| Ross Robert Barnett | |
 | |
| In office January 19, 1960 – January 21, 1964 | |
| Lieutenant | Paul B. Johnson, Jr. |
| Preceded by | James P. Coleman |
| Succeeded by | Paul B. Johnson, Jr. |
| Born | January 22, 1892 Standing Pine, Mississippi |
| Died | November 6, 1987 (aged 89) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Mary Pearl Crawford |
| Profession | Lawyer |
Ross Robert Barnett (January 22, 1898 – November 6, 1987) was the Democratic governor of the U.S. state of Mississippi from 1960 to 1964. This is a list of the Governors of the State of Mississippi. Prior to 1804 parts of Mississippi were part of the state of Georgia; see Events 1419 - Hundred Years' War: Rouen surrenders to Henry V of England completing his reconquest of Normandy. Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1189 - Philip II of France and Richard I of England begin to assemble troops to wage the Third Crusade. Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. The Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi is the second-highest ranking executive officer in Mississippi, right below the Governor. Paul Burney Johnson Jr (January 23 1916 October 14 1985 was a United States Democratic Mississippi Politician and son of former Mississippi James Plemon "JP" Coleman ( January 9, 1914 September 28, 1991) was a Politician from the state of Paul Burney Johnson Jr (January 23 1916 October 14 1985 was a United States Democratic Mississippi Politician and son of former Mississippi Events 565 - Eutychius is deposed as Patriarch of Constantinople by John Scholasticus. Year 1892 ( MDCCCXCII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Standing Pine is a Census-designated place (CDP in Leake County, Mississippi, United States. Events 355 - Roman Emperor Constantius II promotes his cousin Julian to the rank of Caesar, entrusting him with Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) The Democratic Party is one of two major Political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law as an attorney, Counsel or Solicitor; a person Events 565 - Eutychius is deposed as Patriarch of Constantinople by John Scholasticus. Year 1898 ( MDCCCXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 355 - Roman Emperor Constantius II promotes his cousin Julian to the rank of Caesar, entrusting him with Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) The Democratic Party is one of two major Political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. This is a list of the Governors of the State of Mississippi. Prior to 1804 parts of Mississippi were part of the state of Georgia; see A US state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the United States of America that share Sovereignty with the federal government Mississippi ( is a state located in the Deep South of the United States Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. Born in Standing Pine in Leake County, Barnett was the youngest of ten children. Standing Pine is a Census-designated place (CDP in Leake County, Mississippi, United States. Leake County is a County located in the US state of Mississippi. CHILD syndrome (or congenital hemidysplasia with ichthyosiform erythroderma and limb defects) is a genetic disorder He served in the United States Army during World War I, then worked in a variety of jobs while earning an undergraduate degree from Mississippi College in Clinton in 1922. The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Mississippi College, also known as MC is a private Christian university located in Clinton Mississippi. Clinton is a city in Hinds Year 1922 ( MCMXXII) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Four years later, he followed that with an LL.B. from the University of Mississippi in Oxford. The Bachelor of Laws (abbreviated LLB, LLB or rarely LlB) is an undergraduate or bachelor degree in law offered in most Common law The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational Research University located in Oxford Oxford is a city and the County seat of Lafayette County, Mississippi, United States. He was a member of the resurgent 1920s Ku Klux Klan. Ku Klux Klan ( KKK) is the name of several past and present secret domestic terrorist organizations in the United States, generally in the southern states that are In 1929, he married Mary Pearl Crawford, with the couple's long-time union producing two daughters and a son.
Over the next quarter century, Barnett became one of the state's most successful trial lawyers, earning more than $100,000 per year while specializing in damage suits. He often donated his skills to white supremacist causes, and served as president of the Mississippi Bar Association for two years beginning in 1943. White supremacy is a racist ideology based on the assertion that White people are superior to other racial groups. Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
Using the income derived from his legal fees, Barnett sought to try his hand at politics, unsuccessfully running twice for Governor of Mississippi, in 1951 and 1955. This is a list of the Governors of the State of Mississippi. Prior to 1804 parts of Mississippi were part of the state of Georgia; see Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January Year 1955 ( MCMLV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar) On his third try in 1959, he won the election and was formally inaugurated on January 19, 1960. The year 1959 ( MCMLIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1419 - Hundred Years' War: Rouen surrenders to Henry V of England completing his reconquest of Normandy. Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. During his term in office he celebrated the centennial of the American Civil War. Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South Barnett travelled to Civil War sites to pay homage to fallen "Sons Of Mississippi".
On all three occasions, Barnett freely used racial epithets in his campaign speeches. His belief that "the Negro is different because God made him different to punish him" helped earn him the endorsement of the notorious White Citizens' Council. The White Citizens' Council ( WCC) was an American white supremacist organization
During his time as governor, Barnett, a staunch segregationist, became noted for his tumultuous clashes with the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. The American Civil Rights Movement (1955–1968 refers to the reform movements in the United States aimed at abolishing racial discrimination against African While this approach was popular in the state, it was done in part to blunt the criticism he was receiving for a variety of reasons: failing to follow through with promises of jobs for office-seekers; filling those jobs with acquaintances; and attempting to wrest control of state agencies from the legislature. In addition, he spent more than $300,000 to outfit the governor's mansion's bathtubs with gold-plated faucet handles.
In 1962, he actively opposed James Meredith's efforts to desegregate his alma mater, the University of Mississippi. Year 1962 ( MCMLXII) was a Common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. James H Meredith (born June 25, 1933) is an American civil rights movement figure Desegregation is the process of ending Racial segregation, most commonly used in reference to the United States. The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational Research University located in Oxford As a result, Barnett was fined $10,000 and sentenced to jail for contempt but never paid the fine or served a day in jail. This was because the charges were terminated (civil) and dismissed (criminal) by the 5th Cir. Ct. of Appeals, due to "substantial compliance with orders of the court," and "in view of changed circumstances and conditions. " Barnett gave his, "I Love Mississippi" speech at a 1962 University of Mississippi football game in Jackson. This occurred the night before the riots at Ole Miss' Oxford campus over the admission of Meredith to the University.
The following year, he also actively tried to prevent the Mississippi State University basketball team from playing an NCAA Tournament game against the racially integrated team from Loyola of Chicago. Mississippi State University is a Land-grant university located in north east-central Mississippi, United States, in the town of Starkville and Basketball is a team Sport in which two teams of five active players each try to score points against one another by propelling a ball through a 10 feet (3 m The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single elimination Tournament held each spring featuring 65 College basketball teams in the Loyola University Chicago is a private co-educational Jesuit university established in Chicago in 1870 as Saint Ignatius College The team defied Barnett by sneaking out of the state and playing the game, which they lost to the eventual national champions.
To his credit, he was very successful in spurring industrial development as a balance to the agriculturally based economy.
Barnett's term as governor officially expired on January 21, 1964, with the swearing-in of his successor, Paul B. Johnson, Jr.
Shortly after he left office, Barnett's looming presence was clearly evident at the first trial of white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith in February 1964. Events 1189 - Philip II of France and Richard I of England begin to assemble troops to wage the Third Crusade. Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. Paul Burney Johnson Jr (January 23 1916 October 14 1985 was a United States Democratic Mississippi Politician and son of former Mississippi White supremacy is a racist ideology based on the assertion that White people are superior to other racial groups. Byron De La Beckwith ( November 9 1920, Colusa California – January 21 2001, Jackson Mississippi) was an American De La Beckwith was on trial for the murder of African American civil rights activist Medgar Evers, but an all-white jury was unable to agree on a verdict in both this and a subsequent re-trial. Murder is the unlawful killing of another human person with Malice aforethought, as defined in Common Law countries African Americans or Black Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa Medgar Willy Evers ( July 2, 1925 June 12, 1963) was an African American civil rights activist from Mississippi De La Beckwith was eventually convicted at a subsequent trial three decades later, a case that was chronicled in the movie Ghosts of Mississippi. Ghosts of Mississippi is a 1996 Drama film directed by Rob Reiner and starring Alec Baldwin, Whoopi Goldberg and James Woods
Barnett attempted a political comeback by running for governor again in 1967 but lost, finishing a distant fourth in the state primary. Year 1967 ( MCMLXVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. He then returned to the practice of law, but remained unrepentant about his past, saying, "Generally speaking, I'd do the same things again. "
In 2007, his granddaughter, Judith Barnett, was a Democratic candidate for Justice Court judge in Hinds County, District One.
Ross Barnett Reservoir, north of Jackson, Mississippi, is named in his honor, as is Barnett Lake in Smith County, Mississippi. The Ross R Barnett Reservoir (colloquially known as "The Rez" is a reservoir on the Pearl River in the U Smith County is a County located in the US state of Mississippi.
External links
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by James P. Coleman | Governor of Mississippi 1860-1940 | Succeeded by Paul B. Johnson, Jr. |
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