George Wallace's 1963 Inaugural Address
Encyclopedia
George Wallace's 1963 Inaugural Address was delivered January 14, 1963, following his election as Governor of Alabama. Wallace at this time in his career was an ardent segregationist, and as Governor he challenged
the attempts of the federal government to enforce laws prohibiting segregation in Alabama's public schools and other institutions. The speech is most famous for the phrase "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever" which became a rallying cry for those opposed to integration and the Civil Rights Movement
. Wallace would later in life apologize for his unabashed racism and segregationist policies.
served as a member of the Alabama House of Representatives
and later as judge in the Third Judicial Circuit Court
. During this time Wallace was known as a moderate on racial issues, and was associated with the progressive, liberal faction of Alabama politics. During the 1958 gubernatorial campaign Wallace spoke out against the Ku Klux Klan
, and although he endorsed segregation his centrist views won him the support of the NAACP. In contrast, his opponent John Patterson
accepted the endorsement of the Ku Klux Klan and made racial issues a major part of his campaign.
Previous Alabama governors had run successfully on moderate platforms similar to the one Wallace adopted in 1958. However the growing civil rights movement, especially the Montgomery Bus Boycott
three years earlier, had left white Alabamans feeling "under siege", and Patterson won the race for governor by a large margin. After his defeat, Wallace determined that in order to be elected governor he would have to change his position on racial issues, telling one of his campaign officials "I was out-niggered by John Patterson. And I'll tell you here and now, I will never be out-niggered again."
During that campaign Wallace blamed integration for increases in crime and unemployment, as well as racial disturbances in other states. Asa Carter
, founder of a local Ku Klux Klan organization, was hired as a speechwriter for Wallace's campaign. Carter became a key member of Wallace's staff, resulting in "a new, fiery, hard-hitting style of campaigning". Due to his connection to acts of racial violence, Carter was kept in the background during the campaign; however his speeches proved to be popular among Wallace supporters. Wallace's racial politicking and support of segregation resonated with Alabama voters and in 1962 he was elected governor, receiving more votes than any previous Alabama gubernatorial candidate.
After his election, Wallace wanted to make it clear he intended to keep his campaign promise to fight against integration. Carter spent several weeks writing the inaugural address, and on January 14, 1963 after taking the oath of office Wallace delivered it from the portico of the Alabama State Capitol
. This was the exact place where Jefferson Davis
had been sworn in as the President of the Confederate States of America
, a fact which was pointedly noted in the speech.
During the speech Wallace declared:
Both Carter and Wallace realized that would be the phrase for which his speech would be remembered. The "tyranny" Wallace referred to was his way of characterizing the federal government's attempts at integration in Alabama. This was one of the central themes of his speech—that by implementing desegregation laws and policies the federal government was oppressing the people of Alabama and depriving them of their rights. During his term as governor, Wallace would receive national attention as he continued to frame segregation as a states' rights
issue, and integration as something imposed upon the South by the federal government.
The speech also presented the case that racial differences were similar to political or religious differences. Wallace argued that people had "racial or cultural freedom" which gave them the right to live in a culture of segregation, in the same way they had freedom to choose their political party and religious denomination. The "great freedom of our American founding fathers," Wallace claimed, was that "each race, within its own framework has the freedom to teach, to instruct, to develop, to ask for and receive deserved help from others of separate racial stations."
, Time Magazine, and Newsweek
all covered Wallace's speech. Wallace's national profile would continue to grow during his first year in office, and in the fall of 1963 he capitalized on his prominence by announcing his candidacy for U.S. President.
Although popular with his supporters, the sentiments expressed in Wallace's inaugural address drew criticism from proponents of civil rights
as well as those who viewed direct opposition to the federal government as a strategy that was unlikely to be successful. Richmond Flowers, Alabama's newly elected Attorney General, warned that to disobey federal orders "can only bring disgrace upon our state". Business leaders worried that politicians were creating a national image of Alabama as a place of "reaction, rebellion and riots, of bigotry, bias and backwardness".
Many who supported desegregation saw Wallace's speech as "indefensibly racist and demagogic". Civil rights leader John Lewis later recalled that upon hearing the inaugural address "That day, my heart sank. I knew his defense of 'states' rights' was really a defense of the status quo in Alabama." Civil rights demonstrators marching in Alabama later that year showed their opposition to Wallace and his policies of segregation by chanting "Ol’ Wallace, you never can jail us all. Ol’ Wallace, segregation is bound to fall."
Martin Luther King, Jr.
responded to Wallace's inaugural address by a series of speeches. In the first three months of 1963 he traveled to 16 different cities, speaking about the need to take action against the injustices of segregation. Later that year King gave his historic I Have A Dream
speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial
. The only person identified in that speech is Wallace:
King's vision of a positive future was a sharp contrast from Wallace's demand to prolong the discrimination which had long prevented many Americans from exercising their civil rights. King portrayed segregation and its supporting rationale of states' right as relics of the past which would not exist in America's future. This view was reinforced in 1965 when King delivered a speech in front of the Alabama State Capitol in which he directly replied to Wallace's call for continued segregation, saying he believed "segregation is on its death bed in Alabama, and the only thing uncertain about it is how costly Wallace and the segregationists will make the funeral."
Regardless of his feelings at the time, the sentiments expressed in his inaugural address were blamed for creating "a climate that allowed for violent reprisals against those seeking to end racial discrimination." Wallace's defiant endorsement of segregation proved to be his most memorable piece of political rhetoric and demonstrated the fierce opposition facing the Civil Rights Movement.
Stand in the Schoolhouse Door
The Stand in the Schoolhouse Door took place at Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama on June 11, 1963. George Wallace, the Governor of Alabama, in a symbolic attempt to keep his inaugural promise of "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever" and stop the desegregation of...
the attempts of the federal government to enforce laws prohibiting segregation in Alabama's public schools and other institutions. The speech is most famous for the phrase "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever" which became a rallying cry for those opposed to integration and the Civil Rights Movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
. Wallace would later in life apologize for his unabashed racism and segregationist policies.
Background
Prior to his first campaign for governor in 1958, George WallaceGeorge Wallace
George Corley Wallace, Jr. was the 45th Governor of Alabama, serving four terms: 1963–1967, 1971–1979 and 1983–1987. "The most influential loser" in 20th-century U.S. politics, according to biographers Dan T. Carter and Stephan Lesher, he ran for U.S...
served as a member of the Alabama House of Representatives
Alabama House of Representatives
The Alabama House of Representatives is the lower house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alabama. The House is composed of 105 members representing an equal amount of districts, with each constituency containing at least 42,380 citizens. There are no term...
and later as judge in the Third Judicial Circuit Court
Circuit court
Circuit court is the name of court systems in several common law jurisdictions.-History:King Henry II instituted the custom of having judges ride around the countryside each year to hear appeals, rather than forcing everyone to bring their appeals to London...
. During this time Wallace was known as a moderate on racial issues, and was associated with the progressive, liberal faction of Alabama politics. During the 1958 gubernatorial campaign Wallace spoke out against the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
, and although he endorsed segregation his centrist views won him the support of the NAACP. In contrast, his opponent John Patterson
John Malcolm Patterson
John Malcolm Patterson is an American politician who was the 44th Governor of Alabama, from 1959 to 1963. Previously he served as State Attorney General ....
accepted the endorsement of the Ku Klux Klan and made racial issues a major part of his campaign.
Previous Alabama governors had run successfully on moderate platforms similar to the one Wallace adopted in 1958. However the growing civil rights movement, especially the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a political and social protest campaign that started in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, USA, intended to oppose the city's policy of racial segregation on its public transit system. Many important figures in the civil rights movement were involved in the boycott,...
three years earlier, had left white Alabamans feeling "under siege", and Patterson won the race for governor by a large margin. After his defeat, Wallace determined that in order to be elected governor he would have to change his position on racial issues, telling one of his campaign officials "I was out-niggered by John Patterson. And I'll tell you here and now, I will never be out-niggered again."
1962–63 Campaign and Inaugural Address
Wallace's new stance on racial issues became apparent in 1959, when he was the only local circuit court judge who refused to turn over voting records to a federal commission investigating discrimination against black voters. Threatened with jail, Wallace eventually complied and released the registration documents; however his defiance earned him notoriety and signaled his new political position. Opposition to black voter registration efforts would become a part of his platform when Wallace ran for governor in 1962.During that campaign Wallace blamed integration for increases in crime and unemployment, as well as racial disturbances in other states. Asa Carter
Asa Earl Carter
Asa Earl Carter was an American political speechwriter and author. He was most notable for publishing novels and a best-selling, award-winning memoir under the name Forrest Carter, an identity as a Native American Cherokee...
, founder of a local Ku Klux Klan organization, was hired as a speechwriter for Wallace's campaign. Carter became a key member of Wallace's staff, resulting in "a new, fiery, hard-hitting style of campaigning". Due to his connection to acts of racial violence, Carter was kept in the background during the campaign; however his speeches proved to be popular among Wallace supporters. Wallace's racial politicking and support of segregation resonated with Alabama voters and in 1962 he was elected governor, receiving more votes than any previous Alabama gubernatorial candidate.
After his election, Wallace wanted to make it clear he intended to keep his campaign promise to fight against integration. Carter spent several weeks writing the inaugural address, and on January 14, 1963 after taking the oath of office Wallace delivered it from the portico of the Alabama State Capitol
Alabama State Capitol
The Alabama State Capitol, also known as the First Confederate Capitol, is the state capitol building for Alabama. It is located on Capitol Hill, originally Goat Hill, in Montgomery. It was declared a National Historic Landmark on December 19, 1960....
. This was the exact place where Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis...
had been sworn in as the President of the Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
, a fact which was pointedly noted in the speech.
During the speech Wallace declared:
Both Carter and Wallace realized that would be the phrase for which his speech would be remembered. The "tyranny" Wallace referred to was his way of characterizing the federal government's attempts at integration in Alabama. This was one of the central themes of his speech—that by implementing desegregation laws and policies the federal government was oppressing the people of Alabama and depriving them of their rights. During his term as governor, Wallace would receive national attention as he continued to frame segregation as a states' rights
States' rights
States' rights in U.S. politics refers to political powers reserved for the U.S. state governments rather than the federal government. It is often considered a loaded term because of its use in opposition to federally mandated racial desegregation...
issue, and integration as something imposed upon the South by the federal government.
The speech also presented the case that racial differences were similar to political or religious differences. Wallace argued that people had "racial or cultural freedom" which gave them the right to live in a culture of segregation, in the same way they had freedom to choose their political party and religious denomination. The "great freedom of our American founding fathers," Wallace claimed, was that "each race, within its own framework has the freedom to teach, to instruct, to develop, to ask for and receive deserved help from others of separate racial stations."
Reactions
The racially charged rhetoric in his inaugural address secured Wallace's base of support in Alabama. It also gave him national headlines; The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Time Magazine, and Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
all covered Wallace's speech. Wallace's national profile would continue to grow during his first year in office, and in the fall of 1963 he capitalized on his prominence by announcing his candidacy for U.S. President.
Although popular with his supporters, the sentiments expressed in Wallace's inaugural address drew criticism from proponents of civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
as well as those who viewed direct opposition to the federal government as a strategy that was unlikely to be successful. Richmond Flowers, Alabama's newly elected Attorney General, warned that to disobey federal orders "can only bring disgrace upon our state". Business leaders worried that politicians were creating a national image of Alabama as a place of "reaction, rebellion and riots, of bigotry, bias and backwardness".
Many who supported desegregation saw Wallace's speech as "indefensibly racist and demagogic". Civil rights leader John Lewis later recalled that upon hearing the inaugural address "That day, my heart sank. I knew his defense of 'states' rights' was really a defense of the status quo in Alabama." Civil rights demonstrators marching in Alabama later that year showed their opposition to Wallace and his policies of segregation by chanting "Ol’ Wallace, you never can jail us all. Ol’ Wallace, segregation is bound to fall."
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
responded to Wallace's inaugural address by a series of speeches. In the first three months of 1963 he traveled to 16 different cities, speaking about the need to take action against the injustices of segregation. Later that year King gave his historic I Have A Dream
I Have a Dream
"I Have a Dream" is a 17-minute public speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered on August 28, 1963, in which he called for racial equality and an end to discrimination...
speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial
Lincoln Memorial
The Lincoln Memorial is an American memorial built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The architect was Henry Bacon, the sculptor of the main statue was Daniel Chester French, and the painter of the interior...
. The only person identified in that speech is Wallace:
King's vision of a positive future was a sharp contrast from Wallace's demand to prolong the discrimination which had long prevented many Americans from exercising their civil rights. King portrayed segregation and its supporting rationale of states' right as relics of the past which would not exist in America's future. This view was reinforced in 1965 when King delivered a speech in front of the Alabama State Capitol in which he directly replied to Wallace's call for continued segregation, saying he believed "segregation is on its death bed in Alabama, and the only thing uncertain about it is how costly Wallace and the segregationists will make the funeral."
Legacy
Journalist Bob Ingram recalls that when Wallace first saw the "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever" line which Carter had written for his inaugural address, Wallace was pleased, saying "I like that line. I like it, and I’m going to use it." However, later in life Wallace changed his views on segregation and came to regret his famous phrase, calling it his "biggest mistake".Regardless of his feelings at the time, the sentiments expressed in his inaugural address were blamed for creating "a climate that allowed for violent reprisals against those seeking to end racial discrimination." Wallace's defiant endorsement of segregation proved to be his most memorable piece of political rhetoric and demonstrated the fierce opposition facing the Civil Rights Movement.