George Wallace

George Corley Wallace (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who was elected Governor of Alabama (as a Democrat) four times (1962, 1970, 1974 and 1982) and ran for U.S. President (in 1964, 1968, 1972 and 1976). His first wife, Lurleen Wallace, was the first (and, as of 2005, only) woman to ever be elected as Governor of Alabama.

Governor of Alabama

In 1958 he was defeated by John Patterson in Alabama's Democratic gubernatorial primary election, which at this point in Alabama history still was the decisive election, the general election still almost always being a mere formality. This was a political crossroads for Wallace; Patterson had run with the support of the Ku Klux Klan, an organization Wallace had spoken out against, while Wallace had been endorsed by the NAACP. After the election Wallace vowed "I'll never be outniggered again."

Related Topics:
1958 - John Patterson - Primary election - General election - Ku Klux Klan - NAACP

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In the wake of his defeat, Wallace adopted a hard-line segregationist style, and used this stand to court the white vote in the next gubernatorial election. In 1962, he was elected governor on a pro-segregation, pro-states' rights platform in a landslide victory. In his inaugural speech he declared "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever." The lines were written by Wallace's new speechwriter, Asa Carter. Wallace later stated that he had not read this part of the speech prior to delivering it, and that he had regretted it almost immediately.

Related Topics:
Segregationist - 1962 - Asa Carter

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On June 11, 1963 he stood in front of a schoolhouse door at the University of Alabama in an attempt to stop desegregation of that institution by the enrollment of two black students, Vivian Malone and James Hood. Wallace only stood aside after being confronted by federal marshals, Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach, and the Alabama National Guard. Later in life he apologized for his opposition to racial integration at that time.

Related Topics:
June 11 - 1963 - University of Alabama - Desegregation - Vivian Malone - James Hood - Federal marshals - Nicholas Katzenbach - National Guard - Racial integration

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Another event that marked Wallace's first term as Governor was the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham in 1963. In this infamous tragedy, four African-American girls were killed. Many civil rights leaders held Wallace and Birmingham police chief Eugene "Bull" Connor responsible for the hateful atmosphere. Martin Luther King went so far as to call Wallace and tell him the blood of the murdered children was on his hands. When reporters asked Wallace how he thought his actions were being received in Third World nations that America hoped to win to its side in the Cold War, Wallace responded: "The average man in Africa or Asia doesn't even know where he is, let alone where Alabama is."

Related Topics:
Bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church - Birmingham - Police chief - Eugene "Bull" Connor - Martin Luther King - Third World - America - Cold War

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