John Malcolm Patterson

John Malcolm Patterson (born September 27, 1921) is an American politician who was the 44th Governor of Alabama, from 1959 to 1963. Previously he served as State Attorney General (1954–1959).

Most recently, he presided over former state Chief Justice Roy Moore's appeal against his removal from office.

Early life and career

Patterson was born in Goldville, Alabama. He joined the US Army in 1939 and served in the North African, Sicilian, Italian, Southern France, and German campaigns of World War II. In 1945, he left the Army as a major, and obtained an LL.B. degree from the University of Alabama, but was recalled to active duty in the Army from 1951 to 1953 in the Korean War. After his military service, Patterson joined the law practice of his father, Albert Patterson.

Attorney General of Alabama

In 1954, Patterson's father was nominated for Attorney General on a platform promising to clean up crime, but was shot to death in June 1954. John Patterson replaced his father on the Democratic ticket in a special election, and was elected to the post of Attorney General.

As Attorney General, Patterson worked against organized crime, but his activities against the civil rights movement gained more attention. He managed to ban the NAACP from operating in the state of Alabama, and blocked the black community's boycotts in Tuskegee and Montgomery. With backing from the Ku Klux Klan, Patterson defeated a young George Wallace, backed by the NAACP in the Democratic primaries and was elected Governor in 1958, making him the youngest governor in Alabama history, and the first to move directly from the post of Attorney General to Governor. His defeat of George Wallace is often credited with turning Wallace from a civil rights supporter to an ardent segregationist.

Governor of Alabama

Patterson served as Alabama governor during the first half of the centennial of the Civil War. Patterson's clashes with the civil rights movement continued during his tenure as governor. A supporter of the state's segregationist policies, Patterson instigated the expulsion of black students for staging a sit-in at Alabama State University, and defended Alabama's voter registration policies against federal criticism. He withheld police protection for interracial bus riders who were staging a "Freedom Ride" from Washington D.C. to New Orleans, and many of the riders were badly beaten by white mobs at the Birmingham bus station due to Patterson's deliberate neglect. Subsequent freedom riders were guaranteed safe passage only with the intervention of then Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy's office through future Supreme Court Justice Byron White's initiative.^[1]

During Governor Patterson's tenure, the Alabama legislature approved greatly increased funding for highway and school construction, and provided additional funding for facilities for the mentally ill. Programs to improve Alabama's waterways and docks were expanded. Laws curtailing loan sharking were passed. In 1960, NASA designated Huntsville, Alabama as the site for the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center.

In 1960, Patterson was an active supporter of Senator John F. Kennedy's presidential candidacy.

Role in the Bay of Pigs invasion

According to investigative reporter Seymour M. Hersh,^[2] Patterson played an important role in preparations for the Bay of Pigs Invasion against Fidel Castro's new government in Cuba, during the JFK presidential campaign. President Dwight D. Eisenhower informed the governor, whom he knew from military service in World War II, about the operation and asked for use of the Alabama Air National Guard aircraft. These were used to transport Cuban emigres to training grounds in Nicaragua and also during the invasion itself. Patterson also informed presidential candidate John F. Kennedy, thinking that the invasion would benefit Kennedy's Republican opponent, Vice President Richard Nixon. He then worked towards setting the operation for a date after the elections in November.

Failed election bids

In 1962, the Constitution of Alabama prevented Patterson from seeking a second term and instead his previous opponent George Wallace was elected. In 1966, when Wallace could not seek a second term either, Patterson made another bid for the Democratic nomination but was defeated by Wallace's wife Lurleen, who subsequently became governor.

In 1972, he unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination for the post of Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court.

Later life

In the late 1970s, Patterson taught American Government at Troy State University.

In 1984, Patterson was appointed to the State Court of Criminal Appeals, where he remained until his retirement in 1997.

In 2003, Patterson was appointed chief justice of a Special Supreme Court that tried the case of Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, who appealed his removal from office after he had refused to remove a monument of the Ten Commandments from the courthouse despite orders from a federal court judge to do so, he protested this decision. The special court ruled that Moore's removal was legal.^[3]

A 90-minute documentary film on John Patterson was completed in 2007 by Alabama filmmaker Robert Clem. Entitled John Patterson: In the Wake of the Assassins, the film features an extended interview with Patterson himself as well as interviews with journalists, historians and such key figures as John Seigenthaler, aide to Robert Kennedy at the time of the Freedom Rides.^[4]

An authorized biography of John Patterson entitled "Nobody but the People", written by historian Warren Trest, was published in 2008 by New South Books. The book chronicles the life of Alabama's youngest Governor.

Electoral history

Alabama gubernatorial election, 1958:

Democratic primary^[5]:

• John Malcolm Patterson – 196,859 (31.82%)
• George Wallace – 162,435 (26.26%)
• Jimmy Faulkner – 91,512 (14.79%)
• A.W. Todd – 59,240 (9.58%)
• Laurie Battle – 38,955 (6.30%)
• George Hawkins – 24,332 (3.93%)
• C.C. Owen – 15,270 (2.47%)
• Karl Harrison – 12,488 (2.02%)
• Billy Walker – 7,963 (1.29%)
• W.E. Dodd – 4,753 (0.77%)
• John G. Crommelin – 2,245 (0.36%)
• Shearen Elebash – 1,177 (0.19%)
• James Gulatte – 798 (0.13%)
• Shorty Price – 655 (0.11%)

Democratic primary runoff^[6]:

• John Malcolm Patterson – 315,353 (55.74%)
• George Wallace – 250,451 (44.27%)

General election^[7]:

• John Malcolm Patterson (D) – 234,583 (88.22%)
• William Longshore (R) – 30,415 (11.44%)
• William Jackson (I) – 903 (0.34%)

Alabama gubernatorial election, 1966

Democratic primary^[8]:

• Lurleen Wallace – 480,841 (54.10%)
• Richmond Flowers – 172,386 (19.40%)
• Carl A. Elliot – 71,972 (8.10%)
• Bob Gilchrist – 49,502 (5.57%)
• Charles Woods – 41,148 (4.63%)
• John Malcolm Patterson – 31,011 (3.49%)
• Jim Folsom – 24,145 (2.72%)
• A. W. Todd – 9,013 (1.01%)
• Sherman Powell – 7,231 (0.81%)
• Eunice Gore – 1,589 (0.18%)

Election of Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, 1970:

Democratic primary^[9]:

• Howell Heflin – 550,997 (65.71%)
• John Malcolm Patterson – 287,594 (34.30%)

References