; as a First Lieutenant in the 102nd Infantry Regt . , 26th Division . He was director of the School of Business Administration of New York University in 1919 and 1920 , and also studied law there . He then opened a successful law practice in Johnson City , and also served as a banker and publisher . He was married to Louise Goff , daughter of United States Senator Guy Despard Goff of West Virginia . Congressional service . In 1920 , Reece won the Republican nomination for Tennessee ' s 1st Congressional District , based in the Tri - Cities region in the northeastern part of the state . The region had voted not to secede at the state convention in 1861 . This region was heavily Republican — in fact , Republicans had represented this district for all but four years since 1859 , and was one of the few regions in the former Confederacy where Republicans won on a regular basis . He won handily in November and was reelected four more times before being defeated for renomination in 1930 by Oscar Lovette . However , he defeated Lovette in 1932 and 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 . 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 . 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 served as a delegate to the Republican National Conventions in 1928 , 1932 , 1936 , 1940 , 1940 , and 1948 . He was a member of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution in 1945 and 1946 . Reece was the Republican nominee for an open Senate seat in 1948 , but lost to Democratic Congressman Estes Kefauver . However , two years later he ran against the man who succeeded him in his old House seat , Dayton Phillips , and defeated him in the Republican 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 1952 elections , Reece served as chairman of the Special Committee on Tax Exempt Foundations , losing this post after the Democrats regained control in 1955 . During his time in Congress , he was a social and fiscal conservative who supported isolationism and civil rights legislation . International controversy . During the Cold War , Reece ' s statement that " The citizens of Danzig are German as they always had been " caused a reply from Polish leading emigrant in London - Jędrzej Giertych , writer , publicist and publisher of National Democratic backgroung . Reece Committee . Reece led the House Special Committee to Investigate Tax - Exempt Foundations and Comparable Organizations which investigated the use of funds by tax - exempt organizations ( non - profit organizations ) to see if they were being used to support communism . Death and legacy . Reece died on March 19 , 1961 in Bethesda , Maryland , just two months after being sworn in for his 18th term . 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 served in both houses longer . He was a rarity in politics at the time — a truly senior Republican congressman from a former Confederate state . Reece ' s wife , 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 .