John Malcolm Patterson
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| John Malcolm Patterson | |
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44th Governor of Alabama
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| In office January 19, 1959 – January 14, 1963 |
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| Lieutenant | Albert B. Boutwell |
| Preceded by | Jim Folsom |
| Succeeded by | George Wallace |
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| In office 1955 – 1959 |
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| Governor | Jim Folsom |
| Preceded by | Bernard Sykes |
| Succeeded by | MacDonald Gallion |
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| In office 2003 – 2003 |
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| Born | September 27, 1921 Goldville, Alabama |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Mary Jo Mcgowin |
| Profession | Lawyer |
John Malcolm Patterson (born September 27, 1921) is an American politician who was the forty-ninth Governor of Alabama, from 1959 to 1963. Previously he served as State Attorney General (1954-1959).
Most recently he served as interim Chief Justice of the special Alabama Supreme Court after Roy Moore removal from Chief Justiceship.
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[edit] Early life and career
Patterson was born in Goldville, Alabama. He joined the US Army in 1939 and served in the North African, Sicilian, Italian, Southern France, and German campaigns of World War II. In 1945, he left the Army as a major, and obtained a law degree from the University of Alabama, but was recalled to active duty in the Army from 1951 to 1953 in the Korean War.
After his military service, Patterson joined the law practice of his father, Albert Patterson. In 1954, Albert Patterson was nominated for Attorney General on a platform promising to clean up crime, but was shot to death in June of 1954. John Patterson replaced his father on the Democratic ticket in a special election, and was elected to the post of Attorney General.
[edit] Governor of Alabama
As Attorney General, Patterson worked against organized crime, but his activities against the civil rights movement gained more attention. He managed to ban the NAACP from operating in the state of Alabama, and blocked the black community's boycotts in Tuskegee and Montgomery. With backing from the Ku Klux Klan, Patterson ran for Governor in 1958, and won, defeating George Wallace, making him the youngest governor in Alabama history, and the first to move directly from the post of Attorney General to Governor.
Patterson served as Alabama governor during the first half of the centennial of the Civil War. Patterson's clashes with the civil rights movement continued during his tenure as governor. A supporter of the state's segregationist policies, Patterson instigated the expulsion of black students for staging a sit-in at Alabama State University, and defended Alabama's voter registration policies against federal criticism. He withheld police protection for interracial bus riders who were staging a "Freedom Ride" from Washington D.C. to New Orleans, and many of the riders were badly beaten by white mobs at the Birmingham bus station due to Patterson's deliberate neglect. Subsequent freedom riders were guaranteed safe passage only with the intervention of then Attorney General Robert Kennedy.
More positively, during Governor Patterson's tenure, the Alabama legislature approved greatly increased funding for highway and school construction, and provided additional funding for facilities for the mentally ill. Programs to improve Alabama's waterways and docks were expanded. Laws curtailing loan sharking were passed. In 1960, NASA designated Huntsville, Alabama, as the site for the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center.
[edit] Role in the Bay of Pig invasion and Presidential elections in 1960
According to a 1997 book by renoved investigative reporter Seymour M. Hersh The Dark Side of Camelot, Governor Patterson played an important, but even today little know, role in preparations to Bay of Pigs invasion against Fidel Castro new government in Cuba and JFK presidential campaign.
Then President Dwight D. Eisenhower, whom Patterson personally know since World War II, when he served under his command in London in deep secret contacted Governor and informed about incoming operation and asked for use of Alabama Air National Guard to training of Cuban emigres. Patterson agreed and allowed Major General George R. Doster to training emmigre squads in Nicaragua. Also aircraft owned by Alabamian Air Guard eventually were used in attack.
Meantime, Patterson - despite his strongly segregationist views - was an active supporter of John F. Kennedy Presidential candidacy and, in secret, raised a money for him. Patterson had informed Massachusetts Senator about upcoming operation and warned that if the Cubans emigres' attack were set before election day, the chances of Republican candidate Richard Nixon winning would be greater. As a result, the operation was set for after the elections.
Source: Seymour M. Hersh, The Dark Side of Camelot, 1997, Chapter 12
[edit] Later life
Patterson was defeated in a 1966 run for governor by Lurleen Wallace, ran unsuccessfully for the post of Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court in 1972, and was appointed to the State Court of Criminal Appeals in 1984, where he remained until his retirement in 1997.
[edit] Chief Justice of the Special Supreme Court
After Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court Roy Moore was removed from office in results of his refusal to remove a monument of the Ten Commandments from the courthouse despite orders from a federal court judge to do so, he protested this decision.
In result the special Supreme Court, composed retried judges, was appointed. Former Governor and Judge Patterson was selected to be this body Chief Justice.
Special Supreme Court, under Patterson presidency, ruled that Moore's removal was legal[1].
[edit] In the wake of the Assassins
A ninety minute documentary film on John Patterson was completed in 2007 by Alabama filmmaker Robert Clem. Entitled John Patterson: In the Wake of the Assassins the film features an extended interview with Patterson himself as well as interviews with journalists, historians and such key figures as John Seigenthaler, aide to Robert Kennedy at the time of the freedom rides.
[edit] Electoral history
Alabama gubernatorial election, 1958 (Democratic primary)[2]
- John Malcolm Patterson - 196,859 (31.82%)
- George Wallace - 162,435 (26.26%)
- Jimmy Faulkner - 91,512 (14.79%)
- A.W. Todd - 59,240 (9.58%)
- Laurie Battle - 38,955 (6.30%)
- George Hawkins - 24,332 (3.93%)
- C.C. Owen - 15,270 (2.47%)
- Karl Harrison - 12,488 (2.02%)
- Billy Walker - 7,963 (1.29%)
- W.E. Dodd - 4,753 (0.77%)
- John G. Crommelin - 2,245 (0.36%)
- Shearen Elebash - 1,177 (0.19%)
- James Gulatte - 798 (0.13%)
- Shorty Price - 655 (0.11%)
Alabama gubernatorial election, 1958 (Democratic primary runoff)[3]
- John Malcolm Patterson - 315,353 (55.74%)
- George Wallace - 250,451 (44.27%)
Alabama gubernatorial election, 1958 (General election)[4]
- John Malcolm Patterson (D) - 234,583 (88.22%)
- William Longshore (R) - 30,415 (11.44%)
- William Jackson (I) - 903 (0.34%)
Alabama gubernatorial election, 1966 (Democratic primary)[5]
- Lurleen Wallace - 480,841 (54.10%)
- Richmond Flowers - 172,386 (19.40%)
- Carl A. Elliot - 71,972 (8.10%)
- Bob Gilchrist - 49,502 (5.57%)
- Charles Woods - 41,148 (4.63%)
- John Malcolm Patterson - 31,011 (3.49%)
- Jim Folsom - 24,145 (2.72%)
- A. W. Todd - 9,013 (1.01%)
- Sherman Powell - 7,231 (0.81%)
- Eunice Gore - 1,589 (0.18%)
Democratic primary for Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, 1970[6]
- Howell Heflin - 550,997 (65.71%)
- John Malcolm Patterson - 287,594 (34.30%)
[edit] References
- ^ WSFA TV Montgomery, AL - Moore Appeal Denied
- ^ Our Campaigns - AL Governor D Primary Race - Jun 03, 1958
- ^ Our Campaigns - AL Governor D Runoff Race - Jun 24, 1958
- ^ Our Campaigns - AL Governor Race - Nov 03, 1958
- ^ Our Campaigns - AL Governor - D Primary Race - Jun 03, 1966
- ^ Our Campaigns - AL State Supreme Court Chief Justice - D Primary Race - May 05, 1970
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Bernard Sykes Albert Patterson (elect, deceased) |
Attorney General of Alabama 1955–1959 |
Succeeded by MacDonald Gallion |
| Preceded by Jim Folsom |
Governor of Alabama 1959–1963 |
Succeeded by George Wallace |
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