Today we continue to look at great political confrontations in Arkansas history. May is Arkansas Heritage Month, and the theme this year is our political heritage. I think most knowledgeable people would agree that Arkansas has an interesting, if not wholly admirable, political heritage.
It is impossible, of course, to summarize in a few columns more than a scattering of the amazing campaigns of Arkansas political history. Two weeks ago I wrote on the political titans of the 1800s, and last week I covered at least a few of the colorful characters who peopled Arkansas politics between 1900 and World War II. This week, our emphasis is on the momentous times since 1945 - an era that saw insurgent war veterans fighting for democracy at home, the birth and death of the Faubus political dynasty, and the gradual rise of a Republican opposition.
War usually brings change, and certainly World War II unleashed incredible change on America and the world. The war affected Arkansas in many ways, not the least being a huge out-migration to war plants on the West Coast. The state's population declined more than two percent during the 1940s, and the 1950s witnessed a decline of six percent.
Veterans returning from World War II were sometimes shocked to discover that the democratic institutions they fought to defend were in short supply back home. Marine hero Sidney S. McMath returned to find "the political bosses in Hot Springs picked the judges, the prosecuting attorney, the mayor, the chief of police, the sheriff, the constable, and grand juries - all those involved with law enforcement responsibilities." McMath went on to organize what became known as the GI Revolt, winning the prosecuting attorney's office while his ally, Earl T. Ricks, succeeded the notorious boss, Mayor Leo McLaughlin.
McMath went on to win the governorship in 1948, a campaign in which healso helped hold Arkansas for President Harry Truman against the segregationist "Dixiecrat" insurgency. McMath was the first of the moderate Democrats to hold office after World War II, and his tenure is symbolic of the rapid evolution occurring in Arkansas. He helped integrate the state medical school, and increased funding for black teachers and education in general. He helped consolidate school districts. He built highways. Before McMath, travel meant driving over unpaved roads outside urban areas.
McMath was a New Deal Democrat, with strong ties to organized labor, and a commitment to nonprofit organizations, such as the electric cooperatives. A classic confrontation between Mc-Math and the powerful C. Hamilton Moses at Arkansas Power & Light Co. developed over building a power plant on the Arkansas River near Ozark. AP&L blocked approval, but upon becoming governor McMath pushed theproject to success.
McMath's success came to an end in 1952 when he ran for a third term. A little known judge from Jonesboro, Francis Cherry, beat McMath handily. This gubernatorial campaign is interesting because Cherry might be the first to employ a media consultant;regardless, he captured instant public recognition by use of radio around the clock. McMath's situation was not helped by unproved charges of corruption in the highway program.
Seldom is a governor denied a second term, but such was the case in 1954 when Madison County newspaperman and highway commissioner Orval Eugene Faubus overcame a last-minute smear campaign attacking him for having attended left-wing Commonwealth College at Mena. Faubus eked out a 7,000 vote victory over Cherry, and went on to serve a record 12 years as governor.
The same year that Faubus came down from the mountains to become governor, 1954, saw a far more absorbing confrontation when former Gov.McMath challenged conservative incumbent U.S. Sen. John L. McClellan of Camden. McClellan had the significant support of AP&L, which was intent on preventing the resurgence of their old nemesis, McMath. During the campaign the U.S. Supreme Court issued the Brown decision, declaring racially segregated schools unconstitutional, which undoubtedly did not help the moderate McMath.
I don't know that Winthrop Rockefeller would qualify as a political titan, but he must get recognition for his 1966campaign for governor in which he defeated the last of the old time segregationists, Justice Jim Johnson. The 1966 governor's race was a defining moment for Arkansas. Johnson was no limousine segregationist like McClellan; he was a fire eater. Johnson even refused to shake hands with black voters. Rockefeller not only defeated Johnson, he also integrated state government.
My final confrontation of the titans occurred in 1974 when Gov. Dale Bumpers defeated legendary U.S. Sen. J. William Fulbright. Bumpers, who had knocked off incumbent Republican Gov. Rockefeller in 1970, had a successful tenure as governor. Fulbright, long known as an internationalist and a fierce opponent of the war in Vietnam, waged a valiant fight, but he could not overcome Bumpers' political and personal appeal.
Next week I will conclude Heritage Month by discussing some of the oddballs and eccentrics who have given flavor and spice to Arkansas' political heritage.
Tom W. Dillard is the founding editor of the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture (www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net), and head of the special collections department at the University of Arkansas Libraries, Fayetteville. E-mail him at tdillar@uark.edu.
Travel, Pages 96 on 05/18/2008