William M. Tuck | |
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| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromVirginia's5th district | |
| In office April 14, 1953 – January 3, 1969 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas B. Stanley |
| Succeeded by | Dan Daniel |
| 55th Governor of Virginia | |
| In office January 16, 1946 – January 18, 1950 | |
| Lieutenant | Lewis Preston Collins II |
| Preceded by | Colgate Darden |
| Succeeded by | John S. Battle |
| 25th Lieutenant Governor of Virginia | |
| In office January 21, 1942 – January 16, 1946 | |
| Governor | Colgate Darden |
| Preceded by | Saxon W. Holt |
| Succeeded by | Lewis Preston Collins II |
| Member of theVirginia Senate from the10th district | |
| In office January 13, 1932 – January 14, 1942 | |
| Preceded by | James Stone Easley |
| Succeeded by | James D. Hagood |
| Member of theVirginia House of Delegates fromHalifax County | |
| In office January 9, 1924 – January 13, 1932 Alongside John Glass, Samuel Adams and A. Owen King | |
| Preceded by | Daniel W. Owen |
| Succeeded by | Roy B. Davis |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1896-09-28)September 28, 1896 Halifax County, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | June 9, 1983(1983-06-09) (aged 86) South Boston, Virginia, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Eva Ellis Lovelace Dillard (m.1929, died 1975) |
| Children | 1 (stepson) |
| Parent |
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| Alma mater | College of William & Mary Washington & Lee University |
| Profession | Attorney |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | United States Marine Corps |
| Years of service | 1918–1919 |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
William Munford Tuck (September 28, 1896 – June 9, 1983) was an American lawyer and lieutenant in theByrd Organization, who served as the55th Governor of Virginia from 1946 to 1950 as aDemocrat, and as a U.S. Congressman from 1953 until 1969.[1][2]
First elected to public office in 1923, Tuck altogether served in Virginia politics for over 40 years. During his tenure as Governor of Virginia, Tuck signed a bill making Virginia aright-to-work state in 1947. Noted for his fiscal conservatism and strong alliance with powerful U.S. SenatorHarry F. Byrd, Tuck supported theMassive Resistance plan to defy the U.S. Supreme Court'sBrown v. Board ruling, which ordered the desegregation of public schools starting in 1954.
After retiring from politics in 1969, Tuck returned to practicing law inSouth Boston, Virginia for 10 years before his failing health forced him to retire completely. He died in 1983 at the age of 86.
He was the youngest of nine children ofHalifax County, Virginia tobacco warehousemanRobert James Tuck (1863–1930) and Virginia Susan Fitts (1860–1909). He was named for his grandfather William Munford Tuck (1832–1899), who served in the Third Virginia Infantry during theAmerican Civil War.[3] Tuck's mother died when he was 13. He attended county schools, Virgilina High School, and Chatham Training School (nowHargrave Military Academy)[1]. He attended theCollege of William and Mary for two years, earning a teacher's certificate and working for a year as a teacher/principal inNorthumberland County.
Tuck then enlisted in theU.S. Marine Corps and served from 1917 to 1919, including a deployment in the Caribbean.[4] Tuck returned to attend law school at theWashington and Lee University School of Law, graduating in 1921. In 1929 he married widow (and former schoolteacher) Eva Lovelace Dillard (1891–1975), to whom he remained married until her death in 1975, raising her son Lester Layne (L.L.) Dillard Jr. as his own.
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Upon being admitted to Virginia bar, Tuck maintained a private legal practice inHalifax for decades, eventually with his stepson L.L. Dillard.[5]
His career as an elected official began in 1923, when Halifax County voters elected Tuck as their delegate (a part-time position) to theVirginia General Assembly. He was re-elected once but declined to run for re-election in 1929, citing the need to grow his legal business to support his new family. However, when his elected successor died, Tuck was drafted in 1930 and served the remainder of the term. He was then elected to theVirginia Senate in 1931, where he became a friend of U.S. SenatorHarry F. Byrd, a former governor. During the nationalNew Deal, state Senator Tuck worked to repeal Prohibition and sponsored new child labor laws, as well as an unemployment compensation system, old age assistance and jail reforms. He also helped develop thestate park system.
In 1941, Tuck sought statewide office, but Senator Byrd slatedColgate Darden to run for Governor of Virginia, so Tuck was slated for and won election as the 25thLieutenant Governor of Virginia. He served from 1942 to 1946 under Governor Darden, and gained visibility throughout the Commonwealth. Tuck defeated his Republican opponent,S. Floyd Landreth by a 2 to 1 margin and won election as governor.
As governor from 1946 to 1950, Tuck demonstrated his fiscal conservatism as aDixiecrat by reorganizing state government and enacting aright-to-work law. He also created a statewater pollution control agency, helped reform state schools and mental hospitals, as well as constructed roads. Governor Tuck gained national exposure, however, for labor unrest in his home state. He worked with Senator Harry Byrd to oppose PresidentHarry Truman, although a fellow Democrat, especially Truman's plan to establish aFair Employment Practices Commission. Once, as governor, Tuck drafted workers of theVirginia Electric Power Company into the state's national guard to avoid a threatened strike in an unionization effort. Transportation and coal also experienced labor unrest.
Tuck's resumption of legal practice inSouth Boston after his governorship proved short-lived, for he rose within the Byrd Organization. In 1953 Tuck won election as a Democrat to U.S. Congress vacated byThomas Bahnson Stanley who had resigned to run forGovernor of Virginia. A militant segregationist, Congressman Tuck opposed most major items of civil rights legislation during the 1950s and 1960s. Like U.S. SenatorHarry F. Byrd, Tuck promised "massive resistance" to the Supreme Court's 1954 and 1955 decisions banning segregation,Brown v. Board of Education, and helped draft theStanley Plan—a series of state laws designed to legally avoidBrown, most of which were soon declared unconstitutional. Tuck was a signatory to the 1956Southern Manifesto.[6] Tuck voted against theCivil Rights Acts of 1957,[7] theCivil Rights Acts of 1960,[8] theCivil Rights Acts of1964,[9] and theCivil Rights Acts of 1968[10] as well as the24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution[11] and theVoting Rights Act of 1965.[12] He was a member of the U.S. House of Representative's Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC).
He was a delegate toDemocratic National Conventions of 1948 and 1952, and in 1967 announced he would not seek reelection to Congress, citing health problems. He remained a power broker in the state for years. He retired from his law practice in South Boston in 1979, after suffering a stroke.
Virginia named highway 58 in Halifax County after Tuck, and elected a historical marker in his memory.[13]
His personal papers, including papers from his time as congressman and governor, are held by theSpecial Collections Research Center at theCollege of William & Mary.[14] His executive papers from his time as governor are held by theLibrary of Virginia.
His birthplace and homeBuckshoal Farm was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 1987.[15][16]
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Governor of Virginia 1946–1950 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lieutenant Governor of Virginia 1942–1946 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromVirginia's 5th congressional district 1953–1969 | Succeeded by |
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| National | |
| People | |
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