Ernest Vandiver
Ernest Vandiver | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Ernest Vandiver (1962) | |
| 73rd Governor of Georgia | |
| In office January 13, 1959 – January 15, 1963 | |
| Lieutenant | Garland T. Byrd |
| Preceded by | Marvin Griffin |
| Succeeded by | Carl Sanders |
| 3rd Lieutenant Governor of Georgia | |
| In office January 11, 1955 – January 13, 1959 | |
| Governor | Marvin Griffin |
| Preceded by | Marvin Griffin |
| Succeeded by | Garland T. Byrd |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Samuel Ernest Vandiver Jr. July 3, 1918 Canon, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | February 21, 2005 (aged 86) Lavonia, Georgia, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Sybil Elizabeth "Betty" Russell Vandiver |
| Children | Ernest "Chip" Vandiver, III Vanna Elizabeth Vandiver Jane Brevard Kidd |
| Alma mater | University of Georgia Banker |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | United States Army Air Corps |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Samuel Ernest Vandiver Jr. (July 3, 1918 – February 21, 2005) was an American
Early life and career
Vandiver was born in Canon in Franklin County in northeastern Georgia. He was the only child of Vanna Bowers and Samuel Ernest Vandiver. His mother had two children from a previous marriage, which ended with the death of her first husband. Vandiver's father was a prominent businessman, farmer, and landowner in Franklin County. Vandiver attended public schools in Lavonia and the Darlington School in Rome, Georgia. He graduated from the University of Georgia and the University of Georgia School of Law, both in Athens.[1]
After stateside service as an officer in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, he was elected in 1946 as mayor of Lavonia in Franklin County. That same year he supported Eugene Talmadge's candidacy for governor and then Herman Talmadge's claim to the office after Eugene's death.
In 1948, Talmadge appointed Vandiver to be the state's adjutant general. In 1954, Vandiver was elected lieutenant governor.
He
Governor of Georgia
As governor, Vandiver cleaned up the corruption and mismanagement associated with the Griffin administration. He had pledged to defend segregation, using the campaign motto, "No, not one," meaning not one black child in a white school.[2]
During the
I got a call from then-Senator John Kennedy. This was during the campaign. He said, “A judge down in Georgia has incarcerated Martin Luther King. Is there anything that you can do to help get him out? Because it will be helpful to my career.” You may or may not know that Daddy King was supporting Nixon at that time. . . . So I called my brother-in-law and a close friend of mine who had been secretary of state when I was lieutenant governor. His name was George Stewart. George Stewart went out and talked with Judge Mitchell. Judge Mitchell agreed, and I do not know what George told the man. He might have told him that he would get him appointed federal judge or something. Anyway, he agreed that if either Senator Kennedy or Bobby Kennedy would call him personally and ask him to release Dr. King, that he would release him. I called Bobby Kennedy and relayed the message that George Stewart had brought back to me. Bobby Kennedy called Judge Mitchell, and Martin Luther King was released from jail.
Ernest Vandiver, Saving The Soul of Georgia : Donald L. Hollowell and the Struggle For Civil Rights
Vandiver changed from his "No, not one" stance on segregation. Those urging him to change included
Following the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Vandiver said, "All the world is shocked and grieved at the death of our President. I am certain that all Georgians join together in sending our condolences to the grieved family."[7]
Under Vandiver's administration, a
He pledged to maintain the
Vandiver's efficiency in running state government permitted a building program and the expansion of state services without tax increases. The state expanded its ports, encouraged tourism, promoted business and industry, expanded vocational-technical education, and authorized programs for the
Later career
In
Had Vandiver's health permitted him to run for governor in 1966, Callaway would have instead sought reelection to the U.S. House. When Vandiver looked like a potential Democratic nominee, Callaway asked William R. Bowdoin Sr. (1913–1996), an Atlanta banker and civic figure who had chaired a commission on state government reorganization, to run as a Republican gubernatorial candidate. Oddly, Carl Sanders, the term-limited governor, asked Bowdoin to run that year as a Democrat.[14]
In 1972, at the age of fifty-four, Vandiver ran for the
In his final years, he would express regret at his earlier segregationist positions. "I said a lot of intemperate things back then that I now have to live with," he said in 2002. "All I can say now is that you are of your time."[2]
Marriage and the Russell family
Vandiver was married to Betty Russell, a niece of Senator Russell, who had also served earlier as governor. Russell was popular and powerful in Georgia and helped to promote his nephew-in-law's career.
Vandiver was a son in law of Judge Robert Lee Russell and grandson-in-law of Judge Richard Russell Sr. For information, see Russell family.
Death
Ernest Vandiver died on February 21, 2005, at the age of eighty-six at his home in Lavonia, Georgia. In addition to his wife, he was survived by three children: Samuel Ernest "Chip" Vandiver, III; Vanna Elizabeth (named for her paternal grandmother and mother) Vandiver; and Jane Brevard Vandiver, who as
Memorials
The stretch of I-85 through Franklin County, Georgia, is named "Ernest Vandiver Highway" in his memory. Vandiver had worked to make sure the highway traversed Franklin County, instead of proceeding further north as originally planned.
On September 26, 2008, the University of Georgia dedicated a residence hall in the East Campus Village to Vandiver.
References
- ^ a b c d e "Ernest Vandiver Jr. (1918-2005)". georgiaencyclopedia.org. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
- ^ a b Gettleman, Jeffrey (December 22, 2002). "South's leaders in pre-civil rights era reflect on records with regret". SFGate. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
- ^ Novotny, Patrick (Fall 2004). "John F. Kennedy, the 1960 Election, and Georgia's Unpledged Electors in the Electoral College". Georgia Historical Quarterly. 88 (3). Retrieved June 22, 2016.
- Boston, Massachusetts: Beacon Press, 1994, 2002), p. 28)
- ISBN 9781306117685.
- ^ Young, Neely (June 2015). "An Old, Sweet Song". Georgia Trend. 30 (10): 8. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
- ^ Murphy, Reg (November 23, 1963). "Governor Leads All Georgians Into Deep Mourning". The Atlanta Constitution.
- ^ Rasmussen, Patty (2005). "Right Man, Right Time". Georgia Trend. 20 (7): 18. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
- ISBN 9780820323992. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
- ^ "Grace in Georgia". Time. Vol. 77, no. 5. January 27, 1961. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
- ISBN 978-0820322230. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
- ^ "Georgia and the Pursuit Of Reasonableness". New Republic. Vol. 155, no. 14. October 1, 1966. p. 11. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
- Atlanta History: A Journal of Georgia and the South, XXI (Winter 1987–1988), pp. 42, 47
- ^ Atlanta History, p. 44
External links
- New Georgia Encyclopedia: Ernest Vandiver Archived February 1, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- Ernest Vandiver Archived June 30, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- Governor Ernest Vandiver's Public Education Address[permanent dead link] in response to federal desegregation of the University of Georgia, January 18, 1961. From the collection of the Georgia Archives.
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