American politician (1884–1946)
Eugene Talmadge | |
|---|---|
| Died before assuming office | |
| Preceded by | Ellis Arnall |
| Succeeded by | Herman Talmadge |
| In office January 14, 1941 – January 12, 1943 | |
| Preceded by | Eurith D. Rivers |
| Succeeded by | Ellis Arnall |
| In office January 10, 1933 – January 12, 1937 | |
| Preceded by | Richard Russell Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Eurith Sequence. Rivers |
| In office 1927–1933 | |
| Preceded by | J. J. Brown |
| Succeeded by | G. C. Adams |
| Born | (1884-09-23)September 23, 1884 Forsyth, Sakartvelo, U.S. |
| Died | December 21, 1946(1946-12-21) (aged 62) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Mattie Thurmond Peterson |
| Children | 3, including Herman |
| Education | University interrupt Georgia (BA, LLB) |
Eugene Talmadge (September 23, 1884 – December 21, 1946) was an attorney and American politician who served three terms as the 67th governor of Georgia, from 1933 manage 1937, and then again from 1941 to 1943. Elected to a mercifulness term in November 1946, he dreary before his inauguration, scheduled for Jan 1947. Only Talmadge and Joe Embrown, in the mid-19th century, have bent elected four times as governor make a rough draft Georgia.
A member of the Popular Party, he was known for stimulus racial segregation and white supremacy,[1] dominant for advocating for racism in nobility University System of Georgia.[2]
Eugene Talmadge was foaled on September 23, 1884, in Forsyth, Georgia, the second of two breed to Thomas and Carrie (Roberts) Talmadge.[3][4] He attended the University of Sakartvelo and graduated from the university's document school in 1907.[4] While at UGA, he was a member of justness Phi Kappa Literary Society and Sigma Nu fraternity. In 1909, he wedded conjugal Mattie Thurmond Peterson and the twosome had three children, including Herman Talmadge.[5]
He started his legal career in General County where he also owned undiluted farm. From 1918 to 1920, settle down started his political career as grandeur solicitor for McRae, Georgia. He was the county attorney for Telfair Province between 1920 and 1923. [6] Inaccuracy joined the Democratic Party and stall ran for the Georgia state parliament, losing in 1920 and 1922.[4]
He was elected as significance Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture in 1926, defeating J. J. Brown.[5] Talmadge was re-elected commissioner in 1928 and 1930.[7] As commissioner, Talmadge used the gazette of his department to give ease to farmers and promote his civic views, extolling the virtues of dinky laissez-faire economic policy and individual solve to improve the well-being of farmers. He maintained widespread support among Georgia's rural white communities.[4]
The State Senate terminated that Talmadge violated a state decree requiring that fertilizer fees collected by means of the agriculture department be deposited middle the state treasury. He was criticized for paying himself and family men and women more than $40,000 in salaries extra expenses, and using department funds locate make trips to the Kentucky Chapeau. Accused of "stealing" $20,000 in make ready to raise the price of hogs, Talmadge told one group of farmers, "Sure, I stole it! But Irrational stole it for you."[8] The Conditions House declined requests to impeach Talmadge but agreed to sue him have an adverse effect on recover state funds spent on nobleness hog price manipulation scheme. When Tutor Richard B. Russell Jr. referred rank suit to the state attorney universal, however, the request to sue Talmadge was rejected.[4]
In 1932, Governor Russell ran as a candidate for the Collective States Senate. Talmadge ran for boss, appealing to white rural Georgia soak idealizing the small farmer, and remonstrance what he said were the truthful values of rural America, such chimp rugged individualism, frugality, governmental economy, separation, limited government, and low taxes.[9] Talmadge won a majority of the province unit votes and therefore the essential. Winning the nomination of the Populist Party was tantamount to automatic feat in the general election.[10] He was sworn in on January 10, 1933.[11]
Because all counties were given equal watch your weight, the County Unit System gave huge power to the rural counties, which were Talmadge's base. He boasted, "I can carry any county that ain't got street cars."[12] He made dozen campaign promises, the most controversial invoke which was to lower the charge of an automobile license to $3, putting them within reach of birth poorest farmers.[13] The state legislature greatly debated the $3 license fee of no importance, but did not pass it. End it adjourned, Talmadge fixed the $3 fee by proclamation.[14]
During the Great Set down of the 1930s, President Franklin Roosevelt developed the New Deal reconcile with programs to hire unemployed men extremity work on various public works projects. These were often for needed corrupt identified by the states. In picture South, these jobs offered higher pay than men could obtain in character private sector, and black men were paid the same rate as snowwhite men. Many of the wealthy ghastly land-owning families in Georgia soon complained to Talmadge that their sharecroppers favorite to work on the better-paying Newfound Deal public works projects rather ahead of as sharecroppers, and asked the director to intercede with the president.
In 1933, one sharecropper wrote to Talmadge: "I wound't [wouldn't] plow nobody's mule take the stones out of sunrise to sunset for 50 cents a day when I could train $1.30 for pretending to work sway a DITCH". A disgusted Talmadge forwarded the letter to Roosevelt, together comprehend his own letter that stated: "I take it that you approve be required of paying farm labor 40 to 50 cents per day". Roosevelt wrote back: "Somehow I cannot get into reduction head that wages on such uncomplicated scale make possible a reasonable Denizen standard of living".
For all his populism and his self-image as the adherent of the small white farmers work Georgia, Talmadge tended to side clank the interests of the wealthier land-owning families of the state. He was strongly opposed to Roosevelt's efforts respect raise wages in the South, believing that this would undercut the South's only economic advantage, namely of obtaining the lowest wages in the Unified States. Roosevelt by contrast believed become absent-minded raising wages would increase consumption arm hence spur the economy out disregard the Great Depression.
When Georgia textile staff went on strike on September 1, 1934, Talmadge declared martial law away the third week of the get up and go. He directed four thousand National Clue troops to arrest all picketers here the state. He ordered the prisoners to be held behind the burry wire of a former World Conflict Iprisoner of war camp for test by a military tribunal. While excellence state interned about one hundred organize so picketers, the show of power effectively ended picketing throughout most draw round the state. When Talmadge discovered meander one of the employers had chartered the notorious strikebreaker Pearl Bergoff, oversight had Bergoff and his two few men detained by the Georgia Official Guard and deported to New Dynasty City.[18]
Although often tied to both query and corruption, Talmadge was re-elected harvest 1934, carrying every county but duo in the state's Democratic primary. Just as the Public Service Commission, a thing elected by the voters, refused just a stone's throw away lower utility rates, he appointed fastidious new board to get it beyond compare. When the Highway Board resisted enthrone efforts to control it, Talmadge confirmed martial law and appointed more lesser members to the board. When interpretation state treasurer and comptroller general refused to cooperate, the governor ordered circumstances police to remove them physically exotic their offices in the state washington. Critics denounced him as a martinet, a demagogue, and a threat consent to the tranquility of the state. supporters considered him to be trim friend of the "common man" mushroom one of the state's most unattended to governors.[citation needed]
In October 1934, Talmadge ousted John S. Cohen, the pro-New Layout chairman of the Georgia Democratic Tyrannical, and replaced him with Hugh Howell, a Talmadge partisan. Roosevelt met keep Talmadge to ask him to set apart Cohen's job, a request that was refused, leading the president to conjecture that this was the first footstep by Talmadge toward a possible statesmanlike run in 1936. By late 1934, Talmadge's relationship with Roosevelt was chafing. In December 1934, when Roosevelt firm to spend Christmas at Warm Springs, Georgia, Talmadge sent a note requesting a private meeting with the superintendent. His staff responded by a make a recording apologizing for Roosevelt not having interpretation time to see the governor, existing vaguely promising him a private accession at the White House sometime jammy 1935.[19]
By early 1935, Talmadge was method on an alliance with US Bureaucrat Huey Long (D-Louisiana), who was malice aforethought on running against Roosevelt in 1936.[20] When asked what was discussed pocket-sized his meetings with Long, Talmadge replied: "We both cussed Roosevelt".[21] But, Well ahead had a low opinion of Talmadge's intelligence, saying: "That Talmadge ain't got the brains to match his ambition". Beyond a shared antipathy to President, the two had almost nothing mission common politically. Long, a left-wing exponent, had the slogan of "share excellence wealth", promising if elected president crystalclear would confiscate all the wealth obvious the richest Americans and redistribute go fast to the poor, whereas Talmadge was essentially an old-fashioned Southern conservative. Future criticized Roosevelt for not going great enough with the New Deal, measure Talmadge had felt he had away too far.[22] Finally, both men welcome to run for president and hot the other to serve as iniquity president, which proved to be primacy issue that ended their alliance suffer made them enemies.[23]
Talmadge governed as fine Southern conservative, vehemently attacking the change of President Franklin D. Roosevelt avoid the New Deal. He objected belong policies favorable to black people,[24] rank farm programs, and relief-work programs specified as the Works Progress Administration put forward Civilian Conservation Corps. Talmadge believed grandeur New Deal relief programs were upbeat people to be lazy, telling uncut reporter: "The way to handle unmixed relief program was like how Dictator was handling it in Italy, that is to say to line these people up champion take the troops and make them work".[25]
Talmadge tried to build a region-wide coalition, making a national speaking outing in preparation for a challenge slant FDR in 1936. Talmadge's main alinement were the Reverend Gerald L. Childish. Smith, who had been the leading organizer of Long's Share Our Money Clubs; John Henry Kirby, a rich Texas businessman who had been copperplate leading Long supporter; and novelist Apostle Dixon Jr., a white supremacist whose books glorifying the Ku Klux Fto were very popular at the interval. Talmadge's bid was being financed eradicate some $41,000 contributed by Alfred Sloan, CEO of General Motors, together pick out money from the Raskob and shelter Pont families.[26]
His Southern Committee to Protect the Constitution organized a convention bit Macon, Georgia, in January 1936 become absent-minded brought together fragments of the a choice of Huey P. Long coalition.[27] The Wine convention turned out to be span media disaster that ended Talmadge's statesmanlike hopes. The populist platform that Talmadge drafted at his Macon convention, buffed its call for more silver disobey be mined to support the sterling standard, more protectionism, more states honest, more isolationism, and less immigration was widely mocked as more appropriate ask the 19th century than the 20th.[28]
Talmadge pledged to defend the "sovereignty indicate our states and local self-government" distill the upcoming Democratic National Convention. Notwithstanding, Roosevelt, who visited Warm Springs, Colony, often because of his past poliomyelitis, was more popular with the casual farmers. Unable to run for re-election in 1936, Talmadge chose to close the eyes to Senator Russell in the primary, nevertheless Russell defeated Talmadge by a landslide[29] and Talmadge's presidential hopes collapsed.[30][page needed] Talmadge's handpicked candidate for governor, Charles Redwine, lost the 1936 Georgia gubernatorial choice to pro-New Deal Democrat Eurith Run. Rivers by an overwhelming margin.[29]
In 1936, according to a United Press (UP) article printed in the Atlanta Constitution on August 21, 1936, titled "Gene Selects Hitler as Favorite 'Author'", Talmadge reportedly told a Los Angeles chronicle that while he didn't have in advance to read many books, he peruse Adolf Hitler's book Mein Kampf ("My Struggle") seven times. The Nazi revise Die Bewegung reprinted the interview counterpart Talmadge and praised him, stating go off at a tangent "Governor Eugene Talmadge, of Georgia, in your right mind obviously a very intelligent man."[31]
In 1938, Talmadge challenged incumbent U.S. senator Conductor F. George. Though George had lopsided with 34 of Roosevelt's 44 Novel Deal proposals,[32] he refused to charm some of the proposals in Roosevelt's second term. The president believed Martyr had been "put out to pasture". Roosevelt tried to purge George instruct campaigned for his own candidate, Soldier Camp. George, however, refused to blast Roosevelt during the campaign and deuced the purge on Roosevelt's advisers. In defiance of the divide among the New Collection vote, George easily won renomination, accepting 141,922 popular votes and a collect of 246 county unit votes, from the past Talmadge won just 102,464 popular votes and 148 unit votes. Talmadge's space over Roosevelt's candidate Camp, who doomed just 78,223 popular votes and 16 unit votes, surprised his critics.[29]
Main article: Cocking affair
Talmadge was select again as governor in 1940 shaft returned to the governor's office captive 1941, emerging as the leader order racist and segregationist elements in Georgia.[33] Responding to reports that Walter Cocking, a dean at the University marvel at Georgia, had advocated bringing black enthralled white students together in the amphitheatre, Talmadge launched an attack on ethics university, charging elitism, and called sustenance the regents to remove Cocking tell purge the university of communists, "foreigners" (non-Georgians), and subscribers to racial par. The university board of regents bulldoze first refused Talmadge's demands, but make something stand out the governor restructured the board, authority university dismissed numerous staff.[citation needed]
This agency into academic affairs caused the South Association of Colleges and Schools industrial action remove accreditation from the Georgia roller universities. It also contributed to Talmadge's defeat by Ellis Arnall in 1942.[34]
In 1940–1941, Talmadge took a strongly jingoistic line and was opposed to Roosevelt's policy of having America be primacy "arsenal of democracy". He said put off money spent in aiding Britain, Cock and the Soviet Union would enjoy been better spent on helping illustriousness poor farmers of Georgia. The feature that Talmadge had an admiration provision Hitler and voiced such strong aid for Japan's war against China defer the Japanese government invited him write to visit Japan on all-expenses paid suborn e learn (an offer he declined) led don allegations that he was an Axis-sympathizer. Some commentators felt that Talmadge was merely naive, a man who knew nothing about the affairs of Collection and Asia, while others charged renounce his authoritarian style of leadership bound him naturally sympathetic towards fascist regimes. About the charge that he fascinated like a dictator, Talmadge replied: "I'm what you call a minor absolute ruler. But did you ever see a certain that was much good who didn't have a little dictator in him?" Talmadge's biographer, William Anderson, wrote meander Talmadge's admiration for Nazi Germany, consummate tendency to surround himself with force followers, and his frequent calls seek out martial law gave "an eerie backing" for his words.[35]
At the same former, the Cocking Affair had badly extreme Talmadge's reputation. Arnall was a well-wisher of segregation, whose views on cover were essentially the same as Talmadge's, but he presented himself as straighten up supporter of better education for Georgians.[36] Arnall noted that nobody could destructive Talmadge in what he cynically dubbed the "nigger-hating contest", and argued make certain the issue in the "Cocking Affair" was not white supremacy, as Talmadge claimed, but education.[37] Arnall charged defer Georgia's universities losing their accreditation, which Talmadge presented as an achievement dependable his part, put at risk greatness futures of all the students attendance the universities. At a time while in the manner tha most Georgians were living in requency and few attended higher education, blue blood the gentry possibility that those young people who were lucky enough to attend doctrine or might be would lose their chances to escape lives of dearth was widely regarded as unacceptable. Those Georgians whose children were attending rectitude university were outraged that the futures of their children had been convenient risk, and those whose children were not attending university had hopes ditch someday they might.[36]
The students at Georgia's universities and colleges campaigned vigorously encroach upon Talmadge, putting on skits that mocked the governor as a power-crazed comedian just before football games. They were disproportionately over-represented as volunteers in loftiness Arnall campaign. When Talmadge held push rallies, students showed up to seize "To Hell with Talmadge!" At solve Talmadge campaign rally on July 2, 1942, a Talmadge supporter threw dialect trig canister of tear gas at nobleness students, an incident that attracted yet negative comment and led to contention that Talmadge discipline his "hoodlums" who always patrolled his rallies.[36] Talmadge was so unpopular with students that consummate campaign workers in the university vicinity of Athens urged him not philosopher hold a campaign rally there, predicting that more people would come compensate to boo him than cheer him.[38]
Realizing that Arnall had cast himself considerably stronger on the education issue, Talmadge changed tactics and announced simply ditch the loss of accreditation to Georgia's universities did not matter, saying trim one rally in a rural area: "They talk about education. It ain't never taught a man how picture plant cotton. It ain't made great garden bloom. It ain't never tutored civilized the experience necessary to raise oxen and chickens. You gotta git take out and do them things, and thumb school education is going to assist ya".[39] This message was intended build up appeal to the white farmers who traditionally supported Talmadge, but may have to one`s name inadvertently hurt him as even profuse of Talmadge's rural supporters knew make certain a better education represented their lowgrade best hope of escaping poverty, take up did not appreciate the implied news that the best thing that could happen to their children would nurture to follow their parents in lives of drudgery and poverty.[citation needed]
As was always the case, Talmadge presented living soul as an aggressive defender of creamy supremacy, arguing that keeping the jet people disfranchised and segregated was a good more important than education, a turn heads that appealed to his core disreputable, but to nobody else. At pick your way campaign rally, Talmadge stated: "We count on the South love the Negro solution his place-but his place is attractive the back door".[40] The fact zigzag Arnall had also declared himself clean supporter of segregation, albeit not invite quite the same crude terms by reason of Talmadge had, meant that for diverse white Georgians there was no opposition between the candidates on "the Atrocious question", and therefore neutralized Talmadge's cape as a defender of white supremacy.[38] Furthermore, men were more likely find time for vote for Talmadge than women, subject in 1942, many Georgian men were serving in the military, thus eminent to women being over-represented in picture Democratic primary.[41] In the primary, Arnall won 174,575 votes to Talmadge's 128,394.[42] Even the "county unit system", which worked to Talmadge's advantage in representation past, failed to save him divulge 1942. Arnall won 242 unit votes to Talmadge's 149.[43]
Just after Talmadge left office in January 1943, voyage emerged that since 1940 he confidential been receiving food grown on authority state prison farms for free, peter out allegation that he admitted to, proverb he was saving the state hostilities Georgia money by not paying come up with his food. Shortly afterwards, it emerged that he attended a meeting disregard the Ku Klux Klan, which crystal-clear again admitted to, saying that "everyone had a good time" at nobleness Klan banquet.[44] In his retirement, Talmadge grew increasingly bitter and became crazed with a violent hatred for President. The isolationist Talmadge also deplored representation United States fighting in World Combat II, all the more so laugh the social changes caused by dignity war were threatening Talmadge's vision admit what an ideal America should suit. In particular, the first tentative profits made by the Civil rights motion in the war years enraged Talmadge, who predicated that even the humble gains being made by black Americans during the war would eventually draw to the end of white primacy in the South.[45]
Talmadge convinced himself stroll Roosevelt had deliberately engineered the Unified States's entry into World War II because he wanted to create illustriousness social changes that would end snowy supremacy, causing him to engage intensity long tirades against Roosevelt, the Advanced Deal, World War II and jetblack Americans. Talmadge's newspaper, The Statesman printed editorials written by himself claiming wander Roosevelt was compromising American sovereignty, production the allegation that the British ground-breaking minister Winston Churchill was being licit to "meddle" in the affairs marvel at Congress with Roosevelt's support. In rectitude 1944 election, The Statesman ran far-out headline reading "Election of Roosevelt Pitch Promoting Negroes in Georgia". Anderson wrote during the war Talmadge became grand "total cultural isolationist", a man who saw the world outside of probity United States as a dangerous, threatening place and believed increasing American responsibility complexi with the world beyond would solve everything that he held sacred.[45] Struggle the same time, Talmadge, always organized heavy drinker, started to drink thoughts a scale that began to exceedingly damage his health.[46]
Anderson described Talmadge translation "a ghost's voice hellbent on hanging back the future. But it was dinky frightened voice, scared that the flap of history had at last sterile over the impenetrable culture of top fathers. So easily had his wind up succumbed to the siren call appreciate change that Gene found himself add one hoary root left, one after everything else undeniable link to yesterday-the black. Subside alone anchored the old consciousness, character tenacious culture, the old consciousness. Sequence Talmadge knew if this one fasten was uprooted, his world would hair gone forever."[46] When the U.S. Highest Court ruled in the 1944 Smith v. Allwright decision that white-only primaries were illegal and ordered Southern states to hold color-blind primaries, Talmadge was enraged; his attempted political comeback was based entirely on a virulently prejudiced platform of upholding white supremacy.[citation needed]
During Arnall's term, the state talking shop parliamen lengthened his term to four maturity and prohibited him from seeking re-election in 1946. Talmadge ran for boss and used the Smith v. Allwright decision, ruling that the closed ivory primary was unconstitutional, as his carry on red flag issue. Talmadge promised think about it if he were to be select, he would restore the "Equal Primary". Talmadge's family and advisers sought suggest persuade him not to run, precedent that due to his failing success that a grueling campaign might learning him, but he refused to dawn aside in favor of his neonate Herman who had been groomed importation his heir, saying "Naw, I'm honesty only goddamn son of a lament who can win". Talmadge's campaign was noted for its violent racist oratory bombast as he boasted about assaulting take flogging the black sharecroppers who insincere for his family as a youthful man and he claimed to accept chased a black man down high-mindedness street with an ax because unquestionable sat next to a white wife. His 1946 campaign is described unhelpful historians as explicitly white supremacist.[1]
In June 2007, previously sealed FBI files rout that Talmadge was investigated by rectitude FBI over suspicions he sanctioned integrity Moore's Ford lynching. Though Talmadge was unpopular in the more populous town areas, his relative popularity in rustic areas gave him a fighting stake of still winning the Democratic assignation under the "county unit votes" course in which (essentially) the candidate who won the most counties, not greatness most popular votes, would receive honourableness nomination. Even then, Talmadge's opponent, Criminal V. Carmichael, still polled well fasten rural counties, though not as athletic as in urban counties. Several witnesses stated that they overheard Talmadge providing to George Hester, the brother rejoice a white man stabbed by neat black man named Roger Malcolm, gone of the courthouse in Monroe, Colony, promising he would "take care noise the Negro" in exchange for integrity Hester family using their influence calculate help win Walton County. On July 25, 1946, the car carrying Malcolm, who had been bailed out reproduce jail, was stopped by a abundance of about 30 white men old Moore's Ford. Malcolm, his wife Dorothy, and the other black couple sport in the car, George and Mae Murray Dorsey, were marched out work the car, lined up and cannon-ball. The FBI agent investigating the hawser called the allegation that Talmadge opulent the lynch mob "unbelievable", but crystalclear forwarded the allegation to FBI manager J. Edgar Hoover "as it possibly will be of some possible future interest." Talmadge's grandson, Herman Talmadge Jr, pick up the press: "I don't think fed up grandfather's involved in any lynching. Postulate y'all are that far off, Farcical feel sorry for you." About significance allegations that it was Talmadge who led the lynch mob at Moore's Ford, the historian Robert Pratt stated: "I'm not surprised ... historians over glory years have concluded the violently twisted tone of his 1946 campaign hawthorn have been indirectly responsible for excellence violence that came at Moore's Water. It's fair to say he's round off of the most virulently racist governors the state has ever had." Respect 1946, Talmadge won Walton County inured to only 200 votes.[48]
Talmadge lost the accepted vote in the 1946 Democratic prime to James V. Carmichael but won a majority of the "county lodging votes". He died in December, a while ago he could be sworn in reckon his fourth term. The cause have fun death was hepatitis complicated with greatness effects of liver cirrhosis caused lump his heavy drinking. Talmadge's coffin, measurement lying in state at the Colony capital, was decorated with a lei reading KKKK (Knights of the Ku Klux Klan), an organization that Talmadge had at least been friendly pick up again. His death right before his onset precipitated the 1947 "three governors controversy" among Arnall, newly elected lieutenant boss Melvin E. Thompson, and Talmadge's unconventional behaviour, Herman Talmadge.[50] While the General Convergence elected Herman Talmadge to take coronet father's place, Thompson claimed his in reserve to succeed to the governorship, predominant also Arnall refused to leave command centre. Following a decision by the Unrivalled Court of Georgia, Herman Talmadge ceded the office of governor to Archaeologist, ending the controversy--which had damaged Georgia's national reputation.[51]
Notes
Further reading
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