Herman Talmadge

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Herman Talmadge

Herman Eugene Talmadge (born August 9, 1913 in McRae , Telfair County , Georgia , † March 21, 2002 in Hampton , Georgia) was an American Democratic Party politician , governor of Georgia and US senator .

Early years and political advancement

Herman Talmadge was the son of Eugene Talmadge , who had served as governor of Georgia several times during the 1930s and 40s. He studied law at the University of Georgia and graduated in 1936. During World War II , he served in the Pacific as a Lieutenant Commander in the US Navy. After his return in 1946, he became his father's campaign manager, who, despite serious health problems, reapplied for the governorship. Eugene Talmadge was actually elected and was due to take office in January 1947.

Constitutional crisis with three governors

Eugene Talmadge died of liver disease on December 21, 1946, before he was appointed governor. The result was one of the most bizarre situations in all of American history. The Georgia constitution had only recently created the office of lieutenant governor . This position should be filled for the first time with the new term of office. Melvin Thompson , an opponent of Talmadge, had been elected Georgia's first lieutenant governor in the 1946 elections. According to the constitution, the lieutenant governor should exercise the office of governor if the governor died during his tenure or left office for other reasons. Now Eugene Talmadge was not in office at the time of his death and the discussion about the successor flared up between three groups. First, Thompson claimed office as the elected lieutenant governor. The Talmadge supporters were firmly against this solution. They proposed the election of Herman Talmadge by the National Assembly. This had been her plan from the start in case Eugene Talmadge failed to take office. Eventually the congregation accepted this proposal and on January 15, 1947, elected Herman Talmadge as the new governor. Thompson then sued the Georgia Supreme Court.

The outgoing Governor Ellis Arnall now saw a problem. Not knowing exactly who his successor was, he refused to hand over the office. This enraged the Talmadge followers; they hated Arnall anyway for his anti-Talmadge policies over the past four years. There were even serious fights among the supporters of the various camps. In the meantime, Herman Talmadge had occupied the governor's house and declared himself governor of Georgia, while Arnall and Thompson also claimed that office. So for a brief period in January 1947, Georgia had three simultaneous governors. Eventually Arnall gave up and recognized Thompson as the new governor. So there were still two opponents, Thompson and Herman Talmadge, who plunged the state into political chaos for another two months. In March 1947, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled in Thompson's favor. He was to serve as governor until new elections in 1948 should solve the problem. Herman Talmadge gave up surprisingly quickly and prepared for the new elections, which he would win in 1948.

Governor and US Senator

After the verdict of 1947, Talmadge was already preparing the next ballot. This led to a clear election victory in 1948. In 1950 he was then re-elected for a full four-year term. One of its main goals was to bring more industrial operations to Georgia. At the same time he was a reactionary supporter of racial segregation. The constitution forbade direct re-election after a full term; therefore, in 1956, he could not run for governor again. Instead, he successfully ran for a seat in the United States Senate, which he would hold until January 1981. During this time he was active on several committees. Among other things, he was a member of the Senate committee investigating the Watergate affair . In 1979 he himself was the subject of an investigation when he was found to have had financial irregularities. He was reprimanded for this. At the same time, he was also going through a dirty public divorce at the time and had a drinking problem. In 1980 he then lost the Senate election to Republican Mack Mattingly, who became the first Republican for Georgia to serve in the Senate since the end of Reconstruction in the 1870s.

Old age and death

Talmadge now retired to Hampton, Georgia, and practiced as a lawyer for a while. He died there in 2002 at the age of 88.

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personal data
SURNAME Talmadge, Herman
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Talmadge, Herman Eugene (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH August 9, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH at McRae , Georgia
DATE OF DEATH March 21, 2002
Place of death Hampton , Georgia