Byrnes, James Francis

Byrnes, James Francis
(1882-1972)
   Born in Charleston, South Carolina, James F. Byrnes left school early, lied about his age (claiming to have been born in 1879), and was employed as a court stenographer. He passed the South Carolina bar exam in 1903. Byrnes was elected to the House of Representatives in 1911 and served until 1924. He failed to win election to the Senate in 1924, but he was successful in 1930 and was reelected in 1936. An old friend of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s, he helped see much of the early New Deal legislation through Congress. However, by 1937 he believed the worst of the Great Depression was over and became increasingly conservative. Nonetheless, in 1941 Roosevelt appointed him to the Supreme Court, but he resigned in 1942 to head the Office of Economic Stabilization, later the Office of War Mobilization. This office was effectively the most powerful of all the war agencies, and Byrnes was regarded by some as “assistant” president. It was widely accepted that he would be Roosevelt’s running mate in 1944, but his segregationist background was seen as a handicap, and instead the position of vice president went to Harry S. Truman. Nevertheless, Byrnes was involved in major decision making at home and abroad, and he accompanied Roosevelt to the Yalta Conference. In 1945, Truman made Byrnes secretary of state. Although not afraid of hard decisions (he supported the use of the atomic bomb), Byrnes was accused by Republican critics of being “soft” on the Soviet Union, and he resigned in 1947. He was governor of South Carolina from 1951 to 1955 and led the massive resistance to school desegregation after the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka decision. In 1952, he declared his support for Dwight D. Eisenhower and in 1960 abandoned his Democratic affiliation to support Richard M. Nixon and in 1964 Barry Goldwater, neither of whom were

Historical Dictionary of the Roosevelt–Truman Era . . 2015.

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  • Byrnes,James Francis — Byrnes (bûrnz), James Francis. 1879 1972. American politician who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1941 1942). As secretary of state (1945 1947) he tried unsuccessfully to ease postwar tensions between the United States… …   Universalium

  • James Francis Byrnes — James Byrnes James Francis Byrnes (* 2. Mai 1879 in Charleston; † 9. April 1972 in Columbia, South Carolina) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker (Demokratische Partei. Er war von 1945 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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  • Byrnes, James F. — ▪ American jurist in full  James Francis Byrnes   born May 2, 1879, Charleston, S.C., U.S. died April 9, 1972, Columbia, S.C.  Democratic Party politician and administrator who, during World War II, was popularly known as “assistant president for …   Universalium

  • James Byrnes — James Francis Byrnes (* 2. Mai 1879 in Charleston; † 9. April 1972 in Columbia, South Carolina) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker (Demokratische Partei. Er war von 1945 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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  • BYRNES (J. F.) — BYRNES JAMES FRANCIS (1879 1972) D’origine modeste, James F. Byrnes est élu, en 1910, représentant démocrate de la Caroline du Sud. En 1924, il abandonne la Chambre, se présente sans succès aux élections sénatoriales, mais prend sa revanche en… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • James F. Byrnes — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Byrnes. James Byrnes James Francis Byrnes (né le 2 mai  …   Wikipédia en Français

  • James F. Byrnes — James Francis Byrnes (2 de mayo de 1879 9 de abril de 1972) fue un político estadounidense de Carolina del Sur. Durante su carrera política, Byrnes fue miembro de la Cámara de Representantes de los Estados Unidos (1911 1925), senador (1931 1941) …   Wikipedia Español

  • James Clark McReynolds — James C. McReynolds James Clark McReynolds (* 3. Februar 1862 in Elkton, Todd County, Kentucky; † 24. August 1946 in Washington D.C.) war ein US amerikanischer Jurist, Politiker, Justizminister (Attorney General) sowie …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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