George Wallace's 1963 Inaugural Address
| George Wallace's 1963 Inaugural Address | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Civil Rights Movement | |
| Date | January 14, 1963 |
| Location | Alabama State Capitol Montgomery, Alabama |
George Wallace's 1963 Inaugural Address was delivered January 14, 1963, following his election as Governor of Alabama. Wallace at this time in his career was an ardent segregationist, and as Governor he challenged the attempts of the federal government to enforce laws prohibiting segregation in Alabama's public schools and other institutions. The speech is most famous for the phrase "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever" which became a rallying cry for those opposed to integration and the Civil Rights Movement.
Prior to his first campaign for governor in 1958, George Wallace (D) served as a member of the Alabama House of Representatives and later as judge in the Third Judicial Circuit Court. During this time Wallace was known as a moderate on racial issues, and was associated with the progressive, liberal faction of Alabama politics. During the 1958 gubernatorial campaign Wallace spoke out against the Ku Klux Klan, and although he endorsed segregation his centrist views won him the support of the NAACP. In contrast, his opponent John Patterson accepted the endorsement of the Ku Klux Klan and made racial issues a major part of his campaign.
Previous Alabama governors had run successfully on moderate platforms similar to the one Wallace adopted in 1958. However the growing Civil Rights Movement, especially the Montgomery Bus Boycott three years earlier, had left white Alabamans feeling "under siege," and Patterson won the race for governor by a large margin.
After this defeat, Wallace determined that in order to be elected governor he would have to change his position on racial issues, and told one of his campaign officials "I was out-niggered by John Patterson. And I'll tell you here and now, I will never be out-niggered again."
Wallace's new stance on racial issues became apparent in 1959, when he was the only local circuit court judge who refused to turn over voting records to a federal commission investigating discrimination against black voters. Threatened with jail, Wallace eventually complied and released the registration documents; however his defiance earned him notoriety and signaled his new political position. Opposition to black voter registration efforts would become a part of his platform when Wallace ran for governor in 1962.
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