Lurleen Wallace

Lurleen Wallace
Scenic South Card Co. · Public domain · source
Name	Lurleen Wallace
Caption	Lurleen Wallace in 1967
Order	46th
Office	Governor of Alabama
Term start	January 16, 1967
Term end	May 7, 1968
Lieutenant	Albert Brewer
Predecessor	George Wallace
Successor	Albert Brewer
Birth name	Lurleen Brigham Burns
Birth date	September 19, 1926
Birth place	Tuscaloosa, Alabama, U.S.
Death date	May 7, 1968 (aged 41)
Death place	Montgomery, Alabama, U.S.
Death cause	Uterine cancer
Party	Democratic
Spouse	George Wallace (m. 1943)
Occupation	Businesswoman, politician

Lurleen Wallace. Lurleen Wallace was the 46th Governor of Alabama, serving from 1967 until her death in 1968. She is historically significant as the first woman elected governor of Alabama and as a surrogate candidate for her husband, former Governor George Wallace, who was constitutionally barred from immediate succession. Her tenure was a direct extension of her husband's segregationist policies and political machine, occurring at a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement.

Early life and marriage

Lurleen Brigham Burns was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in 1926. She worked at a Kress dime store after high school, where she met George Wallace, then a law student at the University of Alabama. They married in 1943 while he was on leave from the United States Army Air Forces. During World War II, she worked at a shipyard in Mobile, Alabama. Lurleen Wallace largely focused on raising their four children while her husband's political career advanced, serving as a supportive spouse during his terms in the Alabama House of Representatives and as a circuit judge.

Political career and gubernatorial election

In 1962, George Wallace was elected governor, famously declaring "Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever" in his inaugural address. Barred by the Alabama Constitution from consecutive terms, he engineered a plan for his wife to run as his successor in the 1966 gubernatorial election. Lurleen Wallace was a reluctant candidate but agreed, running on a platform of continuing her husband's policies. She easily won the Democratic primary against opponents including Richmond Flowers and former Governor John Patterson, and then defeated the Republican nominee, James D. Martin, in the general election. Her victory was seen as a political proxy for George Wallace, who remained the de facto power.

Governorship and policies

Inaugurated on January 16, 1967, Lurleen Wallace's governorship was marked by her husband's heavy influence. She focused on populist issues like expanding the state's mental health facilities and the Alabama State Parks system. However, the administration's defining feature was its continued, vehement opposition to integration and federal civil rights mandates. The administration maintained state troopers as a symbol of resistance. Her tenure coincided with ongoing movement activism, including the work of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and events like the Selma to Montgomery marches.

Relationship with George Wallace and the Civil Rights Movement

Lurleen Wallace's role was intrinsically tied to her husband's political strategy against the Civil Rights Movement. George Wallace, often described as the "power behind the throne," used her office to sustain his segregationist agenda and lay the groundwork for his 1968 presidential campaign under the American Independent Party. Her governorship symbolized the entrenched white supremacist power structure in the Deep South that movement leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Fred Shuttlesworth were challenging. While she did not originate the harsh rhetoric, her administration provided continuity for policies that enforced Jim Crow and resisted the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Health, death, and legacy

During the 1966 campaign, Lurleen Wallace was diagnosed with Uterine cancer. She underwent surgery and radiation treatment but continued her public duties as her health declined. She died in office at the University of Alabama Medical Center in Montgomery on May 7, 1968, at age 41. She was succeeded by Lieutenant Governor Albert Brewer. Her death came just a month after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., a tumultuous period in the civil rights era. Lurleen Wallace is remembered as a tragic figure, a wife thrust into politics, and as a key component in George Wallace's prolonged defiance of civil rights. Her election demonstrated the lengths to which segregationist forces would go to maintain political control.