Changes

{{Officeholder/senator

{{Officeholder/senator

|state=Mississippi

|state=Mississippi

|terms=January 3, 1935 – January 1, 1947

|terms=January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1947

|preceded=Hubert D. Stephens

|preceded=Hubert D. Stephens

|status=f

|status=f

}}

}}

'''Theodore Gilmore Bilbo''' (October 13, 1877 – August 21, 1947) was a [[Democrat]] [[Senator]] and [[Klansman]] from [[Mississippi]].  Bilbo served as a governor of Mississippi from 1916 to 1920 and 1928 to 1932, and as a U.S. senator from 1935 to 1947. A towering figure among [[white supremacist]] and [[segregation]]ist politicians, Bilbo praised [[Nazi]] racial philosophy and was famous for his extreme and inflammatory rhetoric. In a 1938 filibuster against anti-[[lynching]] legislation, Bilbo said on the [[Senate]] floor that the bill would “open the floodgates of [[hell]] in [[the South]]” by encouraging [[Black]] men to rape white women.

'''Theodore Gilmore Bilbo''' (October 13, 1877 – August 21, 1947) was a [[Democrat]] [[Senator]] and [[Klansman]] from [[Mississippi]].  Bilbo served as a governor of Mississippi from 1916 to 1920 and 1928 to 1932, and as a U.S. senator from 1935 to 1947. A towering figure among [[white supremacist]] and [[segregation]]ist politicians, Bilbo praised [[Nazi]] racial philosophy and was famous for his extreme and inflammatory rhetoric.  Bilbo faced three primary challengers running for a third term. In a stump speech Bilbo said, “I’m calling on every red-blooded American who believes in the superiority and integrity of the white race to get out and see that no n***** votes.”  In true Democrat tradition, Bilbo won the rigged primary election with 51% of the vote.  In the general election of 1946 the Republicans won back control of the Senate for the first time in 14 years. The new GOP Senate refused to seat Bilbo. He died 7 months later.<ref>http://www.mississippihistory.org/sites/default/files/bilbo.pdf</ref>

While governor of Mississippi, Bilbo instituted a statewide [[sales tax]]{{fact}} and caused the state to become bankrupt after failing to negotiate a tax bill with the legislature.

While governor of Mississippi, Bilbo instituted a statewide [[sales tax]]{{fact}} and caused the state to become bankrupt after failing to negotiate a tax bill with the legislature.

Bilbo was a leader among other [[racist]] Democrats, such as the [[Exalted Cyclops]] [[Robert Byrd]] and [[President]] [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]], the latter of which called him "a real friend of [[liberal]] [[government]]."<ref>[https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/new-deal-democrats-republican-party/ New Deal . . . Conservatives?] ''National Review''. Retrieved September 14th, 2020.</ref> He claimed himself to be "100 percent for Roosevelt...and the [[New Deal]]."<ref>[https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/04/a-history-of-liberal-white-racism-cont/275129/ A History of Liberal White Racism, Cont.] ''The Atlantic''. Retrieved September 14th, 2020.</ref>

Bilbo was a leader among other [[racist]] Democrats, such as the [[Exalted Cyclops]] [[Robert Byrd]] and [[President]] [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]], the latter of which called him "a real friend of [[liberal]] [[government]]."<ref>[https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/new-deal-democrats-republican-party/ New Deal . . . Conservatives?] ''National Review''. Retrieved September 14th, 2020.</ref> He claimed himself to be "100 percent for Roosevelt...and the [[New Deal]]."<ref>[https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/04/a-history-of-liberal-white-racism-cont/275129/ A History of Liberal White Racism, Cont.] ''The Atlantic''. Retrieved September 14th, 2020.</ref> In a 1938 filibuster against anti-[[lynching]] legislation, Bilbo said on the [[Senate]] floor that the bill would “open the floodgates of [[hell]] in [[the South]]” by encouraging [[Black]] men to rape white women.

In his book When ''Jim Crow Met John Bull'',  Graham Smith referred to a letter Bilbo received from the Exalted Cyclops Robert Byrd when on the 1945 controversy raging over the idea of racially integrating the military.  

In his book When ''Jim Crow Met John Bull'',  Graham Smith referred to a letter Bilbo received from the Exalted Cyclops Robert Byrd when on the 1945 controversy raging over the idea of racially integrating the military.