Voting Station

James F. Byrnes

Please vote to return to collections.

Politician

The Resume

    (May 2, 1882-April 9, 1972)
    Born in Charleston, South Carolina
    Congressman from South Carolina's 2nd District (1911-25)
    US Senator from South Carolina (1931-41)
    Associate Justice of the Supreme Court (1941-42)
    Headed the Office of Economic Stabilization (1942-43) and Office of War Mobilization (1943-45)
    US Secretary of State (1945-47)
    Governor of South Carolina (1951-55)
    Time's Person of the Year (1946)

Why he might be annoying:

    He supported FDR's controversial court-packing plan.
    FDR rewarded him for his support by naming him to the Supreme Court, but he resigned in less than two years because the job bored him.
    He was one of the leading contenders to replace Henry A. Wallace as FDR's running mate (1944), but his candidacy was opposed by labor unions (which found him too conservative), blacks (who objected to his anti-integration stance) and Catholics (who considered him a deserter for converting to Episcopalianism).
    His initially close relationship with President Harry Truman deteroriated as Truman accused him of trying to set foreign policy by himself and only informing the President after the fact.
    Truman and others felt that Byrne was disrespectful because of his resentment that Truman had been chosen over him as FDR's Vice-President and successor.
    As governor, he criticized the Brown v. Board of Education decision desegregating schools.
    He continued to profess to be a Democrat while endorsing Dwight David Eisenhower (1952,1956), Richard Nixon (1960) and Barry Goldwater (1964) for President.
    He secretly advised Nixon on how to win Southern Democrats over to the Republican Party.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He is one of the few politicians to have been active in state government and in all three branches of the federal government.
    He exerted so much influence during World War II that the press dubbed him 'the Assistant President.'
    Ironically, when Truman was first approached about being nominated as vice-president, his response was, 'Go to Hell. I'm for Jimmy Byrnes.'
    After FDR's death, he informed Truman about the Manhattan Project to build the atomic bomb.
    As governor, he attempted to limit the power of the KKK by prohibiting adults from wearing a mask in public on any day other than Halloween.
    Part of his reason for encouraging Southern Democrats to go Republican was his belief that the Democratic Party took the 'Solid South' for granted during elections while otherwise ignoring its interests.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 25 Votes: 56.00% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 20 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 18 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 19 Votes: 57.89% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 13 Votes: 53.85% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 15 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying