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|death_place=Brunswick, [[Georgia]]
|death_place=Brunswick, [[Georgia]]
|death_date=April 5, 1991
|death_date=April 5, 1991
|resting_place=Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery in [[Dallas]], Texas
|spouse=(1) Joza "Lou" Bullington Tower (married 1952-1976, divorced)<br>
|spouse=(1) Joza "Lou" Bullington Tower (married 1952-1976, divorced)<br>
(2) Lila Burt Cummings Tower (married 1977-1986, divorced)
(2) Lila Burt Cummings Tower (married 1977-1986, divorced)
|succeeded=[[Phil Gramm]]
|succeeded=[[Phil Gramm]]
}}
}}
'''John Goodwin Tower''' (September 29, 1925 – April 5, 1991) was the first [[Republican Party|Republican]] elected by popular vote to represent any state of the former [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]] in the [[United States Senate]] since [[Reconstruction]]. He represented his native [[Texas]] in the upper legislative chamber from 1961 to 1985.
'''John Goodwin Tower''' (September 29, 1925 – April 5, 1991) was the first [[Republican Party|Republican]] elected to the [[United States Senate]] from his native [[Texas]] since the era of [[Reconstruction]]. He is also the first member of his party to represent by popular election any state of the former [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]] in the Senate. He held his Senate position from 1961 to 1985.
==Background==
==Background==
By virtue of their primary defeat, the Texas Ford supporters were shut out of the national convention in Kansas City. Angelo recalls Tower as having "begged" for a delegate slot because he was a U.S. senator and was supposed to be the Ford floor leader at the convention. Angelo said that Tower could have been a delegate if he were to support Reagan, an impossible stipulation. Tower hence was not a delegate to the 1976 convention because Angelo was mindful that a close convention showdown could have been decided by a handful of delegate votes. Angelo said that he always personally liked and admired Tower though they disagreed on some issues: "John was the best extemporaneous speaker and solid as a rock on most issues." Tower had campaigned for Angelo in the latter's unsuccessful race in 1968 for the Texas State Senate. As time passed though, Tower alienated the conservative wing of his party with his support for legalized [[abortion]] and opposition to Reagan's [[Strategic Defense Initiative]].<ref>Hathorn, "Mayor Ernest Angelo", pg. 86.</ref> Barbara Staff, the Reagan co-chairman for Dallas County and North Texas, recalls that Tower spent much of his time at the convention with the closely divided [[Mississippi]] delegation and did not address the phalanx of Reagan backers in his own state's delegation. Among the Reagan backers was Betty Andujar of Fort Worth, the first Republican woman to serve in the State Senate.<ref>"Convention Notes: No love lost between Texans, [[Betty Ford]]", ''Dallas Morning News'', August 19, 1976, pg. 6A.</ref>
By virtue of their primary defeat, the Texas Ford supporters were shut out of the national convention in Kansas City. Angelo recalls Tower as having "begged" for a delegate slot because he was a U.S. senator and was supposed to be the Ford floor leader at the convention. Angelo said that Tower could have been a delegate if he were to support Reagan, an impossible stipulation. Tower hence was not a delegate to the 1976 convention because Angelo was mindful that a close convention showdown could have been decided by a handful of delegate votes. Angelo said that he always personally liked and admired Tower though they disagreed on some issues: "John was the best extemporaneous speaker and solid as a rock on most issues." Tower had campaigned for Angelo in the latter's unsuccessful race in 1968 for the Texas State Senate. As time passed though, Tower alienated the conservative wing of his party with his support for legalized [[abortion]] and opposition to Reagan's [[Strategic Defense Initiative]].<ref>Hathorn, "Mayor Ernest Angelo", pg. 86.</ref> Barbara Staff, the Reagan co-chairman for Dallas County and North Texas, recalls that Tower spent much of his time at the convention with the closely divided [[Mississippi]] delegation and did not address the phalanx of Reagan backers in his own state's delegation. Among the Reagan backers was Betty Andujar of Fort Worth, the first Republican woman to serve in the State Senate.<ref>"Convention Notes: No love lost between Texans, [[Betty Ford]]", ''Dallas Morning News'', August 19, 1976, pg. 6A.</ref>
In his last four years in the Senate, Tower headed the [[Senate Foreign Relations Committee]], considered the most significant of all congressional committee chairmanships.
After he left the Senate, Tower was chief negotiator of the [[Strategic Arms Reduction Talks]] with the former [[Soviet Union]] and led the Tower Commission, which issued a report highly critical of the Reagan administration's relations with the [[Contras]] and [[Iran]]. In 1989, incoming President [[George H. W. Bush]] chose Tower as his nominee for [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]], but his nomination was rejected by the Senate after charges of drinking and womanizing surfaced. The opposition of [[Sam Nunn]], the [[Georgia]] senator, solidified the Democrats against the nomination. After this defeat, Tower chaired the [[President's Intelligence Advisory Board]].
After he left the Senate, Tower was chief negotiator of the [[Strategic Arms Reduction Talks]] with the former [[Soviet Union]] and led the Tower Commission, which issued a report highly critical of the Reagan administration's relations with the [[Contras]] and [[Iran]]. In 1989, incoming President [[George H. W. Bush]] chose Tower as his nominee for [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]], but his nomination was rejected by the Senate after charges of drinking and womanizing surfaced. The opposition of [[Sam Nunn]], the [[Georgia]] senator, solidified the Democrats against the nomination. After this defeat, Tower chaired the [[President's Intelligence Advisory Board]].