Cecil H. Underwood

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Cecil Harland Underwood
25th & 32nd Governor of West Virginia
In office 1957 – 1961 1997 – 2001
Preceded by	William C. Marland (1957) Gaston Caperton (1997)
Succeeded by	William Wallace Barron (1961) Bob Wise (2001)
Born	November 5, 1922 (1922-11-05) (age 85) Joseph's Mills, West Virginia
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Hovah Hall Underwood (deceased)
Profession	Educator
Religion	Methodist

Cecil Harland Underwood (born November 5, 1922) is an American Republican Party politician from West Virginia, known for the length of his career. He was governor of West Virginia from 1957 until 1961 and from 1997 until 2001. He ran for reelection in 2000 but was defeated by Bob Wise. Interestingly, Underwood has the distinction of being both the youngest and the oldest person ever to serve as Governor of West Virginia (as well as, upon his second election, the oldest serving governor of any state). He was also the first guest on the television game show To Tell the Truth. He is Methodist.

[edit] Early life

Educated at Salem College (now Salem International University) and West Virginia University, Underwood taught high school and college from 1943 to 1950 and served as President of Salem College from 1950 to 1956. He also served in the West Virginia House of Delegates from 1944 to 1956.

[edit] Governor of West Virginia

Underwood's 1956 election as Governor of West Virginia marked the first election of a Republican to the office since 1928. Following the lead of Governor William C. Marland, the Democrat who preceded him in office, Underwood continued the desegregation of West Virginia schools without violent confrontation at all levels and was a supporter of civil rights legislation. The previous governors since 1932 had all been Democrats. His first act as governor was to go on the new medium of television and inform every state employee that they were fired. He stated that this was the only way to destroy the corrupt "machine" system. He later advocated an organized civil service and retirement pension system.

When presented with an order to desegregate the state's school systems, Underwood simply stated that "West Virginia will obey the Law."

During his first term, Underwood oversaw three last executions (by the electric chair) in the West Virginia (today the only southern non-death penalty state). The last took place in 1959^[1].

[edit] Activities in between terms as governor

The state Constitution prohibited governors from serving consecutive terms at that time, so he ran in 1960 for the United States Senate, but was defeated by incumbent Democrat Jennings Randolph. He was nominated again for governor in 1964 but was defeated again, and then lost the Republican primary for governor in 1968. He was nominated again for governor in 1976 but lost yet again. Underwood held a variety of positions during these years. He worked for the Island Creek Coal Company and Monsanto Chemical Company as well as forming his own land development company. He was associated as well with the Software Valley Corporation in Morgantown, West Virginia. He continued his academic career by serving as President of Bethany College and instructor of political science at Marshall University.

[edit] Second term as governor

He then was elected again to the office in 1996. His main support in this election came from a group of conservative Democrats known as "Democrats for Underwood" who opposed Charlotte Pritt, who had run a write-in campaign against then-governor Gaston Caperton four years earlier, and had won a multi-candidate primary in this election cycle. Underwood was the only sitting Republican governor defeated for re-election in 2000.

[edit] References

v • d • e Governors of West Virginia Boreman • Farnsworth • Stevenson • Jacob • Mathews • Jackson • Wilson • Fleming • MacCorkle • Atkinson • White • Dawson • Glasscock • Hatfield • Cornwell • Morgan • Gore • Conley • Kump • Holt • Neely • Meadows • Patteson • Marland • Underwood • Barron • Smith • Moore • Rockefeller • Moore • Caperton • Underwood • Wise • Manchin