Changes

| death_place=[[Memphis]], [[Tennessee]] ​

| death_place=[[Memphis]], [[Tennessee]] ​

| occupation=[[Farmer]]; [[business]]man​

| occupation=[[Farmer]]; [[business]]man​

|party=[[Republican Party nominee for the [[U.S. Senate]], 1968 ​

| party=[[Republican Party nominee for the [[U.S. Senate]], 1968 ​

|office=State Chairman of the Arkansas Republican Party​

| office=State Chairman of the Arkansas Republican Party​

|term_start=1971​

| term_start=1971​

|term_end=1973​

| term_end=1973​

|preceded=[[Odell Pollard]]​

| preceded=[[Odell Pollard]]​

|succeeded=Jim R. Caldwell​

| succeeded=Jim R. Caldwell​

|alma_mater=[[Baylor University]]​

| alma_mater=[[Baylor University]]​

|spouse=Betty Hill Bernard​ (estranged)

| spouse=Betty Hill Bernard​ (estranged)

|children=Sallie Hill Armstrong<br>​

| hildren=Sallie Hill Armstrong<br>​

Mary Troy Johnston<br>​

Mary Troy Johnston<br>​

Charles T. Bernard, Jr.<br>​

Charles T. Bernard, Jr.<br>​

David Wesley Bernard<br>​

David Wesley Bernard<br>​

John Harbert Bernard ​

John Harbert Bernard}}​

}}​

​

​

'''Charles Taylor Bernard, Sr.''' (September 10, 1927 &ndash; June 27, 2015)<ref name=obit>{{cite web|url= http://www.highpointchapel.com/obituary/Charles-Taylor-Bernard/Memphis-TN/1523179|title=Charles Taylor Bernard|publisher=Highpointchapel.com|accessdate=July 31, 2017}}</ref><ref name=bernard>{{cite web|url=http://www.houseofnames.com/xq/asp.fc/qx/bernard-family-crest.htm|title=Bernard Family Crest|publisher=houseofnames.com|accessdate=December 4, 2009}}</ref> was an [[United States|American]] [[business]]man and [[politician]] originally from the small city of Earle in Crittenden County in eastern [[Arkansas]]. He is best known as the 1968 [[Republican Party|Republican]] nominee for the [[United States Senate]] seat held by long-time [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] [[J. William Fulbright]] of Fayetteville, Arkansas].​

'''Charles Taylor Bernard, Sr.''' (September 10, 1927 &ndash; June 27, 2015)<ref name=obit>{{cite web|url= http://www.highpointchapel.com/obituary/Charles-Taylor-Bernard/Memphis-TN/1523179|title=Charles Taylor Bernard|publisher=Highpointchapel.com|accessdate=July 31, 2017}}</ref><ref name=bernard>{{cite web|url=http://www.houseofnames.com/xq/asp.fc/qx/bernard-family-crest.htm|title=Bernard Family Crest|publisher=houseofnames.com|accessdate=December 4, 2009}}</ref> was an [[United States|American]] [[business]]man and [[politician]] originally from the small city of Earle in Crittenden County in eastern [[Arkansas]]. He is best known as the 1968 [[Republican Party|Republican]] nominee for the [[United States Senate]] seat held by long-time [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] [[J. William Fulbright]] of Fayetteville, Arkansas].​

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==Background==​

 

==Background==

 

Bernard attended [[Baylor University]] in [[Waco, Texas|Waco]], [[Texas]], at which he became enamored with the poetry of [[Robert Browning]], whom he often quoted.<ref name=obit/> He farmed [[cotton]] at Earle and operated One Hour Marvelizing dry cleaning establishments in eastern Arkansas.<ref name=bernard/>​

Bernard attended [[Baylor University]] in [[Waco, Texas|Waco]], [[Texas]], at which he became enamored with the poetry of [[Robert Browning]], whom he often quoted.<ref name=obit/> He farmed [[cotton]] at Earle and operated One Hour Marvelizing dry cleaning establishments in eastern Arkansas.<ref name=bernard/>​

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Bernard won the state chairmanship to succeed [[Odell Pollard]] of Searcy in White County]] in balloting before the GOP State Committee held in [[Little Rock]] after Rockefeller's defeat for governor in 1970. Bernard defeated Rockefeller's stated choice, William Thomas Kelly, Sr., of Little Rock, the Pulaski County chairman, and Everett Ham, a Rockefeller aide. The vote was 137 for Bernard, 28 for Kelly, and 27 for Ham. Delegates then named Ham as the vice chairman. John L. Ward, a Rockefeller biographer, said that Rockefeller's aides "felt like Bernard and the party had kicked Rockefeller's teeth in."<ref>Cathy Kunzinger Urwin, ''Agenda for Reform: Winthrop Rockefeller as Governor of Arkansas, 1967-71'' (Fayetteville, Arkansas: University of Arkansas Press, 1991), p. 190, {{ISBN|1-55728-200-5}}</ref>  Years later, Robert Faulkner, Rockefeller's executive secretary in 1970, said that Bernard's victory for the chairmanship showed that many pre-Rockefeller Republicans in Arkansas "couldn't wait to throw out the Rockefeller influence and pick their own, more conservative, traditional Republican."<ref>Urwin, ''Agenda for Reform'', p. 190.</ref> However, Bernard's obituary indicates that he like Rockefeller was a strong defender of [[civil rights]]. During his chairmanship, Governor [[Ronald W. Reagan]] of [[California]] visited Bernard while Reagan was in Arkansas to campaign for various Republican candidates.<ref name=obit/>​

Bernard won the state chairmanship to succeed [[Odell Pollard]] of Searcy in White County]] in balloting before the GOP State Committee held in [[Little Rock]] after Rockefeller's defeat for governor in 1970. Bernard defeated Rockefeller's stated choice, William Thomas Kelly, Sr., of Little Rock, the Pulaski County chairman, and Everett Ham, a Rockefeller aide. The vote was 137 for Bernard, 28 for Kelly, and 27 for Ham. Delegates then named Ham as the vice chairman. John L. Ward, a Rockefeller biographer, said that Rockefeller's aides "felt like Bernard and the party had kicked Rockefeller's teeth in."<ref>Cathy Kunzinger Urwin, ''Agenda for Reform: Winthrop Rockefeller as Governor of Arkansas, 1967-71'' (Fayetteville, Arkansas: University of Arkansas Press, 1991), p. 190, {{ISBN|1-55728-200-5}}</ref>  Years later, Robert Faulkner, Rockefeller's executive secretary in 1970, said that Bernard's victory for the chairmanship showed that many pre-Rockefeller Republicans in Arkansas "couldn't wait to throw out the Rockefeller influence and pick their own, more conservative, traditional Republican."<ref>Urwin, ''Agenda for Reform'', p. 190.</ref> However, Bernard's obituary indicates that he like Rockefeller was a strong defender of [[civil rights]]. During his chairmanship, Governor [[Ronald W. Reagan]] of [[California]] visited Bernard while Reagan was in Arkansas to campaign for various Republican candidates.<ref name=obit/>​

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Bernard died in Memphis, Tennessee, at the age of eighty-seven, but it is unclear if he was a Memphis resident in his last years. He was cremated] According to his obituary, Bernard "always remained a combination of a small town boy and larger than life figure, making himself big enough for any challenge but always remaining a true Southern gentleman.<ref name=obit/>​

Bernard died in Memphis, Tennessee, at the age of eighty-seven, but it is unclear if he was a Memphis resident in his last years. He was cremated. According to his obituary, Bernard "always remained a combination of a small town boy and larger than life figure, making himself big enough for any challenge but always remaining a true Southern gentleman."<ref name=obit/>​

 

==References==

==References==​

{{reflist}}​​

{{reflist}}​​

* [http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/berl-berrien.html Charles T. Bernard at] The Political Graveyard​

* [http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/berl-berrien.html Charles T. Bernard at] The Political Graveyard​