John Tower
John Tower | |
---|---|
Anne Armstrong | |
Succeeded by | Bobby Inman (acting) |
Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee | |
In office January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1985 | |
Preceded by | John Stennis |
Succeeded by | Barry Goldwater |
United States Senator from Texas | |
In office June 15, 1961 – January 3, 1985 | |
Preceded by | Bill Blakley |
Succeeded by | Phil Gramm |
Personal details | |
Born | John Goodwin Tower September 29, 1925 Houston, Texas, U.S. |
Died | April 5, 1991 Brunswick, Georgia, U.S. | (aged 65)
Political party | Republican (1951–1991) |
Other political affiliations | Democratic (before 1951) |
Spouses | Joza Bullington
(m. 1952; div. 1976)Lilla Cummings
(m. 1977; div. 1987) |
Children | 3 |
Education | Southwestern University (BA) Southern Methodist University (MA) London School of Economics |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Branch/service | United States Navy |
Years of service | 1943–1946 (Active) 1946-1989 (Reserve) |
Rank | Master chief petty officer |
Unit | U.S. Naval Reserve |
Battles/wars | |
John Goodwin Tower (September 29, 1925 – April 5, 1991) was an American politician and military veteran who represented
Born in
Upon joining the Senate in 1961, Tower became the first Republican Senator to represent a state in the South since 1913. He was the only Southern Republican in the Senate until Strom Thurmond switched parties in 1964. A political conservative earlier in his career, Tower staunchly opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Starting in 1976 with his support of Gerald Ford rather than Ronald Reagan in the 1976 Republican primaries, Tower began to alienate many fellow conservatives. He became less conservative over time, later voicing support for legal abortion, gay rights,[1] and opposing President Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative in 1983.
Tower retired from the Senate in 1985. After leaving Congress, he served as chief negotiator of the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks with the Soviet Union and led the Tower Commission. The commission's report was highly critical of the Reagan administration's relations with Iran and the Contras. In 1989, incoming President George H. W. Bush chose Tower as his nominee for Secretary of Defense, but his nomination was rejected by the Senate. After the defeat, Tower chaired the President's Intelligence Advisory Board. Tower died in the 1991 Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311 crash.
Early life, education, and military service
Tower was born in
Having attended public schools in Houston and Beaumont, Texas, Tower graduated from Beaumont High School in 1942.[2] After high school, he enrolled at Southwestern University in fall 1942.[2] In June 1943, Tower paused his college studies to serve in the United States Navy during the Pacific Theater of World War II on an LCS(L) amphibious gunboat.[2]
In March 1946, Tower was discharged from the Navy ranked seaman first class and resumed his studies at Southwestern.[2] He graduated in 1948 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science.[2] While at Southwestern, Tower was a member of the Iota chapter of the Kappa Sigma fraternity, and would later serve the organization in significant alumnus volunteer roles.[3]
Tower worked as a
In 1949, he began graduate studies in political science at Southern Methodist University and worked part time as an insurance agent. Then in 1951, Tower became an assistant professor of political science at Midwestern University (now Midwestern State University), a job he held until 1960. In 1952 and 1953, he pursued graduate coursework at the London School of Economics and conducted field research on the organization of the Conservative Party of the United Kingdom. His research was presented in his thesis, The Conservative Worker in Britain. He received his Master of Arts degree from SMU in 1953.[2]
Early political career
Although raised as a
1960 Senate election
In 1960, he was chosen by the state convention held in
Johnson, the incumbent senator and famous nationwide as the
1961 Senate election
After Johnson became Vice President, Tower ran in the special election held to determine who would fill Johnson's seat in the Senate. Tower came first in the initial round of voting with 30.93% of the vote, and subsequently won the run-off election against Democrat William A. Blakley, who had been appointed as interim Senator, with 50.6% of the vote to Blakley's 49.4%.[6][7] Tower became the first Republican elected to the Senate from Texas since the end of Reconstruction.
United States Senate
Committee assignments
In the Senate, Tower was assigned to two major committees: the Labor and Public Welfare Committee and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Tower left the Labor and Public Welfare Committee in 1964, although in 1965 he was named to the
Civil Rights
Tower was a leading opponent of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and voted against both bills,[8][9][10] as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,[11] but he did not vote on the Civil Rights Act of 1968[12] and voted in favor of the confirmation of Thurgood Marshall to the U.S. Supreme Court.[13]
Although opposing the final passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Tower also voted against an amendment by Albert Gore Sr. that sought to weaken the legislation.[14] He stated:[15]
Mr. President, the motion is merely another assault on title VI, which I believe is a good provision of the bill. I think that if we had enacted a separate measure containing the provisions in title VI some time ago, we would not be asked to enact some of the other measures which we are asked to enact today. I believe that if people in the States and localities are going to accept Federal money and Federal support, they must not engage in any kind of discrimination which is contrary to Federal policy. Therefore I intend to vote against the motion of the Senator from Tennessee.
Post-Senate career
According to The Assassination of Robert Maxwell: Israel's Superspy
Tower retired from the Senate after nearly twenty-four years in office. He continued to be involved in national politics, advising the campaigns of Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. Two weeks after his leaving office, Tower was named chief United States negotiator at the
In November 1986, President Reagan asked Tower to chair the President's Special Review Board to study the action of the National Security Council and its staff during the Iran–Contra affair. The board, which became known as the Tower Commission, issued its report on February 26, 1987. The report was highly critical of the Reagan administration and of the National Security Council's dealings with both Iran and the Nicaraguan Contras.
In 1989, Tower was President George H. W. Bush's choice to become Secretary of Defense. In a stunning move, particularly since Tower was himself a former Senate colleague, the Senate rejected his nomination. The largest factors were concern about possible conflicts of interest and Tower's personal life, in particular allegations of alcohol abuse and womanizing.[17][18] The Senate vote was 47–53,[19] and it marked the first time that the Senate had rejected a Cabinet nominee of a newly elected president.[20]
As The New York Times reported in his obituary, "Mr. Tower's repudiation by his former colleagues, who rejected him as President Bush's nominee for Secretary of Defense after public allegations of womanizing and heavy drinking, left a bitterness that could not be assuaged. In the normally clubby Senate, Mr. Tower was regarded by some colleagues as a gut fighter who did not suffer fools gladly, and some lawmakers indicated that they were only too pleased to rebuke him."[18]
In response to the alcohol allegations, Tower told The New York Times in 1990: "Have I ever drunk to excess? Yes. Am I alcohol-dependent? No. Have I always been a good boy? Of course not. But I've never done anything disqualifying. That's the point."[18] The FBI background check indicated that Tower was not an alcoholic but had abused alcohol, albeit with much diminished, sporadic consumption beginning in 1983.[21]
After Tower's defeat, he was named chairman of the
Personal life
While a professor at
John and Lou Tower had three children during their years in Wichita Falls born in three consecutive years: Penny (1954), Marian (1955–1991), and Jeanne (1956). The couple divorced in 1976. Following his divorce from Lou, who remained single for the rest of her life, Tower married Lilla Burt Cummings in 1977. The couple separated in 1985 and divorced on July 2, 1986.
Death and legacy
On April 5, 1991, Tower was aboard Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311 when it crashed while on approach for landing at Brunswick, Georgia. The crash instantly killed everyone on board, including Tower and his middle daughter, Marian, astronaut Sonny Carter, and twenty others.[22] An investigation determined that the crash resulted from failure of the plane's propeller control unit.[23]
Tower and his daughter are buried together at the family plot of the Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery in Dallas. A cenotaph in Tower's honor was erected at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin. Tower's personal and political life are chronicled in his autobiography, Consequences: A Personal and Political Memoir, published a few months before his death. He donated his papers to his alma mater, Southwestern University.[24]
See also
- Tower Amendment
- Unsuccessful nominations to the Cabinet of the United States
- List of members of the American Legion
References
- ISBN 978-1-62779-233-2.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Eason, Susan. "Tower, John Goodwin". Handbook of Texas. Texas State Historical Association. Archived from the original on September 1, 2000. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
- ^ John G. Tower Award Winners, p14 Archived 2014-06-28 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Rupert Norval Richardson, Ernest Wallace, and Adrian N. Anderson, Texas: The Lone Star State (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1970) p. 369.
- ^ Knaggs, John R. (1986). Two-Party Texas: The John Tower Era, 1961–1984. Eakin Press.[page needed]
- ^ "TX US Senate - Special Primary". OurCampaigns.com.
- ^ "TX US Senate - Special". Ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
- ^ "HR. 7152. Passage".
- ^ "To Pass S. 1564, The Voting Rights Act Of 1965".
- ISBN 9780691025391.
- ^ "S.J. Res. 29. Approval Of Resolution Banning The Poll Tax As Prerequisite For Voting In Federal Elections". GovTrack.us.
- ^ "To Pass H.R. 2516, A Bill To Prohibit Discrimination In Sale Or Rental Of Housing, And Prohibit Racially Motivated Interference With A Person Exercising His Civil Rights, And For Other Purposes".
- ^ "Confirmation Of Nomination Of Thurgood Marshall, The First Negro Appointed To The Supreme Court". GovTrack.us.
- ^ HR. 7152. Gore Motion To Recommit To The Judiciary Comm. W/Instructions That It Report It Back "Forthwith" W/The Amend. Stating That Federal Funds Should Not Be W/Drawn From Any School District Unless That District Had Disobeyed A Court Order That Is Desegregate.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
- ^ GPO-CRECB-1964-pt11-3-2.pdf. Congressional Record. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
- OCLC 50404100.
- ^ Oreskes, Michael (March 10, 1989). "Senate Rejects Tower, 53-47; First Cabinet Veto Since '59; Bush Confers on New Choice". The New York Times. Retrieved October 5, 2014.
- ^ a b c Tolchin, Martin (April 6, 1991). "John G. Tower, 65, Longtime Senator from Texas". The New York Times.
- ^ "U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 101st Congress – 1st Session". United States Senate. March 9, 1989. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
- ^ "US Senate Nominations". United States Senate. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
Though not stated specifically, we can check by process of elimination that this is correct. - ^ Andrew Rosenthal (March 17, 1989). "F.B.I. Document on Tower Cited 'Pattern of Alcohol Abuse'". New York Times. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
- ^ Schneider, Keith (April 7, 1991). "Inquiry Begins Into Georgia Plane Crash". New York Times. Retrieved December 18, 2007.
- ^ Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Inc., Flight 2311, Uncontrolled Collision With Terrain, an Embraer EMB-120, N270AS, Brunswick, Georgia, April 5, 1991 (PDF) (Report). National Transportation Safety Board. April 28, 1992. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
- ^ "John G. Tower Papers". Southwestern University. Archived from the original on August 17, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
General
- Cunningham, Sean P. (2010). Cowboy Conservatism: Texas and the Rise of the Modern Right.
- Finley, Keith (2008). Delaying the Dream: Southern Senators Fight against Civil Rights, 1938–1965. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press.
- Bennetts, Leslie (September 1991). "Remember the Alamo." Vanity Fair. p. 114-
External links
- United States Congress. "John Tower (id: T000322)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved on 2008-02-08
- Handbook of Texas article on John Tower
- Oral History Interviews with John Tower, from the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library at the Library of Congress Web Archives (archived 2001-11-16)
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Southwestern University and SMU's John G. Tower Digital Media Collection contains videos and audios by John Tower throughout his career.
- Booknotes interview with Roger Gittines on Consequences: John G. Tower, A Personal and Political Memoir, June 30, 1991.
- John G. Tower Papers Archived August 17, 2021, at the Wayback Machine – Official repository for John Tower's Senate and personal papers, Special Collections, Southwestern University.
- Speech by John Tower given on November 11, 1970. Audio recording from The University of Alabama's Emphasis Symposium on Contemporary Issues
- Brunswick, GA Commuter Plane Crash Kills John Tower, Sonny Carter, and 21 others, Apr 1991 article at GenDisasters.com