Difference between revisions of "Ralph Yarborough"
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| − | '''Ralph Webster Yarborough''' (June 8, 1903 – January 27, 1996) was a [[Democrat]] [[politician]] who represented his native [[Texas]] in the [[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}} | + | '''Ralph Webster Yarborough''' (June 8, 1903 – January 27, 1996) was a [[Democrat]] [[politician]] who represented his native [[Texas]] in the [[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> |
==Early life and career== | ==Early life and career== | ||
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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. 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]] 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'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 of the United States|Vice President]]. And it was Governor Price Daniel who appointed Blakely as interim senator in both 1957 and 1961. | + | 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 of the United States|Vice President]]. And it was Governor Price Daniel who appointed Blakely as interim senator in both 1957 and 1961. |
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| + | ===Civil Rights Act of 1964=== | ||
| + | Some [[progressive]] historians who promote the [[U.S. "Party-switch" myth]] try to cite Yarborough's vote for the 1964 Civil Rights Act to prove that the parties re-aligned in the 60s, claiming he was a supposed "rare liberal Democrat" from the South as well as his fellow Texas senator [[John Tower]]'s opposition to the Act.<ref>https://twitter.com/KevinMKruse/status/1384151554169532416</ref> This ignores the fact that after the final Senate passage, Yarborough voted ''for'' an amendment by [[Albert Gore, Sr.]] which sought to significantly weaken the legislation.<ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/88-1964/s408 HR. 7152. GORE MOTION TO RECOMMIT TO THE JUDICIARY COMM. W/INSTRUCTIONS THAT IT REPORT IT BACK "FORTHWITH" W/THE AMEND. STATING THAT FEDERAL FUNDS SHOULD NOT BE W/DRAWN FROM ANY SCHOOL DISTRICT UNLESS THAT DISTRICT HAD DISOBEYED A COURT ORDER THAT IS DESEGREGATE. ]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved February 12, 2021.</ref> Furthermore, the then-conservative Tower (who later became a [[Moderate Republican]] in the 1980s) voted against the amendment. | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 03:22, May 25, 2021
| 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 the |
| Religion | Baptist |
Military Service
| |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/branch | United States Army |
| Rank | Lieutenant Colonel |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Ralph Webster Yarborough (June 8, 1903 – January 27, 1996) was a Democrat politician who represented his native Texas in the 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]
Early life and career
Ralph Webster Yarborough was born in Chandler, Texas to Charles Richard Yarborough and Nannie Jane Spear. He attended local public schools and later the United States Military Academy, though dropped out from the latter in 1919 to become a teacher. He graduated in 1927 from the University of Texas Law School and proceeded to practice law in El Paso.
Political career
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.
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Some progressive historians who promote the U.S. "Party-switch" myth try to cite Yarborough's vote for the 1964 Civil Rights Act to prove that the parties re-aligned in the 60s, claiming he was a supposed "rare liberal Democrat" from the South as well as his fellow Texas senator John Tower's opposition to the Act.[2] This ignores the fact that after the final Senate passage, Yarborough voted for an amendment by Albert Gore, Sr. which sought to significantly weaken the legislation.[3] Furthermore, the then-conservative Tower (who later became a Moderate Republican in the 1980s) voted against the amendment.
References
- ↑ Stephen Labaton (January 28, 1996). Ralph Yarborough Dies at 92; Cast Historic Civil Rights Vote. New York Times. Retrieved on August 31, 2019.
- ↑ https://twitter.com/KevinMKruse/status/1384151554169532416
- ↑ HR. 7152. GORE MOTION TO RECOMMIT TO THE JUDICIARY COMM. W/INSTRUCTIONS THAT IT REPORT IT BACK "FORTHWITH" W/THE AMEND. STATING THAT FEDERAL FUNDS SHOULD NOT BE W/DRAWN FROM ANY SCHOOL DISTRICT UNLESS THAT DISTRICT HAD DISOBEYED A COURT ORDER THAT IS DESEGREGATE. . GovTrack.us. Retrieved February 12, 2021.