Richard Russell Jr. | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Russell in 1952 | |
| President pro tempore of the United States Senate | |
| In office January 3, 1969 – January 21, 1971 | |
| Preceded by | Carl Hayden |
| Succeeded by | Allen J. Ellender |
| 34thDean of the United States Senate | |
| In office January 3, 1969 – January 21, 1971 | |
| Preceded by | Carl Hayden |
| Succeeded by | Allen J. Ellender |
| Chair of theSenate Committee on Appropriations | |
| In office January 3, 1969 – January 21, 1971 | |
| Leader | Mike Mansfield |
| Preceded by | Carl Hayden |
| Succeeded by | Allen Ellender |
| Chair of theSenate Committee on Armed Services | |
| In office January 3, 1955 – January 3, 1969 | |
| Leader | |
| Preceded by | Leverett Saltonstall |
| Succeeded by | John C. Stennis |
| In office January 3, 1951 – January 3, 1953 | |
| Leader | Ernest McFarland |
| Preceded by | Millard Tydings |
| Succeeded by | Leverett Saltonstall |
| United States Senator fromGeorgia | |
| In office January 12, 1933 – January 21, 1971 | |
| Preceded by | John S. Cohen |
| Succeeded by | David H. Gambrell |
| 66thGovernor of Georgia | |
| In office June 27, 1931 – January 10, 1933 | |
| Preceded by | Lamartine Griffin Hardman |
| Succeeded by | Eugene Talmadge |
| Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives | |
| In office 1927–1931 | |
| Preceded by | William Cecil Neill |
| Succeeded by | Arlie Daniel Tucker |
| Member of theGeorgia House of RepresentativesfromBarrow County | |
| In office 1921–1931 | |
| Preceded by | G. A. Jones |
| Succeeded by | George Thompson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Richard Brevard Russell Jr. (1897-11-02)November 2, 1897 Winder, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | January 21, 1971(1971-01-21) (aged 73) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Parents | |
| Relatives | Robert Lee Russell (brother) Alexander Brevard Russell (brother) John D. Russell (nephew) |
| Alma mater | |
| Profession | Attorney |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
Richard Brevard Russell Jr. (November 2, 1897 – January 21, 1971) was an American politician. ASouthern Democrat, he served as the 66thGovernor of Georgia from 1931 to 1933 before serving in theUnited States Senate for almost 40 years, from 1933 to 1971. At his death he was the most senior member of the Senate.[1][2] He was a leader of Southern opposition to thecivil rights movement for decades.[3]
Born inWinder, Georgia, Russell established a legal practice in Winder after graduating from theUniversity of Georgia School of Law. He served in theGeorgia House of Representatives from 1921 to 1931 before becoming Governor of Georgia. Russell won a special election to succeed SenatorWilliam J. Harris and joined the Senate in 1933.[4] He supported theNew Deal[5] in his Senate career but helped establish the conservative coalition ofSouthern Democrats. He was the chief sponsor of theNational School Lunch Act, which provided free or low-cost school lunches to impoverished students.[6]
During his long tenure in the Senate, Russell served as chairman of several committees, and was the Chairman of theSenate Committee on Armed Services for most of the period between 1951 and 1969. He was a candidate forPresident of the United States at the1948 Democratic National Convention and the1952 Democratic National Convention. He was also a member of theWarren Commission.[7]
Russell supportedracial segregation and co-authored theSouthern Manifesto withStrom Thurmond.[8] Russell and 17 fellow Democratic Senators, along with one Republican, blocked the passage of civil rights legislation via thefilibuster. After Russell's protégé, PresidentLyndon B. Johnson, signed theCivil Rights Act of 1964 into law,[9] Russell led a Southern boycott of the1964 Democratic National Convention.[10] Russell served in the Senate until his death fromemphysema in 1971.
Richard B. Russell Jr. was born in 1897 as the first son ofGeorgia Supreme Court Chief JusticeRichard B. Russell Sr. andIna Dillard Russell.[11] He eventually had a total of twelve adult siblings, as well as two who died before adolescence.[12]
Russell's father was a well-liked state representative forClarke County and a successful solicitor general for a seven-county circuit. However, he fared poorly in multiple attempts to become U.S. Senator for Georgia and Governor of Georgia.[12] Due to his political failures, the Russell family lived below their financial means at times.
From an early age, the elder Russell trained his son to exceed his father's legacy in the state. As a result of the family's loss of their ancestral plantation and mill duringSherman's March, Russell spent much time studying Civil War history.[citation needed]
Russell enrolled in theUniversity of Georgia School of Law in 1915 and earned aBachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree in 1918.[13] While at UGA, he was a member of thePhi Kappa Literary Society.[14]
Dominated by white conservatives, Democrats controlled state government and the Congressional delegation. The Republican Party was no longer competitive, hollowed out in the state following the effectivedisenfranchisement of most blacks by Georgia's approval of a constitutional amendment, effective in 1908, requiring a literacy test, but providing a "grandfather clause" to create exceptions for whites.[15]
Following his time at college, Russell briefly worked at a law firm with his father before successfully running for theGeorgia House of Representatives at the earliest opportunity.[16] Six years into his tenure, Russell ran unopposed for the Speakership at the age of 29. His popularity among his legislator colleagues came from his perceived integrity and willingness to build coalitions.[16]
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Russell's campaign for Governor was an untraditional one, it was not based in Atlanta and Russell at 33 would be the youngest Georgian Governor to that point if he was elected, but he did have the support of 90% of the state legislators. He won the election.[17]
As governor, Russell reorganized thebureaucracy, reducing the number of state agencies from 102 to 18,[17] promoted economic development in the midst of theGreat Depression, and balanced the state budget.[18]
During Russell's governorship, World War I veteranRobert Elliot Burns released the autobiographyI Am A Fugitive from a Georgia Chain Gang!, which had previously been serialized inTrue Detective magazine and later formed the basis for a popular Paul Munifilm in November 1932.[19] The book details the multiple stints Burns served in the Georgia penal system and his attempts to escape.
Following the release of the book and the film adaptation, Russell attempted to extradite Burns from the state of New Jersey so Burns could continue to serve his sentence in Georgia. Russell denounced Burns' depictions of the horrific hard labor in his state, calling New Jersey GovernorA. Harry Moore's refusal to return Burns to Georgia "a slander on the state of Georgia and its institutions."[19]
Russell's first campaign for the Senate was as a result of aspecial election in September 1932 after the death ofWilliam J. Harris. His opponent in the primary was RepresentativeCharles Crisp, who was nicknamed "Kilowatt Charlie" due to his links to the unpopularGeorgia Power Company.[17]
In1936, Russell defeated the formerDemocratic GovernorEugene Talmadge for the US Senate seat by defending theNew Deal as good for Georgia.[20]
In 1933, when Russell came into the Senate, the Democrats hadjust ousted the Republicans as the majority party and thus many committee assignments became available.[17] The vacancies and Russell's populist reputation from his time as Governor and his primary campaign meant that he got his first choice,Appropriations, in order to stop him becoming a secondHuey Long.[17] Due to a feud betweenCarter Glass, thechairman of the Appropriations committee, and the senior Democrat on theAppropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture,Ellison D. Smith, Russell became the chairman of that subcommittee. This assignment gave Russell extensive power over the funding of aid to farmers.[17]
Russell supported theNew Deal of PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression.[21][22] Russell was elected on a moderately progressive platform, and supported bailout and aid programs for local governments.[23] Once in the Senate, he became an ardent supporter of the Roosevelt administration and New Deal programs, and expressed his support for "the fullest measure of relief that the combined resources of this commonwealth will afford."[23] Russell endorsed almost every New Deal act during the"Hundred Days" Congress session; once a rift in the Democratic Party emerged in 1935, resulting infilibusters and deadlocks, Russell continued to support the President and the New Deal. Howard N. Mead observes that even "when many other Southern politicians began to express some measure of discontent with the administration and its proposals, Russell remained firm in his support".[23] When competing with conservative Talmadge for the Georgia Senate seat, Russell expressed his fervent support for income tax and social welfare, consistently praised the New Deal in his speeches, and attacked Talmadge for his fiscal conservatism.[23]
Once describing himself as "a liberal and progressive Democrat,"[24] Russell continued to be an outspoken economic progressive even after World War II, and was the main sponsor of the 1946National School Lunch Act, which was eventually named after him.[25] He expanded and carried out projects to distribute surplus food of Georgia to poor families through food stamps and school lunch programs, and wished to tackle rural poverty.[25] After the establishment of a national school lunch program, Russell continuously pushed for funding it further throughout 1950s and 1960s, and sought active promotion and implementation of Georgian foods such as peanuts in the program. He saw this as a way to promote the interests of Georgian farmers.[25] During the Johnson presidency however, Russell voted against theEconomic Opportunity Act of 1964, despite sympathizing with its objectives, believing (as noted by one study) “that the legislation as too loosely drawn and would result in huge amounts of waste.”[26]
DuringWorld War II, Russell was known for his uncompromising position toward Japan and its civilian casualties. In the late months of the war, he held that the US should not treat Japan with more leniency than Germany, and that the United States should not encourage Japan to sue for peace.[27]
Russell was a prominent supporter of a strong national defense.[28] He used his powers as chairman of theSenate Armed Services Committee from 1951 to 1969, and then as chairman of theSenate Appropriations Committee as an institutional base to gain defense installations and jobs for Georgia. He was dubious about theVietnam War, privately warning President Johnson repeatedly against deeper involvement, remarking to President Johnson in 1964 that "It’s a hell of a... hell of a situation. It’s a mess, and it's going to get worse."[29]
Russell voted against theCivil Rights Acts of 1957,[30] theCivil Rights Acts of 1960,[31] theCivil Rights Acts of 1964,[32] and theCivil Rights Acts of 1968[33] as well as the24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution[34] and theVoting Rights Act of 1965.[35]
UnlikeTheodore Bilbo,"Cotton Ed" Smith, andJames Eastland, who had reputations as ruthless, tough-talking, heavy-handedrace baiters, Russell never justified hatred or acts of violence to defend segregation.[17] But he strongly defendedwhite supremacy and apparently did not question it or ever apologize for his segregationist views, votes and speeches. For decades Russell was a key figure in theSouthern Caucus within the Senate that blocked or watered down meaningful civil rights legislation intended to protect African Americans fromlynching, disenfranchisement, and disparate treatment under the law.[17]
Russell strongly condemned President Truman's pro-desegregation stance and wrote that he was "sick at heart" over it. However, unlike many other Southern Democrats such asStrom Thurmond, he did not walk out of the convention and support theDixiecrats.[36]
In 1952, Russell was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination; while he did not discuss civil rights while campaigning, his platform named "local self-government" one of the major "Jeffersonian Principles".[36] Russell claimed that the goal of his candidacy was to showcase the principles of "Southern Democracy" and to allow Southern Democrats to form a united front against the North. While he decisively defeatedEstes Kefauver in theFlorida primary, Russell was opposed by most of Democrats as he refused to support the civil rights plank of the party.[36]Jim Rowe claimed that the sectional nature of the defeat shocked Russell and made him into a more parochial politician.[37]
In early 1956, Russell's office was continually used as a meeting place by the Southern Caucus,[17] and he was through most of the caucus's life the acknowledged leader of the group, sending out invitations to what he called "Constitutional Democrats".[38] The caucus included fellow senators such asStrom Thurmond,James Eastland,Allen Ellender, andJohn Stennis, the four having a commonality of being dispirited withBrown v. Board of Education, the 1954 ruling by the US Supreme Court that said that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional.[37]
Russell was one of the strongest opponents of every desegregation measure in the Senate, but he remained loyal to the party. Although he called the 1960 Democratic Party platform a "complete surrender to theNAACP and the other extreme radicals atLos Angeles", he did agree to campaign for the Kennedy-Johnson ticket for the1960 United States presidential election.[36]
In January 1964, President Johnson delivered the1964 State of the Union Address, calling for Congress to "lift by legislation the bars of discrimination against those who seek entry into our country, particularly those who have much needed skills and those joining their families."[39] Russell issued a statement afterward stating the commitment by Southern senators to oppose such a measure, which he called "shortsighted and disastrous," while admitting the high probability of it passing. He added that the civil rights bill's true intended effect was to intermingle races, eliminate states' rights, and abolish the checks and balances system.[40]
After Johnson signed theCivil Rights Act of 1964, Russell (along with more than a dozen other southern Senators, includingHerman Talmadge andRussell Long)boycotted the1964 Democratic National Convention inAtlantic City.[41]
Although he had served as a prime mentor of Johnson, Russell and Johnson disagreed overcivil rights. Johnson supported this as President. Russell, a segregationist, had repeatedly blocked and defeated federal civil rights legislation via use of thefilibuster.[42]
Russell was considered to be moderate in his support for segregation;[23] in 1936, he often attackedrace-baiting, such as the claim that New Deal legislation would mostly benefit black people.[23]W. J. Cash considered Russell "the better sort of Southerner," as he was ready to call out "ruffian appeals to race hatred" made by others.[23] James Thomas Gay claimed that Russell "wished blacks no ill;"[25] in the 1950s, Russell corresponded with a black voter fromDublin, Georgia, Hercules Moore, who raised concerns that African-American children were being treated unfairly in the school lunch program, which was funded federally. Russell took the matter seriously and "later gave Moore satisfactory evidence that the program was being properly administered for children of both races.".[25]
Russell's support for first-term senatorLyndon B. Johnson paved the way for Johnson to becomeSenate Majority Leader. Russell often dined at Johnson's house during their Senate days.[17] But, their 20-year friendship came to an end during Johnson's presidency, in a fight over the 1968 nomination asChief Justice ofAbe Fortas, Johnson's friend and Supreme Court justice.[43][page needed]
In June 1968, Chief JusticeEarl Warren announced his decision to retire. President Johnson afterward announced the nomination of Associate JusticeAbe Fortas for the position. David Greenburg wrote that when Russell "decided in early July to oppose Fortas, he brought most of his fellow Dixiecrats with him."[44]
In May 1961, PresidentJohn F. Kennedy requested Russell place the Presidential wreath at theTomb of the Unknowns during an appearance atArlington National Cemetery for aMemorial Day ceremony.[45]
Russell scheduled a closed door meeting for the Senate Armed Services Committee for August 31, 1961, at the time of SenatorStrom Thurmond requesting the committee vote on whether to vote to investigate "a conspiracy to muzzle military anti-Communist drives."[46]
In late February 1963, the Senate Armed Services Committee was briefed by Defense SecretaryRobert McNamara on policy in the Caribbean. In response to what appeared to be an attack on an American shrimp boat by a "Russian Type Plane", Russell stated that he believed that it would be policy that American airmen would strike down any "Communist jets" in international waters that were attacking vessels, and only inquire on the aircraft's purpose there afterward.[47]
From 1963 to 1964, Russell was one of the members of theWarren Commission, which was charged to investigate theassassination of President John F. Kennedy in November 1963. Originally Russell did not want to serve on the Warren Commission, telling President Lyndon B. Johnson that he did not like or have confidence inEarl Warren, who was to head the commission.[48]
Russell's personal papers indicated that he was troubled by the Commission'ssingle-bullet theory, theSoviet Union's failure to provide greater detail regardingLee Harvey Oswald's period in Russia, and the lack of information regarding Oswald's Cuba-related activities.[49][50] In a telephone conversation with President Johnson in September 1964 he expressed his disbelief in the single-bullet theory, to which Johnson replied that he did not believe it either.[51]
In a January 1970 television interview, Russell stated that he accepted Oswald shot Kennedy but that he doubted he had acted alone, explaining that "too many things caused me to doubt that he planned it all by himself".[52] Russell had written adissenting opinion for the Warren Commission that "a number of suspicious circumstances" could not allow him to agree that there was no conspiracy to kill Kennedy and that citing a lack of evidence he believed this "preclude[d] the conclusive determination that Oswald and Oswald alone, without the knowledge, encouragement or assistance of any other person, planned and perpetrated the assassination". With Russell's agreement this statement was not included in the final report.[53] Russell had also made a request to Warren that "Senator Russell dissents" be placed in a footnote of the final report, although he refused to do so, insisting that there must be unanimity among the Commission.[54]
Russell was seen as a hero by many of the proJim Crow South. While undoubtedly a skilled politician of immense influence, his lifelong support ofwhite supremacy has marred his legacy.[55] Russell publicly said that America was "a white man's country, yes, and we are going to keep it that way." He also said he was vehemently opposed to "political and social equality with the Negro." Russell also supportedpoll taxes across the South and called President Truman's support of civil rights for black Americans an "uncalled-for attack on our Southern civilization."[56]
Russell has been honored by having the following named for him:
In 2020, formerGeorgia Board of Regents ChairmanSachin Shailendra and then ChancellorSteve Wrigley of theUniversity System of Georgia tasked an advisory group to review the names of buildings and colleges across all campuses within theUSG. Members of the advisory group consisted of Marion Fedrick, the tenth and current president ofAlbany State University inAlbany, Georgia,Michael Patrick ofChick-fil-A, retired judge Herbert Phipps of theGeorgia Court of Appeals, current chairman of the University of Georgia Foundation,Neal J. Quirk Sr., and Dr. Sally Wallace, the current dean of theAndrew Young School of Policy Studies ofGeorgia State University inAtlanta, Georgia.[65]
Despite recommendations from the advisory group to rename all buildings associated with Russell, theGeorgia Board of Regents did not move forward with any of the final recommendations from the advisory group's report.[66]
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 Booknotes interview with Gilbert Fite onRichard B. Russell Jr., Senator From Georgia, August 2, 1992C-SPAN |
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographical Directory of the United States Congress.Federal government of the United States.
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Georgia 1930 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromGeorgia (Class 2) 1932,1936,1942,1948,1954,1960,1966 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Georgia 1931–1933 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Millard Tydings Maryland | Chairman of theSenate Armed Services Committee 1951–1953 | Succeeded by Leverett Saltonstall Massachusetts |
| Preceded by Leverett Saltonstall Massachusetts | Chairman of theSenate Armed Services Committee 1955–1969 | Succeeded by John C. Stennis Mississippi |
| Preceded by Carl T. Hayden Arizona | President pro tempore of the United States Senate 1969–1971 | Succeeded by Allen J. Ellender Louisiana |
| Chairman of theSenate Appropriations Committee 1969–1971 | ||
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. senator (Class 2) from Georgia 1933–1971 Served alongside:Walter F. George,Herman Talmadge | Succeeded by |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by Carl T. Hayden Arizona | Dean of the United States Senate January 3, 1969 – January 21, 1971 | Succeeded by Allen J. Ellender Louisiana |
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Chairs of theUnited States Senate Committee on Armed Services | ||
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| Military Affairs Committee (1816–1947) | | |
| Naval Affairs Committee (1816–1947) | ||
| Armed Services Committee (1947–present) | ||
Chairs of theUnited States Senate Committee on Appropriations | ||
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| International | |
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| Other | |
