James Burrows Edwards (June 24, 1927 – December 26, 2014) was an American politician and administrator from
South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
. He was the first
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
to be elected
governor of South Carolina
The governor of South Carolina is the head of government of South Carolina. The governor is the ''ex officio'' commander-in-chief of the National Guard when not called into federal service. The governor's responsibilities include making yea ...
since the post-
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...
Reconstruction Era
The Reconstruction era was a period in American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebuild the country after the bloo ...
in the 1870s. He later served as the
U.S. Secretary of Energy under
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
.
Early life and career
Edwards was born in
Hawthorne, Florida
Hawthorne () is a city in Alachua County, Florida, United States, incorporated in 1881. Indigenous peoples of the Americas had been living in the area since around 100 CE; Hawthorne grew around their trading trails. Throughout its history, Hawth ...
, and was an officer in the
U.S. Maritime Service
The United States Maritime Service (USMS) was established in 1938 under the provisions of the Merchant Marine Act of 1936 as voluntary training organization to train individuals to become officers and crewmembers on merchant ships that form the U ...
during World War II. He continued his service in the
U.S. Naval Reserve after the war. Edwards received a bachelor's degree in 1950 at the
College of Charleston
The College of Charleston (CofC or Charleston) is a public university in Charleston, South Carolina. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest university in South Carolina, the 13th oldest institution of higher learning in the Unit ...
where he was a brother of
Pi Kappa Phi
Pi Kappa Phi (), commonly known as Pi Kapp(s), is an American Greek Letter secret and social fraternity. It was founded by Andrew Alexander Kroeg Jr., Lawrence Harry Mixson, and Simon Fogarty Jr. on December 10, 1904 at the College of Charleston i ...
fraternity
A fraternity (from Latin ''frater'': "brother"; whence, " brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternit ...
. He received a
D.M.D. in 1955 from the
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one ...
, and did a dental internship at the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...
. Returning to
Charleston, Edwards established a
dentistry
Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, disorders, and conditions of ...
practice in 1960 that specialized in
oral surgery. He subsequently held a variety of positions associated with dentistry in the community.
Political career
In 1970, Edwards became chairman of the Republican Party of
South Carolina's 1st congressional district
The 1st congressional district of South Carolina is a coastal congressional district in South Carolina, represented by Republican Nancy Mace since January 3, 2021. She succeeded Democrat Joe Cunningham, having defeated him in the 2020 elect ...
. As a supporter of Republican gubernatorial nominee
U.S. Representative Albert Watson of
South Carolina's 2nd congressional district
The 2nd congressional district of South Carolina is in central and southwestern South Carolina. The district spans from Columbia, South Carolina, Columbia to the South Carolina side of the Augusta, Georgia metropolitan area.
From 1993 through ...
, Edwards claimed that Watson's Democratic opponent,
John C. West, worked covertly in 1969 against the nomination of South Carolina's
Clement Haynsworth
Clement Furman Haynsworth Jr. (October 30, 1912 – November 22, 1989) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He was also an unsuccessful nominee for the United States Supreme Court in 19 ...
to the
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
. The
Nixon nominee failed in the U.S. Senate, 55 to 45, on grounds of alleged bias against
organized labor
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (s ...
and a lack of supports for
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life ...
. Edwards predicted that as governor West would install "an ultra-liberal, minority-dominated state government," citing West's political ties to
Hubert H. Humphrey and longtime
NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&n ...
executive director
Roy Wilkins
Roy Ottoway Wilkins (August 30, 1901 – September 8, 1981) was a prominent activist in the Civil Rights Movement in the United States from the 1930s to the 1970s. Wilkins' most notable role was his leadership of the National Association for the ...
.
Edwards first ran for office in 1971, in a
special election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
to fill the vacancy in the Charleston-centered
1st congressional district caused by the death of longtime Democrat
L. Mendel Rivers
Lucius Mendel Rivers (September 28, 1905 – December 28, 1970) was a Democratic U.S. Representative from South Carolina, representing the Charleston-based 1st congressional district for nearly 30 years. He was chairman of the House Armed ...
. Edwards narrowly lost to one of Rivers's staffers,
Mendel Jackson Davis
Mendel Jackson Davis (October 23, 1942 – May 13, 2007) was an attorney and a United States Representative from South Carolina.
Early life and career
Mendel Jackson Davis was born in North Charleston to Felix Charles Davis and Elizabeth J ...
, but gained enough name recognition from his strong showing that he was elected to the
South Carolina Senate
The South Carolina Senate is the upper house of the South Carolina General Assembly, the lower house being the South Carolina House of Representatives. It consists of 46 senators elected from single member districts for four-year terms at the s ...
as a Republican from white-majority Charleston County. Two years later, he entered the
governor's race as a long-shot candidate. Edwards upset
General
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...
William Westmoreland in the Republican primary and defeated
Democratic Congressman
William Jennings Bryan Dorn
William Jennings Bryan Dorn (April 14, 1916 – August 13, 2005) was a United States politician from South Carolina who represented the western part of the state in the United States House of Representatives from 1947 to 1949 and from 1951 to 197 ...
of
South Carolina's 3rd congressional district in the general election. Dorn had become the Democratic nominee after the winner of the runoff election,
Charles D. "Pug" Ravenel, was disqualified on residency grounds.
Edwards was elected the first Republican governor of the state since
Daniel Henry Chamberlain
Daniel Henry Chamberlain (June 23, 1835April 13, 1907) was an American planter, lawyer, author and the 76th Governor of South Carolina from 1874 until 1876 or 1877. The federal government withdrew troops from the state and ended Reconstruction ...
in 1876. 1974 was otherwise a dismal year for Republicans nationally because of the
Watergate
The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continu ...
scandal and lingering opposition to the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, both of which may have contributed to the primary defeat of Westmoreland, commander of U.S. forces during the late 1960s.
Two of Governor Edwards's aides were
Carroll A. Campbell, Jr., who was elected in 1986 as the second Republican governor in 20th-century South Carolina, and
Bill Workman
William Douglas Workman III (July 3, 1940 – May 12, 2019) was an American businessman and politician who served as the mayor of Greenville, South Carolina from 1983 to 1995. Greenville is the seat of Greenville County, the state's most populou ...
, son of Republican pioneer
W. D. Workman, Jr., and later the
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
of
Greenville. Workman served as Edwards's alternate to the
Appalachian Regional Commission
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) is a United States federal–state partnership that works with the people of Appalachia to create opportunities for self-sustaining economic development and improved quality of life. Congress established A ...
. He became involved with planning and economic development issues, which were key to his later political activities.
Later career and death
At that time South Carolina governors were not allowed to serve two terms in succession, so Edwards was unable to seek reelection in 1978. In 1981, U.S. President
Ronald W. Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
appointed Edwards
Secretary of Energy
The United States secretary of energy is the head of the United States Department of Energy, a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and fifteenth in the presidential line of succession. The position was created on October 1, 1977, when Pr ...
. He resigned two years later to serve as the President of the
Medical University of South Carolina, a post he held for 17 years. In 1997, Edwards was inducted into the South Carolina Hall of Fame. In 2008, he endorsed former
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts ...
of
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
for his party's presidential nomination.
As governor and thereafter, Edwards developed a close friendship with his Democratic predecessor,
John C. West, whom he had earlier accused of undermining the Haynsworth nomination.
In 1994, the state legislature renamed a portion of the
Mark Clark Expressway that crosses the
Wando River
The Wando River is a tidewater river in the coastal area of South Carolina. It begins in the town of Awendaw, Charleston County, and has its mouth at the Cooper River shortly before it flows into Charleston Harbor. The Wando's drainage area ...
the
James B. Edwards Bridge.
In 2010, the new MUSC dental building and the dental school was renamed the James B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine. Edwards died at his home in
Mount Pleasant on December 26, 2014, from complications from a
stroke
A stroke is a disease, medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemorr ...
. He was 87.
James B. Edwards, a Long-Shot as Governor of South Carolina, Dies at 87
/ref>
References
External links
NGA Biography of James Burrows Edwards
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, James Burrows
1927 births
2014 deaths
American dentists
United States Navy personnel of World War II
College of Charleston alumni
Republican Party governors of South Carolina
People from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
People from Hawthorne, Florida
Reagan administration cabinet members
20th-century American politicians
Republican Party South Carolina state senators
United States Secretaries of Energy
University of Louisville alumni
University of Pennsylvania alumni
University of South Carolina trustees
United States Navy officers
20th-century dentists