John Bell Williams - Mashpedia All-in-One Encyclopedia

For other people named John Williams, see John Williams (disambiguation).

John Bell Williams

54th Governor of Mississippi
In office January 16, 1968 – January 18, 1972
Lieutenant	Charles L. Sullivan
Preceded by	Paul B. Johnson, Jr.
Succeeded by	William Waller
Personal details
Born	(1918-12-04)December 4, 1918 Raymond, Mississippi
Died	March 25, 1983(1983-03-25) (aged 64) Brandon, Mississippi
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth Ann Wells
Alma mater	Hinds Community College University of Mississippi Mississippi College School of Law
Profession	Lawyer
Religion	Baptist
Military service
Service/branch	United States Army Air Corps
Rank	Pilot (injured in bomber crash)
Battles/wars	World War II

John Bell Williams (December 4, 1918 – March 25, 1983) was an American Democratic politician who was governor of his native Mississippi from 1968 to 1972.

Biography [edit]

Williams was born in Raymond in Hinds County near the state capital of Jackson. He graduated in 1938 from Hinds Community College, then Hinds Junior College. Thereafter, he attended the University of Mississippi at Oxford and graduated in 1940 from Mississippi College School of Law, then known simply as the Jackson Law School. In November 1941, he enlisted with the United States Army Air Corps and served as a pilot during World War II; however, he retired from active service after losing the lower part of his left arm as a result of a bomber crash in 1944.^[1] In 1946, Williams was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat. He was the youngest U.S. Representative to have been elected from Mississippi.

Williams advocated states' rights and segregation. He joined his state's delegation in a walkout of the 1948 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He then supported Strom Thurmond's Dixiecrat presidential campaign, whose primary platform was racial segregation and easily carried the electoral vote in Mississippi and three other southern states. After the Supreme Court issued its Brown v. Board of Education ruling on May 17, 1954, which outlawed racial segregation in public schools, Williams made a speech on the House floor branding the day 'Black Monday'.^[2] Williams supported the Democratic Stevenson-Sparkman campaign in 1952 but favored unpledged Democratic electors in 1956 and 1960. In 1964, Williams endorsed Republican Barry M. Goldwater in the general election against U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson and helped raise funds for Goldwater in Mississippi. Because of his activities for Goldwater, the Democratic caucus (in the House of Representatives) stripped Williams and a colleague, Albert W. Watson of South Carolina, of their House seniority. Williams remained a Democrat, but Watson soon defected to the GOP.

In 1967, Williams ran for governor. The field of candidates was large, including former Governor Ross Barnett and two future governors, William Winter and Bill Waller. In the primary, Williams claimed that former Governor Ross Barnett made a secret deal with the Kennedys during the 1962 desegregation of the University of Mississippi. In the first round of balloting, Williams finished second to the moderate candidate, William Winter. In the runoff, Williams defeated Winter by 61,000 votes. In the general election, Williams handily defeated Democrat-turned-Republican Rubel Phillips, who made the second of his two losing campaigns for governor.

During Williams's term as governor, Mississippi experienced the desegregation of its school system through a federal court order. Despite his background as a strong segregationist, Williams did not defy the court.

After his term, Williams resumed his law practice. He endorsed Gerald Ford in 1976 and Ronald W. Reagan in 1980, rather than the Democratic nominee Jimmy Carter of Georgia.

References [edit]

^ "John Bell Williams, 1918–1983". Civil Rights Digital Library. Digital Library of Georgia. Retrieved 2008-09-24.
^ "With an Even Hand": Brown v. Board at Fifty". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2008-09-24.

External links [edit]

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Dan R. McGehee	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi's 7th congressional district January 3, 1947–January 3, 1953	Succeeded by District eliminated after Census 1950
Preceded by Thomas Abernethy	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi's 4th congressional district January 3, 1953–January 3, 1963	Succeeded by W. Arthur Winstead
Preceded by Frank E. Smith	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi's 3rd congressional district January 3, 1963–January 16, 1968	Succeeded by Charles H. Griffin
Political offices
Preceded by Paul B. Johnson, Jr.	Governor of Mississippi 1968–1972	Succeeded by William Waller

v t e Governors and Lieutenant Governors of Mississippi

Governors	Holmes Poindexter Leake Brandon Holmes Brandon Scott Lynch Runnels Quitman Lynch McNutt Tucker Brown Matthews Quitman Guion J. Whitfield Foote Pettus McRae McWillie Pettus Clark Sharkey Humphreys Ames Alcorn Powers Ames Stone Lowry Stone McLaurin Longino Vardaman Noel Brewer Bilbo Russell H. Whitfield Murphree Bilbo Conner White Johnson, Sr. Murphree Bailey Wright White Coleman Barnett Johnson, Jr. Williams Waller Finch Winter Allain Mabus Fordice Musgrove Barbour Bryant

Lieutenant Governors	Stewart Patton Dickson Brandon Scott Winston office abolished 1832–1870 Powers Davis Stone Sims Shands Evans Jones Harrison Carter Manship Bilbo Russell Casteel Murphree Adams Murphree Sinder Murphree Wright Lumpkin Gartin Johnson Gartin Sullivan Winter Gandy Dye Briggs Musgrove Tuck Bryant Reeves

Authority control	VIAF: 71054783

Persondata
Name	Williams, John Bell
Alternative names
Short description	American politician
Date of birth	December 4, 1918
Place of birth	Raymond, Mississippi
Date of death	March 25, 1983
Place of death	Brandon, Mississippi