Burnet R. Maybank
Encyclopedia
Burnet Rhett Maybank was a U.S. Senator
, the 99th Governor of South Carolina
, and Mayor of Charleston, South Carolina
. Maybank was the direct descendant of six former South Carolinian governors. He was the first governor from Charleston since the Civil War. His son Burnet Maybank II went on to become Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina and a later candidate for Governor, while his grandson Burnet Maybank III
, is a notable lawyer.
Burnet Maybank was born to Dr. Joseph Maybank VI and Harriet Lowndes Rhett, the first of ten. He married Elizabeth deRosset Myers, daughter of Judge Francis Kerchner Myers and Roberta Atkinson Smith, on June 28th, 1923. They had three children; a son Burnet R. Maybank II,who married Marion Mitchell, and two daughters, Roberta M. Maybank, who married Judge William Prioleau, and Elizabeth deRosset Maybank, who married Theodore Guerard, listed as one the best attorneys in the nation in The Best Lawyers in America up until his death in 1997, and a three term South Carolina State Representative. After the death of his first wife he married Mary Roscoe Randolph Pelzer Cecil. The second marriage produced no children. He has 10 grandchildren and many great grandchildren.
into one of Charleston's most prominent and wealthy families, Maybank attended the public schools and graduated from the Porter Military Academy, now the exclusive Porter-Gaud School. He received a degree from the College of Charleston
. He served in the United States Navy
during World War I
, and engaged in the cotton export business from 1920 to 1938.
Although successful in business, Maybank became captivated by public service. A lifelong Democrat, he entered politics for the first time in 1927, when he was elected to a four-year term as alderman in Charleston. He rose to mayor pro tempore in 1930 and, with the support of prominent businessmen in the city, was elected mayor of Charleston in 1931, serving until 1938. As mayor, Maybank brought order to the city's finances and balanced the budget. He cut his own salary from $6,000 to $3,600, reduced taxes, and got federal support for slum clearance, public housing, and unemployment. He was effective in guiding work relief and funds for civic improvements. He used a Works Progress Administration grant to restore the historic Dock Street Theater, and other grants went to such improvements as the city docks and a city incinerator. During this period Maybank was a member of the State Board of Bank Control (1932–1933) and was chairman of the South Carolina Public Service Authority (1935–1939), a state-sponsored power project on the Santee River. This project, known as the "little TVA," successfully controlled floods and provided hydroelectric power for the state. He was a conservative supporter of President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal
, favoring public works and job programs. A personal friend of Roosevelt and Harry Hopkins
, Maybank was an occasional guest at the White House
, and Roosevelt visited Charleston on several occasions between 1935 and 1940.
In addition, he was a member of the South Carolina State Advisory Board of the Federal Administration of Public Works from 1933 to 1934, and chairman of the South Carolina Public Service Authority from 1934 to 1939. He was also a member of the Board of Bank Control from 1933 to 1934.
With the favorable publicity from the Santee project, a strong political base in Charleston, and support from his mentor, U.S. senator James F. Byrnes
, Maybank announced his candidacy for governor and destroyed the competition, being elected in 1938. As governor, Maybank tried unsuccessfully to create an adequate state police force, but he did supervise a vigorous prosecution of the criminal element in the state. He strictly enforced liquor and gambling statutes and, in a courageous move, used all his power to fight the revived Ku Klux Klan. He went even further towards his progressive racial thinking by favoring expanded economic opportunities for blacks and tried to improve the quality of black schools in the state.
In January 1941 President Roosevelt appointed Byrnes to the U.S. Supreme Court. Maybank won a special election to fill Byrnes's Senate seat in September 1941, defeating former governor Olin D. Johnston
with 56.6 percent of the vote. In 1942 Maybank was elected to the full six-year term, and in 1948 he was reelected without opposition, and served until his death in 1954.
Maybank was a powerful senator. Maybank served as chairman of the Committee on Banking and Currency and as co-chairman of the Joint Committee on Defense Production. As chair of the Subcommittee on Independent Offices, under the Appropriations Committee, Maybank provided critical support to continue the U.S. nuclear weapons program in the early 1950s. He introduced the "Maybank Amendment" which was tacked on to the 1953 Defense Appropriations Bill. The amendment excuses the Department of Defense
from targeting a percentage of his expenditures to high unemployment areas. A much more detailed list of the bills and resolutions that Maybank was a part of is available at this website Burnet Maybank Senatorial Papers. Shortly before his death, he was voted as one of "Fortune Magazine's 20 Most Influential Americans". He was also voted as the "Most Handsome Man in the Senate" twice by his colleagues.
He died of a heart attack at his summer home in Flat Rock, North Carolina
in 1954, and is interred in Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston. Future Presidents Richard Nixon
and Lyndon Johnson, along with numerous political dignitaries attended his funeral in Charleston
.
Maybank's sudden and untimely death, just two months before Election Day, triggered the chaotic 1954 Senate election in South Carolina
, in which Strom Thurmond
won as a write-in candidate
against the nominee chosen by party leaders to replace Maybank.
Maybank is a famous and influential figure in South Carolina, most notably in Charleston. He has many points of interest named for him throughout Charleston and the state. Some notable examples are Maybank Highway, the Burnet Maybank Bridge (over the Wappoo Cut in Charleston), Maybank Hall at the College of Charleston
, and the Burnet R. Maybank Scholarship at the University of South Carolina
Law School.
Vice President Joe Biden
mentioned Maybank at the dedication ceremony for the Ernest Hollings Special Collections Library at the University of South Carolina
on July 23, 2010. He said,
"You know, an old governor of yours, Burnet Maybank, once wrote an essay entitled, "Who Is the South Carolinian?" And here's what it said. He said, there's a deal—there is a deal of kindness about him, describing the South Carolinian. He feels favored when asked for personal assistance. A neighborly spirit prompts him to render service with a scorn for remuneration."
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, the 99th Governor of South Carolina
Governor of South Carolina
The Governor of the State of South Carolina is the head of state for the State of South Carolina. Under the South Carolina Constitution, the Governor is also the head of government, serving as the chief executive of the South Carolina executive branch. The Governor is the ex officio...
, and Mayor of Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
. Maybank was the direct descendant of six former South Carolinian governors. He was the first governor from Charleston since the Civil War. His son Burnet Maybank II went on to become Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina and a later candidate for Governor, while his grandson Burnet Maybank III
Burnet Maybank III
Burnet Maybank III is a lawyer, author, and former two-time director of the South Carolina Department of Revenue under former Governors David Beasley and Mark Sanford. He was South Carolina's first director of the SCDOR. He comes from a family deeply rooted in politics...
, is a notable lawyer.
Burnet Maybank was born to Dr. Joseph Maybank VI and Harriet Lowndes Rhett, the first of ten. He married Elizabeth deRosset Myers, daughter of Judge Francis Kerchner Myers and Roberta Atkinson Smith, on June 28th, 1923. They had three children; a son Burnet R. Maybank II,who married Marion Mitchell, and two daughters, Roberta M. Maybank, who married Judge William Prioleau, and Elizabeth deRosset Maybank, who married Theodore Guerard, listed as one the best attorneys in the nation in The Best Lawyers in America up until his death in 1997, and a three term South Carolina State Representative. After the death of his first wife he married Mary Roscoe Randolph Pelzer Cecil. The second marriage produced no children. He has 10 grandchildren and many great grandchildren.
Life
Born in Charleston, South CarolinaCharleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
into one of Charleston's most prominent and wealthy families, Maybank attended the public schools and graduated from the Porter Military Academy, now the exclusive Porter-Gaud School. He received a degree from the College of Charleston
College of Charleston
The College of Charleston is a public, sea-grant and space-grant university located in historic downtown Charleston, South Carolina, United States...
. He served in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and engaged in the cotton export business from 1920 to 1938.
Although successful in business, Maybank became captivated by public service. A lifelong Democrat, he entered politics for the first time in 1927, when he was elected to a four-year term as alderman in Charleston. He rose to mayor pro tempore in 1930 and, with the support of prominent businessmen in the city, was elected mayor of Charleston in 1931, serving until 1938. As mayor, Maybank brought order to the city's finances and balanced the budget. He cut his own salary from $6,000 to $3,600, reduced taxes, and got federal support for slum clearance, public housing, and unemployment. He was effective in guiding work relief and funds for civic improvements. He used a Works Progress Administration grant to restore the historic Dock Street Theater, and other grants went to such improvements as the city docks and a city incinerator. During this period Maybank was a member of the State Board of Bank Control (1932–1933) and was chairman of the South Carolina Public Service Authority (1935–1939), a state-sponsored power project on the Santee River. This project, known as the "little TVA," successfully controlled floods and provided hydroelectric power for the state. He was a conservative supporter of President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
, favoring public works and job programs. A personal friend of Roosevelt and Harry Hopkins
Harry Hopkins
Harry Lloyd Hopkins was one of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's closest advisers. He was one of the architects of the New Deal, especially the relief programs of the Works Progress Administration , which he directed and built into the largest employer in the country...
, Maybank was an occasional guest at the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, and Roosevelt visited Charleston on several occasions between 1935 and 1940.
In addition, he was a member of the South Carolina State Advisory Board of the Federal Administration of Public Works from 1933 to 1934, and chairman of the South Carolina Public Service Authority from 1934 to 1939. He was also a member of the Board of Bank Control from 1933 to 1934.
With the favorable publicity from the Santee project, a strong political base in Charleston, and support from his mentor, U.S. senator James F. Byrnes
James F. Byrnes
James Francis Byrnes was an American statesman from the state of South Carolina. During his career, Byrnes served as a member of the House of Representatives , as a Senator , as Justice of the Supreme Court , as Secretary of State , and as the 104th Governor of South Carolina...
, Maybank announced his candidacy for governor and destroyed the competition, being elected in 1938. As governor, Maybank tried unsuccessfully to create an adequate state police force, but he did supervise a vigorous prosecution of the criminal element in the state. He strictly enforced liquor and gambling statutes and, in a courageous move, used all his power to fight the revived Ku Klux Klan. He went even further towards his progressive racial thinking by favoring expanded economic opportunities for blacks and tried to improve the quality of black schools in the state.
In January 1941 President Roosevelt appointed Byrnes to the U.S. Supreme Court. Maybank won a special election to fill Byrnes's Senate seat in September 1941, defeating former governor Olin D. Johnston
Olin D. Johnston
Olin DeWitt Talmadge Johnston was a Democratic Party politician from the US state of South Carolina. He served as the 98th Governor of South Carolina, 1935–1939 and 1943–1945, and represented the state in the United States Senate from 1945 until his death in 1965.-Early Life, Military Involvement,...
with 56.6 percent of the vote. In 1942 Maybank was elected to the full six-year term, and in 1948 he was reelected without opposition, and served until his death in 1954.
Maybank was a powerful senator. Maybank served as chairman of the Committee on Banking and Currency and as co-chairman of the Joint Committee on Defense Production. As chair of the Subcommittee on Independent Offices, under the Appropriations Committee, Maybank provided critical support to continue the U.S. nuclear weapons program in the early 1950s. He introduced the "Maybank Amendment" which was tacked on to the 1953 Defense Appropriations Bill. The amendment excuses the Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
from targeting a percentage of his expenditures to high unemployment areas. A much more detailed list of the bills and resolutions that Maybank was a part of is available at this website Burnet Maybank Senatorial Papers. Shortly before his death, he was voted as one of "Fortune Magazine's 20 Most Influential Americans". He was also voted as the "Most Handsome Man in the Senate" twice by his colleagues.
He died of a heart attack at his summer home in Flat Rock, North Carolina
Flat Rock, North Carolina
Flat Rock is the name of some places in the U.S. state of North Carolina:*Flat Rock, Henderson County, North Carolina *Flat Rock, Stokes County, North Carolina...
in 1954, and is interred in Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston. Future Presidents Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
and Lyndon Johnson, along with numerous political dignitaries attended his funeral in Charleston
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
.
Maybank's sudden and untimely death, just two months before Election Day, triggered the chaotic 1954 Senate election in South Carolina
United States Senate election in South Carolina, 1954
The 1954 South Carolina United States Senate election was held on November 2, 1954 to select the next U.S. Senator from the state of South Carolina. Senator Burnet R. Maybank did not face a primary challenge in the summer and was therefore renominated as the Democratic Party's nominee for the...
, in which Strom Thurmond
Strom Thurmond
James Strom Thurmond was an American politician who served as a United States Senator. He also ran for the Presidency of the United States in 1948 as the segregationist States Rights Democratic Party candidate, receiving 2.4% of the popular vote and 39 electoral votes...
won as a write-in candidate
Write-in candidate
A write-in candidate is a candidate in an election whose name does not appear on the ballot, but for whom voters may vote nonetheless by writing in the person's name. Some states and local jurisdictions allow a voter to affix a sticker with a write-in candidate's name on it to the ballot in lieu...
against the nominee chosen by party leaders to replace Maybank.
Maybank is a famous and influential figure in South Carolina, most notably in Charleston. He has many points of interest named for him throughout Charleston and the state. Some notable examples are Maybank Highway, the Burnet Maybank Bridge (over the Wappoo Cut in Charleston), Maybank Hall at the College of Charleston
College of Charleston
The College of Charleston is a public, sea-grant and space-grant university located in historic downtown Charleston, South Carolina, United States...
, and the Burnet R. Maybank Scholarship at the University of South Carolina
University of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...
Law School.
Recent news
Maybank is featured prominently in Step by Step: A Memoir of Hope, Friendship, Perseverance, and Living the American Dream, by African-American author Bertie Bowman. Bowman, who served as a hearing coordinator for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, describes Maybank in his book as having a huge impact on his life by offering him his first job sweeping the Capitol steps in the early 1940s, and taking great care of Bowman (who had no family in Washington). In March 2009 Senator Maybank's granddaughter, Elizabeth Parker, traveled to D.C. to meet with Bowman for the first time. Later in April, the Maybank family met Bowman and his spouse in Charleston.Vice President Joe Biden
Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. is the 47th and current Vice President of the United States, serving under President Barack Obama...
mentioned Maybank at the dedication ceremony for the Ernest Hollings Special Collections Library at the University of South Carolina
University of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...
on July 23, 2010. He said,
"You know, an old governor of yours, Burnet Maybank, once wrote an essay entitled, "Who Is the South Carolinian?" And here's what it said. He said, there's a deal—there is a deal of kindness about him, describing the South Carolinian. He feels favored when asked for personal assistance. A neighborly spirit prompts him to render service with a scorn for remuneration."
Sources
- Dictionary of American Biography
- Cann, Marvin. "Burnet Rhett Maybank and the New Deal in South Carolina from 1931 to 1941." Ph.D. dissertation, University of North Carolina, 1967
- U.S. Congress. Memorial Addresses. 83rd Cong., 2nd sess., 1954. Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
: Government Printing Office, 1955.