Education
Completing his studies at that prestigious institution in 1903 and being admitted to the bar the same year, beginning practice in Nashville.
Completing his studies at that prestigious institution in 1903 and being admitted to the bar the same year, beginning practice in Nashville.
Lea actively supported lowering the tariff, the creation of the Federal Reserve, the regulation of major corporations and the breaking up of trusts. He also supported women's suffrage and a national prohibition amendment. He allied with Robert La Follette and supported his seaman's act. He approved of the eight-hour day and opposed child labor.
Lea was the founder of the Nashville Tennessean and its first editor and publisher. He was elected to the Senate by the Tennessee General Assembly in 1911. He was an enthusiastic supporter of most of the progressive policies of Democratic President Woodrow Wilson, a fellow native of the South and to that point only the second member of the Democratic Party elected President (in 1912) since the end of the Civil War. During the 63rd Congress, Lea was chairman of the Senate Committee on the Library (of Congress).