Paul B. Johnson Jr.

Paul B. Johnson Jr. when he was inaugurated in 1964

Paul Burney Johnson Jr. (born January 23, 1916 in Hattiesburg , Forrest County , Mississippi , † October 14, 1985 ) was an American politician and governor of the state of Mississippi from 1964 to 1968 .

Early years and political advancement

Paul Johnson was the son of Paul B. Johnson , who was governor of Mississippi from 1940 to 1943. He attended the public schools in his home country of Forrest County and then studied law at the University of Mississippi . After his admission as a lawyer in 1940, he began to work in Jackson in his new profession. During the Second World War he served as a soldier in the US Marine Corps in the South Pacific. After the war, he moved his law firm from Jackson to Hattiesburg.

Between 1948 and 1951, Johnson was a federal attorney for the southern part of Mississippi. In addition to his legal work, Johnson was involved in many other companies in Forrest County and became a member of the Democratic Party . In 1947, 1951 and 1955 he applied unsuccessfully for his party's nomination for the office of governor. In 1947 he ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the US Senate . From 1960 to 1964 he was Lieutenant Governor Deputy Governor Ross Barnett . In this office he was involved in the plans for the further development of the industry in his state. At the time, he was against racial integration and supported Governor Barnett in his unsuccessful efforts to keep African Americans out of the University of Mississippi . In 1963, he was elected governor to succeed Barnett. In the election campaign, he took a conservative stance that supported racial segregation .

Mississippi Governor

Paul Johnson took up his new office on January 21, 1964. As governor, he changed his mind about racial segregation. In his inaugural address, he swore his compatriots to accept the inevitable changes and not to cling to the ideas of the past. The electoral laws that discriminated against African Americans were soon changed. In Mississippi, the slow but steady path to racial integration began. Mississippi state flourished economically in the four years of its governorship. For the first time, more people were employed in industry than in agriculture. The state's shipyards also received lucrative orders for shipbuilding. At the end of his tenure, Governor Johnson announced that under his leadership over 38,000 jobs had been created and over 500 companies either started or expanded. Governor Johnson also served as chairman of the Interstate Oil Compact Commission and a board member of the National Governors Association .

After the office

After his tenure on January 21, 1968, Johnson returned to practice as a lawyer. He had offices in both Jackson and Hattiesburg. Since the late 1970s, the former governor struggled with health problems after a stroke. He died in 1985 and was buried in his hometown of Hattiesburg. Paul Johnson had four children with his wife, Dorothy E. Power. The Paul B. Johnson State Park in Hattiesburg is named after him.

Web links

• Paul Johnson in the National Governors Association (English)
• Mississippi Historical Society ( Memento from July 2, 2019 in the web archive archive.today )
• Paul B. Johnson Jr. in the database of Find a Grave (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Portrait of Johnson (English).