He stepped down as Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee at the beginning of 1999, as he had pledged to do in late 1997. "[336] As the 107th United States Congress began, the Democrats and Republicans were split evenly with Vice President Dick Cheney as the tie-breaking vote, and Thurmond's attendance was seen as crucial for maintaining a Republican majority given that his retirement or death would allow Democratic governor Jim Hodges to appoint a Democrat to his seat. www.justice.gov/crt/about/vot/intro/intro_c.php. Two years later, he hired her to work in his Senate office. Thurmond responded to the plan by calling it unsatisfactory. Retrieved February 10, 2021. A statue of Strom Thurmond is located on the southern grounds of the, The Strom Thurmond Institute is located on the campus of. [340] [147], In the 1976 Republican primary, President Ford faced a challenge from former California Governor Ronald Reagan, who selected Richard Schweiker as his running mate. The South Carolina Democratic Party faced difficulty recruiting a candidate which they believed had a chance of defeating Thurmond. Thurmond stated that the rhetoric delivered by Secretary of State Henry Kissinger suggested that the "Canal Zone is already Panamanian territory and the only question involved is the transfer of jurisdiction. Edwards, Thurmond Back Connally", "Thurmond and ExGov. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! 51 senators assembled, allowing for the Senate to adjourn in spite of Thurmond's calls for another quorum call. [308] However, they were also reported as estranged in 1996 when Nancy was facing trial for drunk driving. The New York Times observed, "Judge Thomas's remarks in Mr. Thurmond's office were not in response to reporters' specific questions and were clearly intended to rebut critics, including some by members of civil rights organizations, who say he should not be confirmed because of his vociferous opposition to affirmative action and racial quotas in hiring. Thurmond publicly stated his belief that any measures introduced would be defeated in his committee. [176], In December 1979, Thurmond endorsed the presidential campaign of former Governor of Texas John Connally. [251] The following year, Thurmond sponsored legislation designed to impose "five rotating warning labels on alcoholic beverages cautioning pregnant women not to drink, warning that alcohol is addictive and can increase the risks of hypertension, liver disease and cancer, that it impairs a person's ability to drive a car or operate machinery, and that alcohol consumption can be hazardous in combination with some drugs. Sen Strom Thurmond has been forced by frailty to cut back on his duties, including his role as president pro tem; no one, Democrat or Republican, wants to talk about visible deterioration in 98 . James Strom Thurmond, Sr. (December 5, 1902 - June 26, 2003) was a United States Senator from South Carolina for over fifty years. [310], According to NBC News in 2017, it was widely acknowledged around Congress that Thurmond inappropriately touched women throughout his career. HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. [92] Thurmond questioned Marshall for an hour "on fine points of constitutional law and history",[93] and accused Marshall of having evaded questions on his legal principles during committee hearings. We're proud of it. It is a sham." [291] She kept silent out of respect for her father[292] and denied the two had agreed she would not reveal her connection to him. ", "Ted Sorensen, JFK's speechwriter and confidant, dies at 82", "32 Senators Back Resolution Opposing Panama Canal Pact", "Senate, 6832, Approves First of 2 Panama Pacts; Carter Hails 'Courage', "Former Charleston political figure Charles 'Pug' Ravenel passed away Saturday", "Campaign '96 / THE SENATE: Thurmond Thinking of an Eighth Term; Voters Aren't So Sure: Though popular, the 93-year-old Republican risks handing his seat to a Democrat if he runs again, observers say", "Congress Is Asked for Power to Fight Housing Bias", "Senate Unit Approves 30 Nominees for Judgeships", "Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Remarks of the President, Attorney General Bell, and Several Members of Congress on Proposed Legislation", "Carter Administration Unveils Proposed F.B.I. [43] He was part of the group of Southern senators who shared a commonality of being dispirited with Brown v. Board of Education. [189][190] In December 1980, Thurmond met with President-elect Reagan and recommended former South Carolina governor James B. Edwards for United States Secretary of Energy in the incoming administration. In 1954 Thurmond won election to the Senate as a write-in candidate, but he pledged to resign in 1956 to allow for a full election process. [61] In September 1962, Thurmond called for an invasion of Cuba. Strom Thurmond Dead At 100 - CBS News Strom Thurmond was the governor of South Carolina from 1947 until 1951, then a senator from the same state from 1954 until 2003. Thurmond praised President Nixon and his "Southern Strategy" of delaying desegregation, saying Nixon "stood with the South in this case". [132], In February 1971, Senate Republicans voted unanimously to bestow Thurmond full seniority, the vote being seen as "little more than a gesture since committee assignments are the major item settled by seniority and Senator Thurmond has his. Strom Thurmond, longest-serving senator in history, dies at 100 In the commercial, Thurmond said Ford (who was born in Nebraska and spent most of his life in Michigan) "sound[ed] more like a Southerner than Jimmy Carter". [60] After the Supreme Court ruled state composed prayer in public schools was unconstitutional, Thurmond urged Congress to take steps to prevent the Court from making similar decisions. We're proud of it. Strom Thurmond, in full James Strom Thurmond, (born December 5, 1902, Edgefield, South Carolina, U.S.died June 26, 2003, Edgefield), American politician, a prominent states' rights and segregation advocate who ran for the presidency in 1948 on the Dixiecrat ticket and was one of the longest-serving senators in U.S. history (1954-2003). Thurmond was 44 when he married his first wife, Jean Crouch (19261960),[299] in the South Carolina Governor's mansion[300] on November 7, 1947. Failure to implement the Thurmond amendment was seen as "a preliminary test of Senate support for extending President Bush's ban on foreign-made assault weapons to domestic makes" and a loss for the National Rifle Association of America which had previously protested banning domestic assault weapons. "[321] It has been argued that Thurmond's backing of Nixon in the 1968 election served as the basis for the Southern strategy, with former Thurmond aide Lee Atwater admitting that the race served as the "blueprint for everything" he did in subsequent elections. [174] In September, the Senate approved Bailey Brown as Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. [140] In May 1974, Thurmond, along with William L. Scott and James B. Allen agreed with Senator Carl T. Curtis on the equation of resignation with mob rule and the group declined defending Nixon's conduct. [232] Purvis, noted to have few differences in ideology with Thurmond, cited the latter's age as reason to retire him from the Senate. 1562. Strom Thurmond - New World Encyclopedia He was easily defeated but did win the states of South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana, and their combined 39 electoral votes. [67] Thurmond expressed the view that a conspiracy would be found by investigators to have been responsible for JFK's death. [128] In a 1970 speech, Thurmond called on Japan to increase defense spending and take a larger role in resisting communism in Asia. [220], In December 1984, as the United States and Israel moved to negotiate a free-trade pact where tariffs between the two countries would eventually be wiped out following the Reagan administration receiving congressional approval to negotiate such an agreement, Thurmond wrote a letter to United States trade representative Bill Brock calling on Brock to "reformulate" the negotiating position of the US as the senator had been informed by his aides that the American position in the negotiation was "more generous" than the one specified to Congress. He was accompanied in the ambulance by fellow Republican and retired heart transplant surgeon Bill Frist.[288][289]. He took the oath of office again on November 7, 1956, and continued to serve until his retirement on January 3, 2003. Hours after the statement was made public, a Pentagon official disputed his claims as being "at wide variance with carefully evaluated data collected by U.S. intelligence" and called for Thurmond to release his proof to the Defense Department. "[81] With the Voting Rights Act passing into law by a slightly larger margin than the Civil Rights Act, Thurmond's opposition to civil rights had proven as effective as a Republican as they had been as a Democrat. In April 1981, Thurmond stated that the U.S. could move some of its West Germany soldiers to the East German and Czechoslovak borders in an attempt to improve both morale and combat readiness. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a work in the public domain: "Introduction to Federal Voting Rights Laws: The Effect of the Voting Rights Act". Thurmond was 22 when she was born; Butler was only 16. [331] NAACP Chairman Julian Bond said Thurmond's sole legacy was of "durability and opposition to civil rights" and called Thurmond "a relic of Americas shameful past, who had long overstayed his welcome. Strom Thurmond Meets His Daughter - HistoryNet All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. Carrie was pretty, and Strom, a handsome schoolteacher, flirted with her as she went about her work in his . Strom Thurmond's bi-racial daughter dies at 87 - USA TODAY Facing Hurdles on Trade Pact", "Bill to Permit Federal Prosecution of Career Criminals Passes Senate", "Remarks at a Reagan-Bush Rally in Greenville, South Carolina", "Campaign Notes; Thurmond Will Seek6th Full Term in Senate", "Strom Thurmond wins nomination as five states hold primaries", "Remarks at a Fundraising Dinner for Senator Strom Thurmond in Columbia, South Carolina", "President Reagan praised Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., Tuesday as", "Strom Thurmond wins nomination to sixth Senate term", "Senate GOP Leaders Attempting to Limit Debate on Manion", "Nomination of Robert H. Bork To Be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States", "Packwood Opposes Bork, 1st Gop Senator to Defect: Willing to Join Senate Filibuster", "Bork's Nomination Is Rejected, 58-42; Reagan 'Saddened', "Money-laundering Bill Seen As Privacy Threat", "Senate Votes, 52-48 Not to Block Aid to Contras", "Bill Banning Genocide Still Snagged in Senate", "Senate Votes to Carry Out Treaty Banning Genocide", "Senate Takes up Drug Bill With Session Waning", "Remarks on Signing the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986", "Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., continued his attack on alcohol", "The Nation; Dukakis and Bush; Why the Candidates Love to be Endorsed", "An Attempt To Recover; Bush Seeks to End Rancor Over Tower", "Senate Panel OKs U.S.-Made Assault Rifle Ban", "Senate Committee Bars Bush's Choice From Rights Post", "Senate drug funding dispute threatens money bills", "Thurmond announces bid for seventh term", "Fiddle-fit Thurmond going after another term", "The 1990 Elections: State By State; South", "Senate Backs Curb on Assault Rifles by a Vote of 50-49", "Senate Begins Debate on Anti-Crime Bill", "Senate's Leaders Move to Salvage Crime Measure", "Senate refuses to kill anti-crime bill filibuster", "Court Nominee Gives Credit To Civil Rights Movement", "Thomas Undergoes Tough Questioning on Past Remarks", "The 1994 Elections: Congress the Overview; G.O.P. In 1954, Thurmond ran for the United States Senate as a Democrat on a pro-segregation platform and became the only candidate ever elected to the Senate by a write-in vote. [70] Subsequently, Thurmond reminded Collins of his past support for segregation and implied that he was a traitor to the South, Thurmond having particular disdain for an address by Collins the previous winter in which he charged Southern leaders with being harsh and intemperate. [246] Thurmond dropped the death penalty amendment when Democrats agreed to proceed with the confirmation of Republican judges. Essie Mae Washington-Williams, the mixed-race daughter of late segregationist Sen. Strom Thurmond, has died at age 87. It was alleged that she spoke with her husband several times each day, and he stayed at her house several times each month, whenever he returned to South Carolina. In March, Thurmond voted for an amendment to the campaign finance reform bill of John McCain and Russ Feingold. In 2002, then-Senate Republican leader Trent . [74] During the campaign, Thurmond told reporters that he believed Barry Goldwater could carry South Carolina and other southern states. Byrd was never really pressed about the record-setting filibusters he took part in, along with Strom Thurmond, to strangle Civil Rights bills in their cradle in the 1950s, so he never got the chance to apologize for that. [327] In 1968, The New York Times described Thurmond as "a South Carolina maverick with a highly developed taste for lost causes". [282] Thurmond left the Senate in January 2003 as the United States' longest-serving senator, a record later surpassed by Senator Robert Byrd. [57] In August 1961, Thurmond formally requested the Senate Armed Services Committee to vote on whether to vote for "a conspiracy to muzzle military anti-Communist drives." Strom Thurmond Meets His Daughter. Although he never publicly acknowledged her while he was alive, a representative for his family did confirm Washington-Williams statement and it was reported that the two had a relatively close relationship. [152] Sorensen withdrew from consideration days later, before a vote could be had. [118] Years later, at a 1977 hearing, Thurmond told Haynsworth, "It's a pity you are not on the Supreme Court today. Thurmond married his second wife, Nancy Janice Moore, on December 22, 1968. In 1966, former governor Ernest "Fritz" Hollings won South Carolina's other Senate seat in a special election. "[323] In 1986, Daniel Anthony Manion, President Reagan's choice for the U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago, answered a question by Thurmond,[234] who cited Manion as "entitled to have a vote by the Senate",[235] and predicted there were enough votes to confirm him. [144] In June 1975, as the Senate weighed a reduction in a $25 billion weapons procurement measure and to delete research funds to improve the accuracy and power of intercontinental ballistic missiles and warheads, Thurmond and Harry F. Byrd Jr. warned that the Soviet Union was attempting an increase on its missile accuracy and advocated for the United States to follow suit with its own missiles. She later married, took on the last name Washington-Williams, had a family, and retired as a Los Angeles Unified School District elementary school teacher with a master's degree. [64] Along with Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater, Thurmond delayed the Nitze nomination. Essie Mae Washington-Williams, who passed away on Monday, was the daughter of Strom Thurmond, . For the South Carolina state senate member (his son), see, 1950 U.S. Senate campaign in South Carolina, Standard accounts of the speech render "Nigra" as ", It has only been repeated once, in 2010, by, In contrast to so-called "silent" filibusters, see, [news.google.com/newspapers?nid=SFOYbPikdlgC&dat=19490601&printsec=frontpage&hl=en State Accepts Camp Croft In Park System (June 1, 1949)]. [316][317], Diane Norman of the Spartanburg Herald-Journal called Thurmond "a political icon depicted in life-size statues in Columbia and Edgefield and whose name graces seven public buildings, a shopping mall, a high school, a National Guard armory, a lake, a dam and an interstate highway. [123] After the Voting Rights Act of 1965, African Americans were legally protected in exercising their constitutional rights to register and vote in South Carolina. He served from 1954 to 1964 as a Democrat and from 1964 to his death in 2003 as a Republican.He holds the record for length of service in the Senate, and he is the only major office holder in American history to serve at age 100. [117] The Haynsworth nomination was rejected in the Senate. [262] Thurmond charged the Democratic proposal with aiding criminals and furthering the loss of rights on the part of victims. These laws ended segregation and committed the federal government to enforce voting rights of citizens by the supervision of elections in states in which the pattern of voting showed black people had been disenfranchised. Throughout his career, Thurmond was by any account a divisive force in American politics. "[107] During the general election campaign, Nixon's running mate Spiro Agnew stated that he did not believe Thurmond was a racist when asked his opinion on the matter,[108] and Thurmond participated in a two-day tour of Georgia during October where he warned that American Independent Party candidate George Wallace would split the vote and give the election to Democratic nominee Hubert Humphrey by having the Democratic-majority House of Representatives select him in the event none of the candidates received enough electoral votes to win the presidency outright. Strom Thurmond Biography & Politics | Who was Strom Thurmond? - Study.com Thurmond's 100th birthday was celebrated on December 5, 2002. May, Gary (April 9, 2013). While it may have shocked most of the nation that Thurmond, a career politician who had made a name for himself by ardently advocating a segregationist platform between the 1940s and '60s, had a child of mixed race, many who knew the Senator suspected that he had fathered Washington-Williams. [287] On the morning of October 2, 2001, Thurmond was admitted to Walter Reed after fainting at his Senate desk. Senators Approve Assignments to Thurmond", "Former Sen. 'Fritz' Hollings, 97, Has Died", "Thurmond Replaces Javits On a Rights Subcommittee", "Senate Endorses Defenses, Then Argues About Locale", "Supreme Court nomination that changed the nation", "Thurgood Marshall is confirmed as Supreme Court Justice in 1967", "Marshall Is Questioned on Fine Points of the Law; Thurmond Presses Nominee to Court With More Than 60 Complicated Queries", "Senate Confirms Marshall As the First Negro Justice; 10 Southerners Oppose High Court Nominee in 69-to-11 Vote", "Thurmond Warns of Peril To Panama Canal in Pacts", "GOP Cynicism on the Supreme Court Reaches a New Low", "Humphrey Scores 'the Same Nixon'; Sees a Deal With Thurmond on Fortas -- Also Chides Opponent on Atom Pact Humphrey Criticizes 'The Same Nixon', "Thurmond Promotes Nixon's Cause Deep in Wallace Country", "1968 Presidential General Election Results Texas", "Thurmond Scores Times on Otepka; Charges Newspaper Has a Conflict of Interest", "Thurmond Urges Douglas to Quit; In Newsletter, He Denounces 'Political Activity', "Members of the Supreme Court of the United States", "Nixon Submits Nomination Of Haynsworth to Senate", "472 Remarks on the Decision of Judge Clement F. Haynsworth Jr., To Continue as Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit", "Thurmond Scores an Article in Life; Terms Contention on Land Deal a 'Liberal Smear', "Thurmond Rebuts the Life Article; Says Magazine Is Trying to 'Destroy' Him Politically", "Thurmond Says Fowler Aided Magazine Team; Latter Denies It", "Historical Census Statistics on Population Totals By Race, 1790 to 1990, and By Hispanic Origin, 1970 to 1990, For The United States, Regions, Divisions, and States", "Southern White Leaders Voice Anger and Dismay Over Integration Ruling", "Thurmond Urges Japan to Step Up Defense Effort", "Senate Republicans Give Thurmond Full Seniority", "U.S. Ends Ban on China Trade; Items Are Listed", "President Ends 21year Embargo on Peking Trade", "Deportation of Lennon Barred by Court of Appeals", "Senate Panel's Hearings on Dismissal of Cox Fall Into Partisan Bickering", "Leading Senators Refuse to Press Nixon on Quitting", "Senate Rejects $1.281 Won Cut in Arms Budget", "Kissinger Sees Perils in Solzhenitsyn's Views", "Richard S. Schweiker, Former Senator and Reagan Confidant, Dies at 89", "The Living Room Candidate Commercials 1976 Strom Thurmond", "Carter Stands Firm, Supports Sorensen As Director of C.I.A.