Talk:George Wallace

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George Wallace was a good article nominee, but did not meet the good article criteria at the time. There are suggestions below for improving the article. Once these are addressed, the article can be renominated. Editors may also seek a reassessment of the decision if they believe there was a mistake.

Reviewed version: March 13, 2007

Contents

[edit] First Republican

The article states in "Change of views before final term" that Emory Folmar would have been the first "Republican to be elected Alabama governor for the first time in the state's history" but this is contradicted by the List of Governors of Alabama which have William Hugh Smith and David P. Lewis as the 21st and 23rd governors of Alabama, both republicans, can some one please clarify this discrepancy?--Liamdavies 2:24, 8 November 2007 (+10GMT)

Good catch. Those were Reconstruction-era Republicans, when many former Confederates were disenfranchised, briefly breaking Democratic hold. I've corrected the article. CAVincent (talk) 03:03, 28 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Missing Some History

Shouldn't there be some reference to Wallace's involvement in the outcome of the Selma to Montgomery marches? I was surprised to find no mention of it--Stvfetterly 19:37, 30 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] A very minor point

What Wallace was in during WW II technically wasn't the U.S. Air Force, which didn't formally begin until 1947. He was in either the 'Army Air Corps' or the 'Army Air Force', which were certainly the predecessors to the USAF. Also, did he "enlist" or was he a commissioned officer (like most but certainly not all college-educated personnel were)? His rank would be a nice detail – and if he were actually a pilot, then he was almost certainly an officer.Rlquall 02:34, 8 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Actually, he was in the United States Army Air Forces. There never was an "Army Air Force." (See the extensive discussion at the USAAF link).--Jpbrenna 03:00, 9 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Speculation

With regards to:

It was perhaps because of the constant pain from his injuries that Wallace realized the harm his racist rhetoric and views had caused African Americans.

This seems to be to be entirely speculative -- it's not obvious that paralysis would lead to an understanding of racial oppression -- so unless anyone can justify it (e.g. with something Wallace said) I will remove it soon. --Saforrest 20:20, May 10, 2005 (UTC)

It certainly seems to be true (most of my family on my father's side lives in Alabama), but it is certainly a matter of perception and speculation, not of fact, and I would suggest that it should be removes unless someone come up with documented evidence very soon. Rlquall 00:27, 11 May 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Brain fever

What is this "brain fever" the article talks about? It sounds like he had malaria. Maybe he was treated with Atabrine, which, if the dosage isn't very carefully controlled, bores holes in your brain and can give you nerve and heart damage. They used it a lot during the war, and didn't realize how bad its side effects were until it was too late. They just new it helped with quinine-resistant strains of malaria, which they were desperate to find a medication for at the time. Anyway, the stuff was often bad news: Charles Orde Wingate went nutso after they gave it to him and tried to kill himself in the hospital. So maybe that's where Wallace's nerve damage come from? Can somebody find out? "Brain fever" is pretty vague. Lots of politicians who never heard a shot fired in anger seem to have that disease ;) --Jpbrenna 03:00, 9 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Redemption

Did the Alabama African-American community accept Wallace's apology? Youngamerican 20:29, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)

I think the second picture at this article on George Wallace gives some good evidence that yes, his apology was accepted. --Dylan Thurston 18:35, 11 January 2006 (UTC)


He was not forgiven for his racist actions. He is still held in high contempt in the Black community. His actions as well as others during the civil rights movement will never be forgotten. A true symbol of bigotry in U.S. history.

Alvin A. Harris —Preceding unsigned comment added by 144.232.153.118 (talk) 21:39, 11 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Morrissey

While I highly doubt that Neo-Nazi, right-winger racist types who look up George Wallace biographies probably have no idea who I'm talking about (they probably write him off as a "faggy Brit", the pic at the top of the article looks like Morrissey. Just a thought. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 67.165.87.40 (talk • contribs) .

You mean the picture of him standing in the doorway? I don't think you've got to be a right wing nazi to want to read the article, I found the fact that he renounced his previous views and his candid admission that he used racism as a means to election very moving.

The Nazis were socialist and thus left wing. Nearly all segregationists were democrats and also advocated increased welfare and social programmes making them left wing.

NOT SO AT ALL. The Nazis were neither socialist nor left-wing. Not by a long shot. The Nazi party was originally a small working-class party with a vaguely socialist agenda; that's why it was called the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei). When Hitler and his cronies took over that party, they didn't bother to change the name, with the result that they have always been known by the name of that party, "nazi" being short for "national socialist" ("nationalsozialistische"). But that's merely a word. There was and is actually nothing socialist about Nazis. Much less is there anything left-wing about them. Hitler actually tried to change the name to Social Revolutionary Party, but his proposal was nixed.

[edit] September 1963

According to this page, on September 10, 1963 "20 black students entered public schools in Birmingham, Tuskegee and Mobile, Alabama, following a standoff between federal authorities and Gov. George C. Wallace."

There's nothing in the article about this - just the similar standoff in June of that year. It looks like it should be mentioned but I don't know enough about the events to add to the article myself. --Spondoolicks 10:02, 7 April 2006 (UTC)


The correct spelling of his middle name is " CORLEY" not  what is posted.

[edit] Failed GA and reasons

I have reviewed this article per the criteria in WP:WIAGA and unfortunately had to fail it. The following issues arose for me vis-a-vis the Good Article criteria:

  1. It has some organization issues that affect the quality of the article. The section titled "Presidential Ambitions" for example, seems out of place for the flow of the article. There are other issues in organization as well that interupt the flow and make it hard to follow in places. (Early Life section seperate from the Wives and Children section? Maybe a unified personal life section would be better... )Also, some section titles have irregular capitalization. See WP:MOS for more info.
  2. The article has some serious referencing issues. Large sections of text, which make assertions of facts, are unreferenced as to where those facts come from. For example:
    1. The entire Entering Politics section
    2. Most of the American Independent Party presidential candidate section (there's even a FACT tag there!)
    3. The second half of the Second term as governor section
    4. The entire Change of views before final term section
    5. The entire Wives and children section
    6. Most of Wallace in pop culture section
  3. Fair use problems with the image "Wallace button.gif", which does not have an adequate Fair Use Rationale.

If these problems can be fixed, feel free to renominate for GA again. Good luck and happy editing. --Jayron32|talk|contribs 23:50, 13 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Paralysis

After Wallace was shot, was he completely paralyzed, or paralyzed from the waist down, or what? The article should be more clear on this. --MasterA113 19:59, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Fixed Infoboxs

Jere Beasley was never Governor of Alabama (he never held the office). Beasley was Lieutenant Governor serving as Acting Governor during Governor Wallace's absence (due to assassination attempt injuries). Also List of Governors of Alabama listes Wallace as the 45th Governor (the 45th state Governor), the list numbers Governors by individual (only) even though a governor may have served non-consecutive terms. GoodDay 19:11, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Wallace's gubernatorial number

The List of Governors of Alabama numbers those governor's by individual not by office. Therefore, even though Wallace has served on three seperate occassions, he's still only numbered as the 45th Governor. GoodDay 15:06, 6 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Presidential campaign in 1968

George Wallace presidential campaign, 1968 was made by copying George Wallace#American Independent Party presidential candidate and they are still almost identical. The copy was kept at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/George Wallace presidential campaign 1968, so the section in George Wallace should be a summary per Wikipedia:Summary style. PrimeHunter (talk) 14:54, 1 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Symbol of Bigotry

Gov. George Wallace's legacy will be forever tarnished. He along with Bull Connor, are true symbols of bigotry in U.S. History. The actions of racist like this man and others brought about the very change they fought so hard to avoid.

Alvin A. Harris —Preceding unsigned comment added by 144.232.153.118 (talk) 21:35, 11 January 2008 (UTC)

Amen to that. Gautam Discuss 04:40, 24 May 2008 (UTC)
So? 72.145.146.20 (talk) 00:24, 22 January 2008 (UTC)
Far too POV to be included in intro. Reverted back to previous. noble savage Talk 14:20, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

What, no way, ask any historian what George Wallace is best remembered for, it's not the 1968 election. He is the most legit public figure bigot in U.S. modern-history. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.128.25.110 (talk) 02:29, 7 June 2008 (UTC)