Albert Brewer
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Albert Preston Brewer (born October 26, 1928) is an American politician who was the Governor of Alabama from May, 1968 until January, 1971. He was born in Bethel Springs, Tennessee
Prior to his election as Lt. Governor, he served three terms in the Alabama House of Representatives from Morgan County from 1954-1966. During the last of these terms 1962-1966 Brewer, at age 34 became the Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives, the youngest person in state history to hold this post. A one-time ally of George Wallace, he ran for lieutenant governor in 1966 when Wallace's wife, Lurleen Wallace was the Democratic nominee for governor in an effort to keep power in the Wallace family because George Wallace was prevented by term limits then in the Alabama state constitution from succeeding himself.
While lieutenant governor, he was acting governor for a portion of one day while Governor Lurleen Wallace was out of the state for over 20 days for medical treatment. When this constitutional provision became operative, Mrs. Wallace was immediately rushed back into the state.
When Mrs. Wallace subsequently died in office in May, 1968 and Brewer became governor, he was not interested in allowing Wallace to run the state the way that Mrs. Wallace had. Additionally, George Wallace was in the midst of his quixotic bid for the Presidency as the candidate of his own American Independent Party. Thus, Brewer began to work to be elected as governor in his own right in 1970. In this effort, he gained an important ally in President Richard M. Nixon, who won the 1968 presidential election and who sought to neutralize Wallace as a potential adversary in 1972. By 1970, the constitutional provision limiting an Alabama governor to one term had been repealed, and Wallace was actively seeking to become governor again.
Brewer's 1970 gubernatorial campaign, however, was revolutionary in many respects. Refusing to engage in racist rhetoric, Brewer courted newly-registered black voters and aimed to build a coalition of blacks, educated middle-class whites and working class whites from northern Alabama (traditionally the most left-leaning part of the state). He unveiled a platform calling for more education funding, an ethics commission and a commission to revise Alabama's 1901 state constitution, which had been deliberately framed to disenfranchise blacks and poor whites.[1]
Brewer defeated Wallace in the Democratic primary, which served as gubernatorial election at the time. However, he failed to win an outright majority and faced Wallace in a run-off. Wallace, running an unapologetically dirty campaign, made slurs about Brewer and his family[2] and made openly racist appeals to white voters. Wallace "barely won" the election.[3]
After years of private law practice, Brewer served as Distinguished Professor of Law and Government at Samford University's Cumberland School of Law. He has also been an active leader with the Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform since 2000.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Rogers, William Warren, et. al. Alabama: The History of a Deep South State. Tuscaloosa; The University of Alabama Press, 1994, 576.
- ^ Rogers, 576
- ^ Rogers, 576
| Preceded by: Lurleen Wallace |
Governor of Alabama 1968—1971 |
Succeeded by: George Wallace |
| Governors of Alabama |  |
|---|---|
| W. Bibb • T. Bibb • Pickens • Murphy • G. Moore • S. Moore • Gayle • Clay • McVay • Bagby • Fitzpatrick • Martin • Chapman • Collier • Winston • A. Moore • Shorter • Watts • Parsons • Patton • Swayne • Smith • Lindsay • Lewis • Houston • Cobb • E.A. O'Neal • Seay • T. Jones • Oates • Johnston • Jelks • Samford • Jelks • Cunningham • Jelks • Comer • E. O'Neal • Henderson • Kilby • Brandon • McDowell • Brandon • Graves • Miller • Graves • Dixon • Sparks • Folsom Sr. • Persons • Folsom Sr. • Patterson • G. Wallace • L. Wallace • Brewer • G. Wallace • Beasley • G. Wallace • James • G. Wallace • Hunt • Folsom Jr. • James • Siegelman • Riley |
| Lieutenant Governors of Alabama | |
|---|---|
| Allen • Applegate • Bill Baxley • Lucy Baxley • Beasley • Boutwell • Brewer • Carmichael • Cunningham • Davis • DeGraffenried • Ellis • Folsom, Jr. Gray • Hardwick • Inzer • Kilby • Knight • Ligon • McDowell • McKinstry • McMillan • Merrill • Miller • Moren • Seed • Siegelman • Windom |
