James Strom Thurmond Sr. (December 5, 1902June 26, 2003) was an American politician who represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 1954 to shortly before his death in 2003. Prior to his 48 years as a senator, he served as the 103rd governor of South Carolina from 1947 to 1951. Thurmond was a member of the Democratic Party until 1964 when he joined the Republican Party for the remainder of his legislative career. He also ran for president in 1948 as the Dixiecrat candidate, receiving over a million votes and winning four states.
A staunch opponent of civil rights legislation during the 1950s and 1960s, Thurmond conducted the longest speaking filibuster ever by a lone senator, at 24 hours and 18 minutes in length, in opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1957. In the 1960s, he voted against the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Despite his support for racial segregation, Thurmond denied the accusation that he was a racist by insisting he was a supporter of states' rights and an opponent of excessive federal authority. Thurmond switched parties ahead of the 1964 United States presidential election, saying that the Democratic Party no longer represented people like him, and endorsed Republican nominee Barry Goldwater, who also opposed and voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964. By the 1970s, Thurmond started to moderate his stance on race, but continued to defend his prior support for segregation on the basis of states' rights and Southern society at the time.
Thurmond served three times as President pro tempore of the United States Senate, and chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee from 1981 to 1987 and the Senate Armed Services Committee from 1995 to 1999. He retired in 2003 as the first centenarian member of either chamber of Congress while still in office and the oldest-serving senator. His 48 years as a senator, a record at the time, is the fourth-longest in U.S. history behind Robert Byrd, Daniel Inouye, and Patrick Leahy. At 14 years, Thurmond was also the longest-serving Dean of the United States Senate in political history.
Early life and education (1902–1933) James Strom Thurmond was born on December 5, 1902, in Edgefield, South Carolina. He was the second of six children born to John William Thurmond (1862–1934) and Eleanor Gertrude Strom (1870–1958). Thurmond's father was a lawyer who served as a county supervisor and representative to the South Carolina General Assembly. In 1902, Thurmond's father unsuccessfully contested the election for United States Congress. Strom's mother came from a well-known Edgefield family. She was a deeply religious woman, known for delivering prayers. Thurmond learned to ride ponies, horses, and bulls from an early age. When Thurmond was four, his family moved into a larger home, where they owned about six acres of land. His home was frequently visited by politicians and lawyers. At six years old, he had an encounter with Benjamin Tillman, a senator from South Carolina. Thurmond remembered the handshake with Tillman as his first political skill.
Thurmond attended Clemson Agricultural College of South Carolina (now Clemson University), where he studied horticulture. At Clemson, he served as the president of Calhoun Literary Society, where he debated and learned parliamentary procedure. He was deeply influenced by his English professorDavid Wistar Daniel, namesake of D. W. Daniel High School. Thurmond graduated from Clemson in 1923 with a Bachelor of Science degree.
After his graduation, Thurmond worked as a farmer, teacher, and athletic coach.
In 1925, Thurmond had an affair with Carrie Butler, his family's teenage African-American housekeeper. In 2003, the Thurmond family confirmed that Thurmond fathered a mixed-race daughter named Essie Mae Washington with Butler.
In 1929, he was appointed as Edgefield County superintendent of education. While serving as superintendent of education, he began studying to become a lawyer by reading law under his father's guidance.
Early career (1933–1947)
South Carolina Senate (1933–1938)