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Brynes was a confidant of [[Franklin Roosevelt]]; he resigned from the Court to become director of the Office of War Mobilization in 1943 and later [[Secretary of State]] under [[President Truman]]. Byrnes was involved in the decision to drop a [[nuclear bomb]] on [[Hiroshima]].

Brynes was a confidant of [[Franklin Roosevelt]]; he resigned from the Court to become director of the Office of War Mobilization in 1943 and later [[Secretary of State]] under [[President Truman]]. Byrnes was involved in the decision to drop a [[nuclear bomb]] on [[Hiroshima]].

Byrnes was an influential South Carolina politician and avowed [[segregation]]ist who held high-level positions in state and federal government for more than four decades. As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate for more than two decades, Byrnes personally blocked a Senate investigation of a South Carolina [[lynching]] and opposed [[Republican]] anti-lynching legislation, insisting that "[[rape]] is responsible, directly and indirectly, for most of the lynching in America."<ref name=eji>[https://segregationinamerica.eji.org/report/segregation-forever-leaders.html “Segregation Forever”: Leaders of White Supremacy]. ''Equal Justice Initiative''.</ref> In 1935, he joined the Southern Democratic filibuster against the [[Costigan–Wagner Act]] (also known as the [[Anti-Lynching Bill of 1935]]),<ref>Greenbaum, Fred (1967). [https://archive.org/details/sim_journal-of-human-relations_third-quarter-1967_15_3 "The Anti-Lynching Bill of 1935: The Irony of "Equal Justice—Under Law"]," p. 79–82. Internet Archive. Retrieved December 3, 2022.</ref> and opposed the subsequent [[Wagner–Van Nuys Act]].<ref>Fleegler, Robert L. [https://web.archive.org/web/20220310171829/https://www.mississippihistory.org/sites/default/files/bilbo.pdf Theodore G. Bilbo and the Decline of Public Racism, 1938–1947]. pp. 8–9. ''Internet Archive''. Retrieved May 24, 2023.</ref>

Byrnes was an influential South Carolina politician and avowed [[segregation]]ist who held high-level positions in state and federal government for more than four decades. As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate for more than two decades, Byrnes personally blocked a Senate investigation of a South Carolina [[lynching]] and opposed [[Republican]] anti-lynching legislation in 1922 (the Dyer Bill) as a congressman,<ref>Waldrep, Christopher (2008). [https://www.google.com/books/edition/African_Americans_Confront_Lynching/1e_mbgRmaGAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=james+byrnes+dyer+bill&pg=PA74&printsec=frontcover African Americans Confront Lynching: Strategies of Resistance from the Civil War to the Civil Rights Era], p. 74. ''Google Books''. Retrieved May 24, 2023.</ref> insisting that "[[rape]] is responsible, directly and indirectly, for most of the lynching in America."<ref name=eji>[https://segregationinamerica.eji.org/report/segregation-forever-leaders.html “Segregation Forever”: Leaders of White Supremacy]. ''Equal Justice Initiative''.</ref> In 1935, he joined the Southern Democratic filibuster against the [[Costigan–Wagner Act]] (also known as the [[Anti-Lynching Bill of 1935]]),<ref>Greenbaum, Fred (1967). [https://archive.org/details/sim_journal-of-human-relations_third-quarter-1967_15_3 "The Anti-Lynching Bill of 1935: The Irony of "Equal Justice—Under Law"]," p. 79–82. Internet Archive. Retrieved December 3, 2022.</ref> and opposed the subsequent [[Wagner–Van Nuys Act]].<ref>Fleegler, Robert L. [https://web.archive.org/web/20220310171829/https://www.mississippihistory.org/sites/default/files/bilbo.pdf Theodore G. Bilbo and the Decline of Public Racism, 1938–1947]. pp. 8–9. ''Internet Archive''. Retrieved May 24, 2023.</ref>

When Byrnes was nominated to the Supreme Court in 1941, the [[NAACP]] opposed his confirmation in a telegram to the [[White House]]: “If Senator Byrnes at any time in his long public career failed to take a position inimical to the human and citizenship rights of 13 million American Negro citizens, close scrutiny of his record fails to reveal it.” Byrnes was confirmed to the Court, and later held the office of Secretary of State under President [[Harry Truman]].<ref name=eji/>

When Byrnes was nominated to the Supreme Court in 1941, the [[NAACP]] opposed his confirmation in a telegram to the [[White House]]: “If Senator Byrnes at any time in his long public career failed to take a position inimical to the human and citizenship rights of 13 million American Negro citizens, close scrutiny of his record fails to reveal it.” Byrnes was confirmed to the Court, and later held the office of Secretary of State under President [[Harry Truman]].<ref name=eji/>