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Herman Eugene Talmadge (August 9, 1913 -- March 21,
2002) was an
American politician from the
U.S. state of
Georgia. He served as governor of Georgia briefly in
1947 and again from 1948 to
1955. His term was marked by his segregationist policies. After leaving office Talmadge was elected to the
U.S. Senate, serving from
1957 until
1981.
Talmadge was born in
McRae, Georgia, the only son of
Eugene Talmadge, who served as
Governor of Georgia during much of the
1930s and '
40s. He earned a law degree from the
University of Georgia in 1936, where he had been a member of the
Demosthenian Literary Society and
Sigma Nu fraternity.
The younger Talmadge saw combat in the
United States Navy during
World War II. On his return from the
South Pacific as a lieutenant commander,
Herman ran his father's successful campaign for governor in 1946. Supporters of Eugene Talmadge were unsure of
Eugene's chances of surviving until he was sworn in, so they did some research into the state constitution and found that if Eugene died, the
Georgia General Assembly would choose between the second and third place finishers. The elder Talmadge ran unopposed, so they arranged for write-in votes for Herman as insurance. In
December 1946, the elder Talmadge died.
Supporters of the deceased Governor-elect, stopped a challenge from the
Lieutenant Governor-elect,
Melvin E. Thompson.
Thompson claimed that he should be sworn-in as
Governor, in Eugene Talmadge's place.
The state legislature elected
Herman Talmadge to become Governor. Thompson appealed to the
State supreme court.
Meanwhile, Governor
Ellis Arnall refused to turn over power due to the uncertainty of whom the next Governor would be, so on
January 15, 1947, both men sat in the
Georgia State Capitol claiming to be the Governor. The next day, Talmadge took control of the Governor's office and arranged to have the locks changed. Arnall soon relinquished his claim and supported Thompson's claim.
Soon afterwards, the
Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that the legislature had violated the state
Constitution by electing Talmadge governor and that Thompson was the legitimate Governor of Georgia. Talmadge soon gave in to the court decision and prepared for the special election in 1948, in which Talmadge defeated Governor Thompson. Talmadge was then elected to a full term in
1950. During his terms, Talmadge encouraged industry to move into Georgia while he was also a staunch supporter of racial segregation.
Talmadge was barred by law from seeking another full term as Governor in 1954. He was elected to the
United States Senate in
1956. That same year, a "faithless elector" from
Alabama cast a single
Electoral College vote for Talmadge as
Vice President of the
United States. During his time as
U.S. Senator, Talmadge remained a foe of civil rights legislation. After
President Lyndon Johnson signed the
Civil Rights Act of 1964, Talmadge (along with more than a dozen other southern Senators, including
Richard Russell and
Russell Long) boycotted the
1964 Democratic National Convention in
Atlantic City. With the help of Richard Russell, Talmadge was appointed to the
Agriculture Committee during his first year in
Washington and to the
Senate Finance Committee shortly thereafter. Talmadge would eventually be named chairman of the senate Agriculture Committee. He sponsored bills to help farmers, an important constituency, and served on the
Senate Watergate Committee.
On
October 11,
1979, Talmadge was "denounced" by an 81-15 vote of the
Senate for "improper financial conduct" between
1973 and 1978, after accepting reimbursements of $43,435.83 for official expenses not incurred, and for improper reporting of such as campaign expenditures.
Talmadge also went through a divorce from his wife and a tough primary challenge from
Zell Miller in
1980. Talmadge defeated
Miller but lost to
Mack Mattingly in the general election, making Mattingly the first
Republican to represent Georgia in the Senate since
Reconstruction.
After his defeat, Talmadge retired to his home where he died at age 88. Talmadge fathered two sons,
Herman E. Talmadge Jr. and
Robert Shingler Talmadge.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_Talmadge
- published: 08 Dec 2011
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