Robert Evander McNair

Robert Evander McNair (1966)

Robert Evander McNair (born December 14, 1923 in Cades , Williamsburg County , South Carolina , † November 17, 2007 in Charleston , South Carolina) was an American politician and governor of the state of South Carolina between 1965 and 1971 .

Early years and political advancement

Robert McNair served as a member of the U.S. Navy in the Pacific Rim during World War II . He then studied at the University of South Carolina . In 1948 he passed his law exam, whereupon he opened a law firm in Moncks Corner . From 1951 to 1962 McNair was a member of the House of Representatives from South Carolina . In 1962 he was elected lieutenant governor of his state. When the incumbent Governor Donald Stuart Russell resigned from office on April 22, 1965 to move to the US Senate , McNair was his successor.

Governor of south carolina

First, McNair had to end his predecessor's term of office. On November 8, 1966, he was confirmed in office for four full years with 58.2% of the vote against Joseph Rogers. His entire term in office was overshadowed by the unrest over the racial issue. It was the time of the civil rights movement . The so-called Orangeburg massacre occurred on February 8, 1968 , when the police shot at the crowd of students during a demonstration. Three black students were killed and 27 injured in the incident. The governor blamed the deaths on the activists of the “ black power ” movement. Nonetheless, he then made greater efforts to reduce tensions between the races. It was followed by the desegregation of schools and a reform of the school system in South Carolina. 1970 was South Carolina's first integrated school year, the first year after school segregation ended . From that point on, there were no longer any racially segregated schools in South Carolina, at least officially. As early as 1965, the first black student had been admitted to Furman University, which had previously been reserved for whites . In the same year, the right to vote was made easier for the black population by a federal law. Until then, this officially existing right was illegally tied to conditions that excluded most blacks from the elections. In November 1970, the first black MPs in the 20th century were elected to the state parliament.

Further life

After his tenure ended on January 19, 1971, he became a partner in a large law firm. He was also director of a life insurance company, Southern Railway Systems, and various other companies. He died in November 2007. Robert McNair was married to Josephine Robinson, with whom he had four children.

literature

• Governors of the American States, Commonwealths and Territories. National Governors' Conference, 1970.

Web links

• Robert McNair in the National Governors Association (English)
• South Carolina Information Highway (English)
• Robert Evander McNair in the database of Find a Grave (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Jack Bass, Jack Nelson: The Orangeburg Massacre. Merger University Press, Macon 1999, ISBN 0865541205 . Book information ( Memento of the original from December 6, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the publisher's homepage (accessed December 4, 2014).