Date of Award

Spring 1987

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

History

Committee Director

James R. Sweeney

Committee Member

D. Alan Harris

Committee Member

James L. Bugg

Call Number for Print

Special Collections LD4331.H47 E92

Abstract

The year 1961 marked a turning point in Virginia politics. Two years had elapsed since the General Assembly had abandoned its policy of massive resistance to school integration. In the aftermath of that crisis the Byrd Organization found itself decided between moderates and members of the "Old Guard." In the 1961 Democratic primary Lieutenant-Governor A. E. S. Stephens, a moderate, vied with Attorney General Albertis S. Harrison, the choice of the Byrd Organization, for the gubernatorial nomination. Stephens charged that. the aged leaders of the Organization were too reactionary to lead the state in the 1960s. Harrison reaffirmed the Organization's traditional fiscal conservatism, gained support. from all factions within the Organization, and won the nomination and ultimately the governorship.

This study examines the events leading up to that election and the issues and individuals involved in the campaign. It concludes that the 1961 Democratic primary marked the midpoint in the transition from massive resistance to a more open, democratic political process as the Byrd Organization strived to unite its divided factions. The study basically relies on contemporary sources and on personal interviews with the leading figures of that era.

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DOI

10.25777/mf5g-dh13

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