Jim Rhodes

Jim Rhodes (1981)

James Allen "Jim" Rhodes (* 13. September 1909 in Coalton , Jackson County , Ohio , † 4. March 2001 in Columbus , Ohio) was an American politician of the Republican Party . He is one of only five former US politicians who have been allowed to serve four terms as governor of a state .

Family, childhood and youth

family

Jim Rhodes was the son of James L. Rhodes, an immigrant miner from Wales , and his wife Susan. His childhood was overshadowed by the early death of his father. Jim Rhodes was eight years old at the time. Even as a schoolboy he therefore worked, if the opportunity arose, in various temporary jobs to ensure the livelihood of his family, i.e. his mother and two sisters.

education

During his school career, Rhodes attended South High School in Springfield , where he also lived with his mother and sisters. After graduating from high school , Rhodes began studying at Ohio State University . However, financial hardship forced him to leave university before graduating in order to help the family by accepting a job. At that time the family had already moved to the university city of Columbus. In order not to lose contact with the university despite the necessity to work, Rhodes opened a restaurant near the university campus.

Political career

Over the years, Jim Rhodes became a local celebrity. At the age of 35, towards the end of the Second World War , he was able to win the office of mayor of the city of Columbus for the Republicans and served in this position for two terms, namely from 1944 to 1952. In 1952 he was elected to succeed Joseph T. Ferguson as State Auditor . He took over the office at the beginning of 1953 and held it until 1962. With his election as governor in 1962 in the third attempt to conquer this office, his previous activity ended.

Rhodes served as governor of the state of Ohio for two terms from 1963 to 1971. At the same time he tried twice for a presidential candidacy for the Republicans. In both cases he was only marginally defeated by his colleagues in his own party. In 1971 Rhodes retired temporarily. Previously, he lost in 1970 in the race for a seat in the US Senate in the primary to Robert Taft . The Kent State massacre had occurred just two days earlier . On May 4, 1970, National Guard soldiers shot dead four students during a student demonstration against the Vietnam War on the Kent State University campus in Kent, Ohio. The day before, at a press conference, Rhodes abused the students and said they were worse than Nazis and Communists . This and the action of the National Guard, which Rhodes had requested, exacerbated the situation extremely. When soldiers tried to break up the student protest with the bayonet attached and the students drove in front of them, they fired dozens of shots into the crowd of students, killing four and injuring nine.

Four years after the end of his second term, to which, according to the Ohio State Constitution, the term of governor is limited, Rhodes tried again for the office of governor. Initially, Secretary of State Ted W. Brown rejected his candidacy. Finally, Rhodes forced a candidacy through a ruling by the Supreme Court of Ohio and was able to direct the fortunes of Ohio for two more terms until 1983. Again Rhodes had to vacate the post after two terms. But in 1986 he tried again to become governor. This time, however, he was defeated by the Democratic incumbent Dick Celeste and thus did not become the sole record holder among the governors in the USA, of whom only a few were allowed to fill this position for four terms.

End of life

Rhodes died on March 4, 2001 in Columbus, the capital of Ohio. His final resting place is in the Greenlawn Cemetery in Columbus. The tallest building in the city, the James A. Rhodes State Office Tower , is named in honor of Jim Rhodes.

Web links

Commons : Jim Rhodes  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Jim Rhodes in the nndb (English)
• James Rhodes in the National Governors Association (English)
• Central Ohio History (English)

• Jim Rhodes in the database of Find a Grave (English)