James
Strom Thurmond was born in Edgefield, South Carolina, on 5th December,
1902. After graduating from Clemson College in 1923, he became a school
teacher.
Thurmond, a member of the Democratic Party,
was elected to the South Carolina Senate in 1933. He also served as
a circuit court judge (1938-41) before joining the United
States Army during the Second World War.
Thurmond, who left the army with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, was
elected governor of South Carolina in 1946. At the Democratic National
Convention of 1948, Thurmond led the opposition to Harry
S. Truman and his Fair Deal proposals that included legislation
on civil rights, fair employment practices, opposition to lynching
and improvements in existing public welfare laws.
When Truman won the nomination, Southern Democrats formed the States'
Rights Democratic Party (Dixiecrats) and Thurmond was chosen as its
presidential candidate. He won 1,169,063 votes but came a poor third
to Harry S. Truman (24,105,812) and Thomas
Dewey (21,970,065).
Thurmond was elected to the Senate in 1954 where he continued to oppose
civil rights legislation. He opposed the election of John
F. Kennedy as the Democratic Party
candidate in 1960 and in 1964 left the party and supported Barry
Goldwater against Lyndon B. Johnson.
In 1966 Thurmond was elected to the Senate as a member of the Republican
Party. He was re-elected in 1972, 1978, 1984, 1990 and 1996.
Bill Mauldin, United Feature
Syndicate (1946)
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