Sidney Johnston Catts (July 31, 1863 – March 9, 1936) was an American politician and anti-Catholic activist who served as the governor of Florida as a member of the Prohibition Party. After leaving office he became involved in criminal procedures due to his activities as governor and for business activities after leaving office. He was later acquitted, although he went bankrupt in the process. Early life Sidney Johnston Catts was born on his father's plantation in Pleasant Hill, Alabama on July 31, 1863, to Adeline Rebecca Smyly and Samuel W. Catts, a Confederate captain, and was named after Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston. In 1866, his nurse accidentally stabbed one of his eyes with a pair of scissors while cutting pictures causing him to lose sight in it. He earned a law degree from Cumberland School of Law at Cumberland University in 1882. In 1885, he was ordained as a pastor and worked in Alabama until 1910, when he moved to Florida. He later became an insurance salesman and then a teacher. In November 1886, he married Alice May Campbell, a relative of Lord Colin Campbell. Career U.S. House of Representatives campaigns In March 1904, Catts announced that he would seek the Democratic nomination against James Thomas Heflin to represent Alabama's 5th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. During the campaign Catts gave $250 to another politician to canvass a county, but that politician later placed a bet using the money that Heflin would win. Heflin defeated Catts in the primary and following his defeat Catts endorsed Heflin. On April 7, 1930, he announced that he would seek the Democratic nomination in Florida's 3rd congressional district, but was defeated by incumbent Representative Tom Yon in the Democratic primary. 1916 gubernatorial campaign In 1914, Catts announced that he would run for the Democratic nomination for governor of Florida. Catts would be the first political candidate to campaign using an automobile in Florida (a Ford Model T). This would give him an advantage by visiting areas in the state that were isolated and did not receive of other candidates who wanted to visit towns that were close to or on railroads. For many in the state, it would be the first time they would ever see a car. He would compete against William V. Knott who called "economy in government" , equalizing tax laws, making pensions for Civil War