Reconciliation. The institutions endeavor to understand not only its particular history but slavery and slaverys legacies, but also the obligations that history has bequeathed to us. Its my pleasure today to introduce our two speakers in order of their appearance. First up this morning is professor Tracy Campbell at the department of history at the university of kentucky. He has a remarkable record of teaching and scholarship on the political and social history of the United States in the 20th century. Before arriving at kentucky, he taught at morris hill and union colleges. Since hes been in kentucky, hes been recognized not only for his scholarship but especially for his skill as a classroom teacher. Hes the author of five books including his 2013 study of the gateway arch in st. Louis. Perhaps directly related to today if his 2005 work, deliver the vote. Surely, this is a book that we need to take up today if not for the first time, then even a second time. At present, he is hard at work on a history of the year 1942, americas year of peril, the meaning of which will become clearer to us. Our second panelist is a Pulitzer Prize winning author hank clibnoff. A graduate of Washington University in st. Louis and the school of journalism at northwestern. He worked for the boston globe, the Philadelphia Inquirer and atlantas jufrl journal constitution. The book he coauthored won the Pulitzer Prize for history that year. The New York Times described the race beat. No doubt this book needs to be read or reread today. The professor has directed the georgia civil rights cold case projects. His talk today reflects the work of his journalistic career and leadership of the cold case project. The whites only primarys last gasp, how it played out on the unyielding soil of georgia. Please join me in welcoming this morning for their insights and reflections on the history of voting in the United States. Professor campbell. [ applause ]. Thank you. Thank you, woody, for that very kind introduction. And thanks to the university of the south for inviting me to such a timely and really remarkable gathering and to you for your kind hospitality, to tanner potts for making the trains run on time. We really appreciate it. Im going to talk about a snapshot this morning, but i think its a pretty revealing snapshot of the United States in a particular year, in a particular moment. The premise is straightforward. If you want to understand the realities of Voting Rights, its important to observe those rights when the counted is under stress. Just as individuals and families can undergo stress or trauma, so can countries. Those moments expose a persons inherent strengths and flaws quite like nothing else. Things tend to rise to the surface under that kind of pressure. In the 20th century that stress was never greater than in the year following the attack on pearl harbor and americas entry into world war ii in 1942. The way that the country debates Voting Rights that year in wartime, it conducts a national election. It tells us a good deal about the fragile nature of american democracy and the way in which the 15th amendment was negated for millions of people at a crucial moment. There is a collective narrative about 1942. I think we sometimes read history backward. We know were going to win the war, so we kind of gloss over some things. If were going to look at 1942, i think its helpful to try to ups it on its own terms. After a little bit of early panic and worry the nation came together, built a massive production miracle. We cast partisan and sectional differences aside. Once the allies turned back the japanese and landed in north africa, ultimate victory was in sight. Unity was the common theme, led in tom brokaws words, the greatest generation any society has ever produced, end of quote. I think, though, if were going to understand 1942, we also have to see a different reality. This is a series of paintings by Thomas Hart Benton done in 1942 in reaction to pearl harbor. He called about eight of these paintings americas year of peril, 1942. This one is similar to so many other themes of what was possible. This is a time in which the federal government is selling insurance policies against attack and people a as far inland as iowa and indiana are buying these policies to make sure theyre protects. At a time when some within the government worried that we might lose the war or that areas along the coasts or well inland could be subject to many more attacks and the time in which one former president called upon the nation to give Franklin Roosevelt dictatorial powers. I want to focus on two moments that happened in the fall of 1942 that i think are particularly instructive. One occurred in september. As congress considered an issue that seems on its face a rather straightforward matter without any ulterior political motives. With the Upcoming Elections approaching, Congress Debates a bill that would allow soldiers to vote away from home via absentee ballot. By this time in september over 4 number americans were serving in the military and all of them would not be home at their precinct on election day. What better way to display americas character than by legislators had the support of veterans groups and of course families of soldiers. Yet, when the representative of the Third District of tennessee inserted an amendment that waved the poll tax requirement for soninlaws from eight southern states. The matter exposed one of the fault lines of american politics. If the poll tax could be weighed in this one specific circumstance, some worried that it would be used as a wedge and outlaw other elections. That was a threat to many white southerners who felt that elections were purely local affairs and such intrusions were unconstitutional assaults on society. They actually said these things. If theres one thing about the 40 were glad about, they just said it. Theres no code. He said it was an attempt to cater to the soldier vote at the expense of the foundation of our democracy, end of quote. Now, since reconstruction, poll taxes were among some of the most effective ways along with violence and literacy tests in the white primary of keeping africanamericans from voting. Heres a poll tax receipt from texas. I believe its 1. 75. If you missed a primary election, youd have to make up for it a third time. Youd never get by without paying them. They were in effect in eight states. The poll tax kept out 11 Million People from voting. By 1940 its estimated approximately 3 of africanamericans in the south were registered to vote. Poll taxes also kept poor whites from voting. While 66 of adults in non poll tax states voted in 1940, about 24 voted in those eight poll tax states. They skewed the whole idea of Representative Democracy. Glenda gilmore notes that in 1940 edward cox had been elected to his cede by 5,000 votes while a Washington State representative won his seat with 147,000. Through their iron grip on Voting Rights, southern democrats were elected time and time again. Heres a cartoon about the poll tax. If you can make out some of the figures, they might look somewhat familiar because this is dr. Seuss, who was a cartoonist who worked a lot with a periodical called pm. But their iron grip on Voting Rights, southern democrats were elected time and time again. In 1942 as we go to war, southerners chair 7 of the 10 most powerful committees including agriculture, appropriations, and rules. No one in the house was more opposed to this amended soldier voting act than mississippis john rankin. In waiving the poll tax, he saw dangerous elements approaching. He said this was part of a long rain communistic program to change our form of government. That it would take out of the hands of white americans the ability to control elections and give them to certain irresponsible elements that are constantly trying to stir up trouble. End of quote. Rankins arguments against the bill failed to win over a majority of his house colleagues, who passed the bill on september 9th. He called the bill nothing more than a scheme to abolish state governments and add aed that the next step quote will be to abolish congress. End of quote. Remind you, they actually said this. The Senate Passed the bill and vote. Tim connolly of texas and lister hill of alabama said that in the process of approving the measure, the senate had ruptured constitutional processes. Opponents of the bill understood the political implications of denying soldiers the right to vote and were reluctant to wage a full scale filibuster. They had to take their medicine at this particular moment. President roosevelt signed it into law on september 16th, which required the war and Navy Department to distribute postal cards to members of the armed forces who could then request a ballot from their state, and this cumbersome process, though, really meant it was too late to be fully operational on election day coming up in just 48 days, but the poll tax debate is not quite over. Ill get it to in just a moment. So if we go to the election itself, the Roosevelt Administration in the fall of 1942 has reason to worry. In a previous Congressional Election in world war i in 1918, republicans had won five senate seats and 25 house seats to take control of both houses. Throughout 1942, voters were frustrated with a lot of things, the slow pace of the war, gas and food rationing, higher taxes, and congressional inaction on inflation. Congress had moved swiftly early in the year to give themselves pensions, which produced another widespread outcry and a quick reversal just weeks later. So while fdr himself might not have been on the ballot, it was kind of becoming a referendum of sorts, and to his handling and the administrations handling of the war. Some worried that fdr might use his wartime powers to cancel the election altogether. So with all that was at stake, life magazine predicted the november elections might be among the most fateful in u. S. History, end of quote. In a gallup poll taken on the eve of the 1942 election, showed americans favored democrats about 5248. But on election night, republicans shocked many observers by picking up 43 house seats, 9 senate seats, making it the greatest gain by the Opposition Party in midterm elections since 1918. And you can see the majorities in both houses, how they shrunk. Particularly in the house where 267 to 165 spread was changed to a pair 222209 margin. With a switch of seven democrats in the house, republicans could defeat any administration measure. Consequently, the power of the reactionary southern bloc increased. And house members like john rankin and martin deese were elected to their house without any opposition. Among the newly elected senators was mississippis james eastland, a wealthy plantation owner who had become one of the leading opponent of Voting Rights for the next 30 years. He was among eight southern democrats in the senate who won their general election without facing any opposition. Now, the results of the 1942 elections were often interpreted in sweeping terms. The chicago tribune, which of course, hated roosevelt, said, quote, the people of this land have turned back the most terrible threat which has confronted them in their national history. End of quote. Time magazine was blunt in its appraisal. No one can say even in the retrospect of history exactly when one Political Movement dies and another is born, but anyone who looked at the election last week could see that Franklin Roosevelts new deal was fixed, end of quote. The gops success in 23 states with a combined Electoral College vote of 321 votes felt potential disaster for fdr or for anyone else who might be thinking of running on the democratic ticket in 1944. I think interpreting the election in such sweeping terms missed another point. The election witnessed the lowest turnout, 33. 9 , for a congressional race in the 20th century. Lower than even the 2014 Congressional Election. Although a soldier voting act of 42 had been passed in september, allowing soldiers to vote, only 28,000 actually could vote, less than 1 of those serving overseas. So interpreting what the American People thought or felt about 1942 is hard to get at from the election results. But regardless of the turnout, the election had immediate consequences. Two remaining agencies from the new deal, the wpa and ccc were quickly abolished. Efforts to expand Social Security and medical insurance were thwarted, yet the political wins that were not necessarily reflected in the election, i think, hide some underlying impulses. For example, in a poll taken by fortune magazine, in november, the outlines of what some people hope for after the war provides a glimpse that i dont think a lot of americans understand. 74 of americans polled said they thought the government should collect enough taxes after the war to provide medical care for anyone who needed it. 3 out of 4. 67 wanted enough the government to provide jobs for people if they were willing and able to work in case of a recession. And maybe even most astonishing, 31. 9 , almost 1 out of 3, believe that after the war, there should be a law limiting the amount of money an individual could earn. And that was similar to what roosevelt was proposing a 25,000 limit on incomes in 1942, which was also very popular. When asked, quote, do you think some form of socialism would be a good thing or a bad thing, 25 said it would be good. 34 werent quite sure yet. So thats one moment. The second moment when Voting Rights, i think, are exposed came after the election. When the senate convened a bill, convened to consider a house bill that had been sponsored by representative lee guyer, a california democrat, who had died in 1941. But had sponsored this bill many months beforehand to end poll taxes altogether in federal elections. Although the bill faced solid opposition from southern democrats who said the war, quote, waged war against the white people of the southern states, it passed the house. When it came to the senate, it faced a filibuster. This time, after the election, without soldiers involved, southerners were ready to launch a filibuster. And the filibuster was led by many people, including Theodore Bilbo of mississippi and Richard Russell of georgia. Together with other southern senators, they brought the senate to a standstill for seven days in november of 1942. As endless quorum calls were demanded as well as complete readings of the journal. Bilbo made it clear, quote, if this poll tax bill passes, the next step will be an effort to remove the registration qualifications and then the education qualifications. Once that was done, bilbo said we will have no way of preventing negroes from voting, end of quote. Richard russell defended reconstruction and the history of Race Relations in his state, saying, quote, any fireminded man who studies the history of the last 75 years would commend the south on the great work we have done, end of quote. So obviously, professor wouldnt consider you to be a fairminded man in this respect. The impasse was heres another cartoon by dr. Seuss about Theodore Bilbo. The impasse in the senate reached a dramatic moment on saturday, november 14th. When majority leader Alvin Barkley on the left called for a quorum and ordered when some southerns left the hall their arrest, and one of those missing and was deeply offended by barkleys maneuver was tennessees kenneth mckellar. Who came back to the floor and said, being called a filibusterer holds no terror for me. Adding he would work to his last breath and with every means, quote, to defeat this iniquitous measure. When barkley asserted that the southerners who had fled the chambers resembled the exodus from egypt, mckellar said, well, quote, our socalled leader is leading us straight into the Republican Party. Barkley responded by saying, quote, this bills passage would infranchise 200,000 white people, thats how he tried to sell the issue. Poor tenet farmers who may not want to vote but will think a long time before paying 1. 50 for that right when it might be needed to put shoes on their barefoot children. The majority leaders efforts in this regard calls mckellar to withdraw his name from a letter he signed with several other senators urging president roosevelt to name nominate barkley to the Supreme Court. With a seat that had just been recently open by Justice Burns resignation. The southern filibusterers knew that their actions might be seen as obstructionist by many, but not by their white constituents. When senator George Norris of nebraska spoke out about the filibuster, an angry Response Time came to him from charles e. Simons from texas. Quote, you must not have very much to do instead of sticking your nose into the home affairs of states just about as capable of running their business as your home state. Simons urges senator morris to cease expending your energies on things that do not effect you. We can get along without your help or your gratuitous reform, end of quote. The sponsors of the poll tax bill hoped that the delaying tactics of a small minority of senators just days after American Forces had landed in north africa might produce such outrage to intimidate them, but if anyone doubted the strength of the southern bloc, they needed to