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'''Theodore Gilmore Bilbo''' (October 13, 1877 – August 21, 1947) was a [[Democrat]]ic [[Klansman]] from [[Mississippi]] who served as a governor of the state from 1916 to 1920 and 1928 to 1932, and as a U.S. senator from 1935 to 1947. A towering ''de facto'' leader among [[white supremacist]] circles, he was infamous for praising [[Nazi]] racial philosophy and known for extreme inflammatory rhetoric. Bilbo faced three primary challengers running for a third term and told a group of supporters, “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 Democratic tradition, Bilbo won the rigged primary election with 51% in a four way contest.  The Republicans won back control of the Senate that year in 1946 and refused to seat Bilbo as his comments about Democrat [[voter suppression]] to rig the election became more widely known. He died 7 months later, unable to take his seat, while the Senate was still investigating.<ref name=pdf>[http://www.mississippihistory.org/sites/default/files/bilbo.pdf Bilbo#1 - bilbo.pdf]. ''Theodore G. Bilbo and the Decline of Public Racism, 1938-1947''.</ref>

'''Theodore Gilmore Bilbo''' (October 13, 1877 – August 21, 1947) was a [[Democrat]]ic [[Klansman]] from [[Mississippi]] who served as a governor of the state from 1916 to 1920 and 1928 to 1932, and as a U.S. senator from 1935 to 1947. A towering ''de facto'' leader among [[white supremacist]] circles, he was infamous for praising [[Nazi]] racial philosophy and known for extreme inflammatory rhetoric. Bilbo faced three primary challengers running for a third term and told a group of supporters, “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 Democratic tradition, Bilbo won the rigged primary election with 51% in a four way contest.  The Republicans won back control of the Senate that year in 1946 and refused to seat Bilbo as his comments about Democrat [[voter suppression]] to rig the election became more widely known. He died 7 months later, unable to take his seat, while the Senate was still investigating.

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.

{{Cquote|Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds.}} He had earlier written Bilbo:  

{{Cquote|Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds.}} He had earlier written Bilbo:  

{{Cquote|I shall never fight in the armed forces with a Negro by my side}} Bilbo  told ''[[Meet the Press]]'' in an August 9th, 1946 interview: {{Cquote|No man can leave the Klan. He takes an oath not to do that. Once a Ku Klux, always a Ku Klux.<ref>[http://mdah.state.ms.us/new/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/bilbo.pdf Robert L. Fleegler, "Theodore G. Bilbo and the Decline of Public Racism, 1938–1947"],''The Journal of Mississippi History'', Spring 2006.</ref>}}

{{Cquote|I shall never fight in the armed forces with a Negro by my side}} Bilbo  told ''[[Meet the Press]]'' in an August 9th, 1946 interview: {{Cquote|No man can leave the Klan. He takes an oath not to do that. Once a Ku Klux, always a Ku Klux.<ref>[http://mdah.state.ms.us/new/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/bilbo.pdf Robert L. Fleegler, "Theodore G. Bilbo and the Decline of Public Racism, 1938–1947"],''The Journal of Mississippi History'', Spring 2006.</ref>}}

In 1946, after four white men beat a Black Army veteran for attempting to register to vote, Senator Bilbo delivered a radio address urging every “red-blooded Anglo-Saxon man in Mississippi to resort to any means to keep hundreds of Negroes from the polls in the July 2nd primary.” He continued, “And if you don’t know what that means, you are just not up on your persuasive measures.” Southern senators successfully defended Bilbo against an [[NAACP]]-led effort to remove him from office for inciting violence against Black voters. Despite having been re-elected, he was blocked from taking office.<ref name=pdf/>

In 1946, after four white men beat a Black Army veteran for attempting to register to vote, Senator Bilbo delivered a radio address urging every “red-blooded Anglo-Saxon man in Mississippi to resort to any means to keep hundreds of Negroes from the polls in the July 2nd primary.” He continued, “And if you don’t know what that means, you are just not up on your persuasive measures.” Southern senators successfully defended Bilbo against an [[NAACP]]-led effort to remove him from office for inciting violence against Black voters. Despite having been re-elected, he was blocked from taking office.

Prior to dying of oral cancer at the age of 69 following decades of spouting hatred, bigotry, and inciting violence, the last weeks of Bilbo's life were spent writing a racist screed, ''Take Your Choice: Separation or Mongrelization'', where he promoted fearmongering of "race-mixing" and called for the repatriation of black Americans to [[West Africa]]. (a relocation bill he sponsored in the Senate in 1938 had failed) Never having repudiated his lifelong legacy of white supremacist hatred, Bilbo remained a figurehead for segregationists in the South long after his death.

Prior to dying of oral cancer at the age of 69 following decades of spouting hatred, bigotry, and inciting violence, the last weeks of Bilbo's life were spent writing a racist screed, ''Take Your Choice: Separation or Mongrelization'', where he promoted fearmongering of "race-mixing" and called for the repatriation of black Americans to [[West Africa]]. (a relocation bill he sponsored in the Senate in 1938 had failed) Never having repudiated his lifelong legacy of white supremacist hatred, Bilbo remained a figurehead for segregationists in the South long after his death.