Global InformationHerman Talmadge information
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Herman Talmadge | |
|---|---|
 Talmadge in 1966 | |
| Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee | |
| In office January 21, 1971 – January 3, 1981 | |
| Preceded by | Allen Ellender |
| Succeeded by | Jesse Helms |
| United States Senator from Georgia | |
| In office January 3, 1957 – January 3, 1981 | |
| Preceded by | Walter F. George |
| Succeeded by | Mack Mattingly |
| 71st Governor of Georgia | |
| In office November 17, 1948 – January 11, 1955 | |
| Lieutenant | Marvin Griffin |
| Preceded by | Melvin E. Thompson |
| Succeeded by | Marvin Griffin |
| In office January 15, 1947 – March 18, 1947 | |
| Lieutenant | Melvin E. Thompson |
| Preceded by | Ellis Arnall |
| Succeeded by | Melvin E. Thompson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Herman Eugene Talmadge August 9, 1913 McRae, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | March 21, 2002 (aged 88) Hampton, Georgia, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Katherine Williamson Betty Shingler Lynda Cowart Pierce |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Eugene Talmadge (father) |
| Education | University of Georgia (BA, LLB) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1941–1945 |
| Rank | Lieutenant Commander |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Herman Eugene Talmadge (August 9, 1913 – March 21, 2002)[1] was an American politician who served as governor of Georgia in 1947 and from 1948 to 1955 and as a U.S. senator from Georgia from 1957 to 1981. A Democrat, Talmadge served during a time of political transition, both in Georgia and nationally.[2] He began his career as a staunch segregationist known for his opposition to civil rights, including supporting legislation that would have closed public schools to prevent desegregation.[3] By the later stages of his career, following the enactment of the Voting Rights Act, which gave substance to the Fifteenth Amendment enacted nearly one hundred years before, and increased African American voter participation, Talmadge, like many other Southern politicians of that period, had modified his views on race. His life eventually encapsulated the emergence of his native Georgia from entrenched white supremacy into a multiracial political culture where many white voters regularly elect Black and other non-white candidates to the U.S. Congress and Georgia General Assembly.[4][5]
When his father, Eugene Talmadge, won the 1946 Georgia gubernatorial election but died before taking office, Herman Talmadge asserted claims to be the 70th governor of Georgia, in what became known as the three governors controversy. He occupied the governor's office from January until March 1947, before yielding to a Georgia Supreme Court decision in favor of Lieutenant Governor Melvin E. Thompson. In 1948, Talmadge defeated Thompson by more than 6 percent in a special election to complete the elder Talmadge's unfinished four-year term. He was reelected in 1950, defeating Thompson by a narrower margin. Talmadge served until the end of his term in 1955.[6][7]
Talmadge, who first became governor at age 33, supported a new statewide sales tax during his second term to fund the construction of new schools and expanded state services. He also supported other infrastructure improvements and increased teachers' salaries.[8] In so doing, the younger governor Talmadge departed from his father's stingy, low-tax and low-spending philosophy while remaining steadfastly opposed racial desegregation and political equality for Black Americans. He left the governor's office as an incredibly popular executive who's administration earned praised from the traditionally liberal outlets such as the Atlanta Constitution and even Harper's Magazine.[7][2][9][10]
Herman Talmadge was elected to the United States Senate in 1956 when Walter F. George, Georgia's senior senator and the President pro tempore of the United States Senate, declined to seek reelection. In the Senate, Talmadge was a long-serving member of the Senate Agriculture Committee as well as the Senate Finance Committee. During the latter part of his career, he also served as a member of the Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities (better known as the Senate Watergate Committee). As chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, he oversaw the passage of numerous pieces of important legislation, including the expansion of the Child Nutrition Act and the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act of 1972, the first major legislation dealing with rural development since the Rural Electrification Act of 1936. The Senate later denounced Talmadge for financial irregularities revealed a Senate Ethics Committee investigation following a contentious divorce from his second wife.[2] The investigation, as well as Georgia's changing demographics, helped Republican Mack Mattingly defeat Talmadge during his 1980 reelection campaign. Following his defeat, Talmadge retired from public life.
- ^ Henderson, Harold Paulk (August 25, 2004). "Eugene Talmadge (1884-1946)". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2020-06-08.
- ^ a b c Buchanan, Scott E. (August 1, 2019) [2002]. "Herman Talmadge (1913-2002)". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
- ^ Clymer, Adam (22 March 2002). "Herman Talmadge, Georgia Senator and Governor, Dies at 88". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
- ^ Frug, Stephen (2008-07-07). "Accepting Equality: Rhetorical Reactions to the Changing Politics of De Jure Segregation".
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "Obituary: Herman Talmadge". the Guardian. 2002-03-25. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
- ^ "Herman Talmadge (1913-2002)". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2021-09-28.
- ^ a b Write, C.C. Wilson III, Rome News-Tribune Staff. "As governor, senator, Talmadge leaves powerful legac | Local New". Northwest Georgia News. Retrieved 2018-09-24.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Mayhew, Paul (July 23, 1956). "The Talmadge Story". The New Republic. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
- ^ Cook, James F. (1995). The Governors of Georgia, 1754-1995 (Revised and Expanded ed.). Macon, GA: Mercer University Press. pp. 255–256. ISBN 0-86554-537-5.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ McMillan, George (December 1954). "Talmadge–the best southern governor?". Harper's Magazine: 34–40.