Thurmond's belief in limiting federal authority
When Strom Thurmond ran for president in 1948, he chose a platform of states' rights and limited federal authority. He believes that the federal government would have accumulated less centralized power by 1978 if he had been elected.
Citing this Excerpt
Oral History Interview with Strom Thurmond, July 20, 1978. Interview A-0334. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Full Text of the Excerpt
Would you say now, as you look back, you've accomplished all
that you've really set out to do. I mean, you're sitting there, and
that's where you wanted to sit.
- STROM THURMOND:
-
Well, I don't know that.
(chuckle)
It's kind of hard to say that. Well, I ran for president in
1948. And the reasons I ran for president, I just got sick and tired of
seeing more power being centralized here in Washington. Truman was
advocating this unreasonable Civil Rights program, and I've never been
against blacks, but he was just catering to that group to win votes. And
he was advocating a law against lynching. Well lynching is nothing but
murder and every state has laws in the murder. And he was advocating
passing a law to repeal the poll taxes as prerequisite for voting. Well,
I had always advocated that as governor, my first year, and gotten it
repealed it down there. Congress never did pass a law to repeal the poll
tax. Later, ten years after we'd done it in South Carolina, or maybe ten
years after I came here, Harlan introduced a constitutional amendment.
That's the proper way to do it; contitutional amendment to
repeal the poll taxes as prerequisite to voting. And that
was done. But when I was governor we were way ahead of 'em
on so many progressive things. But as I said, Truman was advocating
things; he was trying to do by statue what should have been
done by amending the constitution. And then advocating so many other
things too that were unreasonable and centralizing power in Washington.
I've always been afraid of federal power. Or too much power in any one
place. Because it ultimately brings tyranny. And ultimately can result
in totalitarianism if it's carried far enough. I've always believed in
the rights of the states to run their own affairs.
- JAMES G. BANKS:
-
Did you ever speculate on what, if you had been elected president in
1948?
- STROM THURMOND:
-
I think the country would be different today.
- JAMES G. BANKS:
-
How would it be different?
- STROM THURMOND:
-
I think we could have reversed the trend of centralizing more power in
Washington. The federal government has gone into almost every
conceivable field of activity here. The field of education, no one
believes in education more than I do. I have put my honorariums and got
money from other sources. I've established twenty five, twenty six
scholarships in twenty four different places in institutions in South
Carolina colleges. Four black colleges and white colleges and
even at correctional institutions where these young people go who have
committed crimes. Give them a chance to do well and reform and to go to
college. I established one there. And I established scholarships,
several, at the Strom Thurmond high school that's named after me.
And no one believes in it more than I do. But the word education is not
even mentioned in the United States constitution. And if they're
going to go into the field of education, they
should amend the constitution. I'm a strict believer in the constitution
of the United States. I think it ought to be followed or it ought to be
amended in the way provided in the constitution. And not try to pass a
law to do things that they don't have the power to do. Now that's just
an illustration. That way, education not found in the constitution, they
have no right to go into it unless they amend the constitution to allow
'em to go into it.
They're going into so many field like that. That was disturbing me, and
they've done a lot of it since I've been here in the Senate. I've
opposed it after we go into a field, then I vote on the
merits but I vote against going into it to start with because
I didn't think it was proper.
So, if I had been elected president I think we could've stopped that
trend that was just beginning along about that time, to a great
extent.
- JAMES G. BANKS:
-
I'd like to follow up on that idea a little bit, with your reaction to
national historical movements.
- STROM THURMOND:
-
Now we can give you a sheet too that will tell you about why I ran for
president, if you'd like to have that.
- JAMES G. BANKS:
-
Fine. What do you view as the most important historical event in your
life?
- STROM THURMOND:
-
The most important historical event? I'd have to think over that some,
it's kind of hard to say off hand. One of the most vivid experiences
I've had was when the sheriff over there was
killed. I was the judge then, that was the fall of 1941. Wadd Allen was
the sheriff, he was killed by George Logue. I'll give you a book that
was written about me and my first wife that tells about that. I don't
know if that's such a historic thing. The most historic thing I guess
was running for president. Because if we a change of 20,000
votes in two states would've thrown that election to the House. It was
that close.
- JAMES G. BANKS:
-
Do you think you could've won it in the House. Or traded, maybe.
- STROM THURMOND:
-
Well, we might have won it in the House for this reason. The Republicans
hated Truman. The whole country seemed to have hated him for the most
part.
(chuckle)
But I think the southerners at that time the Civil
Rights program had so upset the southerners it would have
been very difficult for them to have voted against a candidate from the
South running for president. And the Republicans might have just
gone; I was told by some Republicans that they
would've chosen me if it'd gone to the House over Truman. Of course no
one knows what would've happened. But there was a chance there, there
was a chance that with the southerners and the Republicans, it might've
been done.