Paul B. Johnson Jr.
Paul Johnson | |
---|---|
Ross R. Barnett | |
Preceded by | Carroll Gartin |
Succeeded by | Carroll Gartin |
Personal details | |
Born | Paul Burney Johnson Jr. January 23, 1916 Hattiesburg, Mississippi, U.S. |
Died | October 14, 1985 Hattiesburg, Mississippi, U.S. | (aged 69)
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Dorothy Power |
Children | 1 daughter, 2 sons |
Education | University of Mississippi |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Branch/service | United States Marine Corps |
Battles/wars | World War II • South Pacific |
Paul Burney Johnson Jr. (January 23, 1916 – October 14, 1985)
Early life and education
Paul B. Johnson Jr. grew up in a political family, as his father was a notable Democratic Party leader, serving as US Congressman from 1919 to 1923. The younger Johnson had an affectionate reverence for Franklin D. Roosevelt based on the days of his Congressman father's friendship with the then-Assistant Secretary of the Navy (the families' children knew each other).[2] In 1938, Johnson Sr. was elected as Governor of Mississippi, dying in office in 1943.
Johnson attended local schools, which were
Early career and military service
Johnson became a practicing attorney in Jackson and
During World War II, Johnson served in the South Pacific with the
As described by writer
In 1951, when Johnson ran for governor of Mississippi, Percy Greene, a black newspaper editor publicly supported the Johnson ticket and rallied black voters to support him; this angered white voters who rallied to Mr. Johnson's opponent.[4] When Johnson lost the election he blamed Percy Greene and said Greene gave him the "kiss of death".[5]
In 1959, Johnson ran for lieutenant governor and won, serving under Governor Ross Barnett, who became a segregationist icon. Johnson played a prominent role in trying to prevent James Meredith from enrolling at Ole Miss in 1962, physically blocking (for the benefit of photographers) the federal marshals who were escorting the African-American veteran.
Although Johnson felt that state politics were ill-suited for him, he ran for governor again in 1963. He defeated former governor James P. Coleman by tying his opponent to President John F. Kennedy's civil rights legislation proposed that year. During the campaign, he asked voters to "Stand tall with Paul" against those wanting to change Mississippi's "way of life", in reference to his confrontation with federal marshals at Ole Miss.
In the general election, Johnson faced
Phillips, a recent Democratic state Public Service Commissioner, ran under the slogan "K.O. (knock out) the Kennedys", and tried to tie Barnett and Johnson to the national Democrats. Phillips worked to convince voters that he and GOP lieutenant governor candidate Stanford Morse, a state senator from Gulfport, represented the best hope for preserving Mississippi's traditional "way of life", while at the same time making overall progress.
Governor of Mississippi
In historian Theodore H. White's initial description of Johnson, he wrote:
this was no Northern cartoon of a Mississippi Governor; this was a man of civilization and dignity whose deep, serious voice spoke not cornpone but a cultured English—and spoke at once in fear, perplexity, and wistfulness. In his plight one could see half the tragedy of his state.[6]
In his inaugural address in 1964, Johnson chose the "Pursuit of Excellence" as his term's theme and said, "Hate, or prejudice, or ignorance, will not lead Mississippi while I sit in the governor's chair." To many, that comment had a hollow ring five months later, when during the investigation of the
Probably satisfying no one, Johnson kept his own counsel, and his mouth closed to demagogic outbursts, while treading the uneasy path between the demands of the
Citizens Council (which had helped elect him) and the imperatives of the situation. As one astute observer saw it, the governor was "tempering political expedience with common sense, yet still attempting to ease down the more radical, emotional, ignorant groups without losing those votes." And so "ambivalent Paul" could denounce in picturesque and biting language the impending civil rights law and could declare that "It is an odd thing that so much hell is being raised over three people missing in Mississippi when 10,000 are missing in New York."[7]
At the same time, he officially welcomed federal officials, Allen Dulles and J. Edgar Hoover, to Mississippi for the investigation. He fired several members of the Ku Klux Klan from the Highway Patrol. He criticized civil rights workers and refused to meet with major African American leaders, but supported law enforcement and ending violence in Pike County. Historians believe that:
the two Johnsons, President and Governor, likely kept each other informed, though neither could have admitted that to his public ... In the meantime, the old "watchdog of segregation", the State Sovereignty Commission, lapsed into desuetude from deliberate withholding of gubernatorial appointments, and the Citizens Council prepared its own death watch.[7]
After recognizing the potentially damaging effects of racism on the state's image and business climate, particularly in terms of attracting investment and new businesses, Johnson worked to tone down racist rhetoric. He adopted moderate policies, and asked residents to comply with the newly passed
He suffered a stroke in the late 1970s, and continued to struggle with his health in his final years. He suffered a fatal heart attack in 1985 at his home in Hattiesburg, and died surrounded by wife and family.
References
- ^ "Paul B. Johnson Jr. Dies at 69". The New York Times. October 15, 1985.
- ^ a b White, Theodore H. (1965), The Making of the President, 1964, New York: Atheneum, p. 218
- ^ Mississippi Official and Statistical Register: 1964–1968, p. 26
- The Pittsburgh Courier. p. 34. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
- The Pittsburgh Courier. 1955-08-27. p. 9. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
- ^ White, p. 218
- ^ a b Silver, James W. (1966), Mississippi: The Closed Society, New Enlarged Edition, New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, pp. 269–270.
- ^ Silver, p. 355