Difference between revisions of "Ralph Yarborough"
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| − | '''Ralph Webster Yarborough''' (June 8, 1903 – January 27, 1996) was a [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] [[politician]] who represented his native [[Texas]] in [[United States Senate]] from 1957 to 1971. He was a leader of the [[progressive]] wing of his party and the only white Southern senator to vote for all civil rights bills from 1957 to 1970, including the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] and the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Ralph Yarborough Dies at 92; Cast Historic Civil Rights Vote|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/01/28/us/ralph-yarborough-dies-at-92-cast-historic-civil-rights-vote.html|title=Ralph Yarborough | + | '''Ralph Webster Yarborough''' (June 8, 1903 – January 27, 1996) was a [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] [[politician]] who represented his native [[Texas]] in [[United States Senate]] from 1957 to 1971. He was a leader of the [[progressive]] wing of his party and the only white Southern senator to vote for all civil rights bills from 1957 to 1970, including the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] and the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Ralph Yarborough Dies at 92; Cast Historic Civil Rights Vote|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/01/28/us/ralph-yarborough-dies-at-92-cast-historic-civil-rights-vote.html|title=Ralph Yarborough Dies at 92; Cast Historic Civil Rights Vote|publisher=''[[New York Times]]''|accessdate=August 31, 2019|author=Stephen Labaton|date=January 28, 1996}}</ref> |
Yarborough won his Senate seat in 1957, after Senator Price Daniel, Sr. (1910-1988), left the Senate to be inaugurated as governor. He defeated a [[conservative]], William Arvis "Dollar Bill" Blakley (1898-1976) in the [[special election]]. A few months earlier, Yarborough had lost the 1956 gubernatorial [[primary]] runoff to Daniel. Then, he won the first of his two full terms in the upper legislative body in 1958, when he handily defeated the [[Republican Party|Republican]] publisher [[Roy Whittenburg]] of [[Amarillo]] in the [[general election]]. In 1964, Yarborough defeated conservative broadcaster Gordon McLendon in the [[primary]] that year and then topped [[George Herbert Walker Bush]] to claim his second full Senate term. Yarborough was close to [[U.S. President]]s [[John F. Kennedy]] and then [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]. In 1970, however, Yarborough, who had become a critic of the [[Vietnam War]], lost re-nomination to former [[U.S. Representative]] [[Lloyd Bentsen]] of [[Houston, Texas|Houston]] and, earlier, McAllen. Bentsen then topped Bush, making his second consecutive unsuccessful run for the Senate, in the general election held mid-term in the administration of President [[Richard M. Nixon]]. Bentsen vacated the seat in 1993 to become [[United States Secretary of the Treasury]] under President [[Bill Clinton]]. | Yarborough won his Senate seat in 1957, after Senator Price Daniel, Sr. (1910-1988), left the Senate to be inaugurated as governor. He defeated a [[conservative]], William Arvis "Dollar Bill" Blakley (1898-1976) in the [[special election]]. A few months earlier, Yarborough had lost the 1956 gubernatorial [[primary]] runoff to Daniel. Then, he won the first of his two full terms in the upper legislative body in 1958, when he handily defeated the [[Republican Party|Republican]] publisher [[Roy Whittenburg]] of [[Amarillo]] in the [[general election]]. In 1964, Yarborough defeated conservative broadcaster Gordon McLendon in the [[primary]] that year and then topped [[George Herbert Walker Bush]] to claim his second full Senate term. Yarborough was close to [[U.S. President]]s [[John F. Kennedy]] and then [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]. In 1970, however, Yarborough, who had become a critic of the [[Vietnam War]], lost re-nomination to former [[U.S. Representative]] [[Lloyd Bentsen]] of [[Houston, Texas|Houston]] and, earlier, McAllen. Bentsen then topped Bush, making his second consecutive unsuccessful run for the Senate, in the general election held mid-term in the administration of President [[Richard M. Nixon]]. Bentsen vacated the seat in 1993 to become [[United States Secretary of the Treasury]] under President [[Bill Clinton]]. | ||
Revision as of 16:39, August 31, 2019
| Ralph Webster Yarborough | |
| In office April 29, 1957 – January 3, 1971 | |
| Preceded by | William Arvis "Dollar Bill" Blakley |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Lloyd Bentsen |
| Born | June 8, 1903 Chandler, Henderson County Texas, USA. |
| Died | January 27, 1996 (aged 92) Austin, Texas |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Democrat |
| Spouse(s) | Opal Catherine Warren Yarborough (1903-2002) |
| Children | Richard Warren Yarborough (born c. 1931) |
| Alma mater | Sam Houston State Teachers College University of Texas School of Law |
| Occupation | Attorney Lieutenant colonel in United States Army in World War II |
| Religion | Baptist |
Ralph Webster Yarborough (June 8, 1903 – January 27, 1996) was a Democratic politician who represented his native Texas in United States Senate from 1957 to 1971. He was a leader of the progressive wing of his party and the only white Southern senator to vote for all civil rights bills from 1957 to 1970, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.[1]
Yarborough won his Senate seat in 1957, after Senator Price Daniel, Sr. (1910-1988), left the Senate to be inaugurated as governor. He defeated a conservative, William Arvis "Dollar Bill" Blakley (1898-1976) in the special election. A few months earlier, Yarborough had lost the 1956 gubernatorial primary runoff to Daniel. Then, he won the first of his two full terms in the upper legislative body in 1958, when he handily defeated the Republican publisher Roy Whittenburg of Amarillo in the general election. In 1964, Yarborough defeated conservative broadcaster Gordon McLendon in the primary that year and then topped George Herbert Walker Bush to claim his second full Senate term. Yarborough was close to U.S. Presidents John F. Kennedy and then Lyndon B. Johnson. In 1970, however, Yarborough, who had become a critic of the Vietnam War, lost re-nomination to former U.S. Representative Lloyd Bentsen of Houston and, earlier, McAllen. Bentsen then topped Bush, making his second consecutive unsuccessful run for the Senate, in the general election held mid-term in the administration of President Richard M. Nixon. Bentsen vacated the seat in 1993 to become United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Bill Clinton.
Yarborough's fellow senator from 1961 to 1971 was the Moderate Republican John Tower, initially elected as a strong conservative in the 1961 special Senate election. Coincidentally, Tower had defeated by some ten thousand votes William Blakely, the six-month interim senator who succeeded Lyndon Johnson, who then became Vice President. And it was Governor Price Daniel who appointed Blakely as interim senator in both 1957 and 1961.
References
- ↑ Stephen Labaton (January 28, 1996). Ralph Yarborough Dies at 92; Cast Historic Civil Rights Vote. New York Times. Retrieved on August 31, 2019.