Strom Thurmond
James Strom Thurmond Sr. (December 5, 1902 – June 26, 2003) was an American politician. He was the oldest serving member of the United States Senate to date and the only senator to reach 100 while in office. He was also Governor of his home state South Carolina and a Presidential candidate. He was a lawyer.
James Strom Thurmond | |
|---|---|
 | |
| United States Senator from South Carolina | |
| In office November 7, 1956 – January 3, 2003 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas A. Wofford |
| Succeeded by | Lindsey Graham |
| In office December 24, 1954 – April 4, 1956 | |
| Preceded by | Charles E. Daniel |
| Succeeded by | Thomas A. Wofford |
| 103rd Governor of South Carolina | |
| In office January 21, 1947 – January 16, 1951 | |
| Lieutenant | George Bell Timmerman, Jr. |
| Preceded by | Ransome Judson Williams |
| Succeeded by | James F. Byrnes |
| 99th, 102nd, & 104th President pro tempore of the United States Senate | |
| In office January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1987 | |
| Preceded by | Warren G. Magnuson |
| Succeeded by | John C. Stennis |
| In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2001 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Byrd |
| Succeeded by | Robert Byrd |
| In office January 20, 2001 – June 6, 2001 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Byrd |
| Succeeded by | Robert Byrd |
| 1st President pro tempore emeritus of the United States Senate | |
| In office June 6, 2001 – January 3, 2003 | |
| Preceded by | (N/A - post created) |
| Succeeded by | Robert Byrd |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 5, 1902 Edgefield, South Carolina |
| Died | June 26, 2003 (aged 100) Edgefield, South Carolina |
| Political party | States Rights Democratic (1948-1954) Democratic (1954-1964) Republican (1964-2003) |
| Spouse(s) | Jean Crouch (1947-1960) (deceased) Nancy Janice Moore (1968-2003) (separated 1991-2003) |
| Children | 5 |
| Profession | lawyer, politician |
| Awards | Legion of Merit (2) Bronze Star with valor Purple Heart World War II Victory Medal European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal Order of the Crown Croix de Guerre |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Branch/service | United States Army United States Army Reserves |
| Years of service | 1942 - 1963 |
| Rank |  Major General |
| Battles/wars | World War II *Normandy Campaign |
Thurmond spent more than 70 years of his life on public career. Before World War II he served as state senator and judge. During war he served in the US Army in Europe and briefly in Asia. In 1960 he was promoted to the rank of major general.
Early life
Thurmond was born on December 5, 1902 in Edgefield, South Carolina. His family used to own slaves, including ancestors of Al Sharpton.[1] He studied at Clemson Agricultural College of South Carolina. Thurmond graduated in 1923. He was married to Jean Crouch from 1947 until they divorced in 1960. Then he was married to Nancy Moore from 1968 until his death in 2003. He had five children.
Career
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From 1947 to 1951 he served as Governor of South Carolina (as a Democrat). During 1948 U.S. Presidential Election he became the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party faction called "Dixiecrat" (States Rights Democrat, mostly from the South) - people who supported racial segregation and opposed civil rights laws. Thurmond and his vice presidential candidate, Mississippi Governor Fielding Lewis Wright finished the race in 3rd (behind Harry Truman and Thomas E. Dewey) with 39 electoral votes and they carried 4 states (Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and, of course, Thurmond's home state).
In 1957, he filibustered (delayed) the 1957 civil rights act for 24 hours. Despite the long hours, he failed and the bill passed.[2]
He was elected, as first write-in candidate for major national office, to the Senate in 1954. He was reelected for his first full term in 1956 and served until January 2003. He was originally a Democrat, but in 1964 he openly supported Barry Goldwater's presidential bid and became a Republican.
Later career
As the longest serving Republican he was President pro tempore of the United States Senate for three occasions (1981-1987, 1995-2001, and January 2001-June 2001), when Republican gained a majority. After Democrats took over the control of the Senate in June 2001 Thurmond became first honorary "president pro tempore emeritus".
Longevity
Thurmond turned 100 years old on December 5, 2002, while still in office, the oldest person ever to serve in the U.S. Senate.[3]
Started his career as opponent of racial integration, in his later years Thurmond supported desegregation.
His longtime Senate rival, Robert Byrd of West Virginia surpassed Thurmond's record of length of senatorial service in 2006. Byrd died in 2010.
Essie Mae Washington-Williams
After Thurmond's death in 2003, an attorney for his family confirmed that in 1925, when he was 22, Thurmond fathered a mixed-race daughter, Essie Mae Washington-Williams, with his family's housekeeper, Cassie Butler, then 16 years old. Thurmond paid for the girl's college education and provided other support.[4] Washington-Williams died in February 2013 at the age of 87.
Death
Thurmond died in his sleep on June 26, 2003, at 9:45 p.m. of heart failure at a hospital in Edgefield, South Carolina.[5][6] He was 100 years old. Then-Senator Joe Biden delivered a eulogy, and later to the family burial plot in Willowbrook Cemetery in Edgefield, where he was buried.
Strom Thurmond Media
Thurmond as S.C. Circuit Judge, 1939
Thurmond as Governor of South Carolina (1947)
Statue of Thurmond outside the South Carolina State Capitol
Margaret Thatcher and Thurmond at a state dinner in 1981
President Ronald Reagan with Thurmond in the Oval Office in 1987
Thurmond in D.C. in 1997
In the text accompanying Strom Thurmond's statue at the Statehouse grounds, the phrase: "The father of four children", had the "four" replaced with "five" after Thurmond's fatherhood of Essie Mae Washington-Williams became public.
The Thurmond family with President Gerald Ford in 1976
President George W. Bush with Thurmond on his 100th birthday in 2002
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References
- ↑ "Sharpton, Thurmond linked by slavery" (in en). Reuters. 2007-02-25. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-slavery-sharpton-idUSN2523621020070225. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
- ↑ Weiner, Juli (7 March 2013). "Why Strom Thurmond Was Able to Filibuster For Twice as Long as Rand Paul" (in en-us). Vanity Fair. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2013/03/rand-paul-filibuster-strom-thurmond-bathroom. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
- ↑ "THURMOND, James Strom - Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov.
- ↑ Mattingly, David (December 16, 2003). Strom Thurmond's family confirms paternity claim. CNN. http://articles.cnn.com/2003-12-15/us/thurmond..paternity_1_thurmond-family-essie-mae-washington-williams-carrie-butler?_s=PM:US. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
- ↑ "THURMOND, James Strom - Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov.
- ↑ "Wyff4.com" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-23. Retrieved 2013-05-25.
Other websites
- Strom Thurmond Institute at Clemson University Archived 2013-01-30 at the Wayback Machine
- U.S. Senate historical page on Strom Thurmond
- SCIway Biography of Strom Thurmond
- NGA Biography of Strom Thurmond Archived 2010-06-15 at the Wayback Machine
- Oral History Interview with Strom Thurmond from Oral Histories of the American South
- Strom Thurmond Foundation, Inc.
- Remarks at the Presentation Ceremony for the Presidential Citizens Medal – January 18, 1989 Archived September 24, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
- Booknotes interview with Nadine Cohodas on Strom Thurmond and the Politics of Southern Change, April 4, 1993. Archived September 21, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- Complete transcript and audio and video of Sen. Joe Biden's Eulogy for Strom Thurmond
Articles
- Strom Thurmond's family confirms paternity claim, By David Mattingly, CNN.com, December 15, 2003
- The Scarred Stone: The Strom Thurmond Monument by Joseph Crespino, Emory University, April 29, 2010
Obituaries
- Tribute to Strom Thurmond from The State Archived 2003-03-19 at the Wayback Machine—June 26, 2003
- Strom Thurmond dead at 100 at the Internet Archive, CNN, June 26, 2003
- Strom Thurmond Dead at 100, By James Di Liberto Jr., Fox News, June 26, 2003
- "Strom Thurmond". Find a Grave. Retrieved August 4, 2008.