Benjamin M. Miller

Benjamin Meek Miller (March 13, 1864 – February 6, 1944) was an American Democratic politician who served as the 39th Governor of Alabama from 1931 to 1935.

Upon his graduation from Erskine, he returned to Wilcox County, where he served as principal of the Lower Peach Tree Academy until 1887.

The Democratic primary pitted Miller against William C. Davis (his strongest opponent), Woolsey Finnell, Watt T. Brown, J.A.

During the campaign, Miller attacked the reforms of the Bibb Graves administration and the political power of the Ku Klux Klan.

Miller did not consider the income tax or budget control act his most significant achievement; instead, he felt the state bank holiday he declared in March 1933, eight days before Franklin D. Roosevelt declared a national bank holiday his greatest achievement.

During Miller's administration, the miles of paved roads in Alabama doubled, and all highway work was paid in cash.

Miller was known for his frugality, and he shocked many in Montgomery when he brought his milk cow from Camden to the Alabama Governor's Mansion.

B. M. Miller's law office, Camden, Alabama, c. 1937