John Julian McKeithen (May 28, 1918 – June 4, 1999) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 49th governor of

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

from 1964 to 1972.

Early life

McKeithen was born in Grayson, Louisiana on May 28, 1918. His father was a farmer. He studied at

High Point College High Point University (HPU) is a private university in High Point, North Carolina, United States. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The university was founded as High Point College in 1924, and it became High Point University in ...

, and later received a law degree from

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

in 1942. He served in the

77th Infantry Division 77th Division or 75th Infantry Division may refer to: *77th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht), Germany * 77th Infantry Division of Khurasan, Iran * 77th Division (Imperial Japanese Army) * 77th Division (People's Republic of China) *77th Division (Sp ...

in the Pacific Theater during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the war, he settled in

Columbia, Louisiana Columbia is a town in and the parish seat of Caldwell Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 277 in 2020. History The land that became Columbia was first cleared by Daniel Humphries in 1827. A store was built a few years later the ...

and set up a law practice.

Political career

1948–1963

McKeithen was elected to the

Louisiana House of Representatives The Louisiana House of Representatives (; ) is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. This chamber is composed of 105 representatives, each of whom represents approximately 4 ...

in 1948. Governor Earl K. Long appointed him as floor leader despite his lack of experience and low profile. He lost the race for the Democratic nomination for

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

in 1952, and in 1954 was elected to the

Louisiana Public Service Commission The Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC) is an independent regulatory agency which manages public utilities and motor carriers in Louisiana. The Commission is established by Article IV, Section 21 of the 1921 Constitution of the State of ...

First term as governor

McKeithen entered the 1963 Democratic primary for Governor of Louisiana. He ran as a populist, running direct-to-camera commercials with a signature catchphrase of "Won't you he'p me?" As was typical for Southern Democrats, he ran as a

segregationist Racial segregation is the separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Segregation can involve the spatial separation of the races, and mandatory use of different institutions, such as schools and hospitals by peopl ...

, insinuating that his chief rival (

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

mayor

deLesseps Story Morrison deLesseps Story "Chep" Morrison Sr. (January 18, 1912 – May 22, 1964), was an American attorney and politician who was the 54th mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana, from 1946 to 1961. He then served as an appointee of U.S. President John F. Kenn ...

) was an integrationist supported by the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

. McKeithen won the Democratic nomination, which in the Deep South at the time was

tantamount to election A safe seat is an electoral district which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combination of both. With such seats, there is very little chance of a seat changing h ...

, and defeated the Republican candidate Charlton Lyons in the 1964 general election. McKeithen's first term saw the construction of the

Louisiana Superdome Caesars Superdome (originally Louisiana Superdome and formerly Mercedes-Benz Superdome), commonly known as the Superdome, is a domed multi-purpose stadium in the Southern United States, southern United States, located in New Orleans, Louisiana. ...

, reforms to the state code of ethics, and the Civil Rights Movement. Shortly after McKeithen's election, he began sending secret payments through the

Louisiana State Sovereignty Commission The Louisiana State Sovereignty Commission was a government agency of the Louisiana state government established to combat desegregation, which operated from June 1960 to 1967 in the capital city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The group warned of "cr ...

to the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

leadership, in an attempt to "buy peace" and suppress Klan violence. In one incident, a confident of McKeithen's was sent to

Bogalusa Bogalusa ( ) is a city in Washington Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 12,232 at the 2010 census. In th2020 censusthe city reported a population of 10,659. It is the principal city of the Bogalusa Micropolitan Statistical Are ...

with $10,000 in cash to be split equally between local Klan leaders and the local chapter of

Deacons for Defense and Justice The Deacons for Defense and Justice was a Black American self-defense group founded in November 1964, during the civil rights era in the United States, in the mill town of Jonesboro, Louisiana. On February 21, 1965—the day of Malcolm X's assassi ...

. These payments by McKeithen were discovered through declassified

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

records in 2016, through the

Freedom of Information Act Freedom of Information Act may refer to the following legislations in different jurisdictions which mandate the national government to disclose certain data to the general public upon request: * Freedom of Information Act (United States) of 1966 * F ...

. Despite his running as a segregationist in 1963, he oversaw the beginning of

school integration In the United States, school integration (also known as desegregation) is the process of ending race-based segregation within American public, and private schools. Racial segregation in schools existed throughout most of American history and ...

in Louisiana, and called out the

Louisiana National Guard The Louisiana National Guard (; ) is the armed force through which the Louisiana Military Department executes the U.S. state of Louisiana's security policy. Consisting of the Louisiana Army National Guard, a reserve component of the United States ...

to protect civil rights activists marching from

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

. In a speech to a Black audience in 1966, he said regarding integration: "I know I’m not leaving this state, and I don’t think you’re leaving either. So we’ve got to solve our problem." McKeithen was popular in his first term, and successfully engineered the passage of a constitutional referendum that allowed governors to run for re-election, the first time this had been allowed in Louisiana in the 20th century. He also helped to engineer a referendum for a domed stadium in

, with the approval (by a margin of roughly 3-to-1) being key in the formation of the first professional team in the state in the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

to begin play in 1967. The initial forecast was for $35 million, complete with financing by a hotel-motel tax of 4% in the city and neighboring Jefferson Parish that would not rely on credit from the state. However, the figure doubled in the ensuing years to the point where (due to factors cited by McKeithen as inflation and rising construction costs) that had to see McKeithen sign a lease between the stadium (as chaired by him) and the state that would see the state rental take form in making up any deficits incurred by the stadium. The

eventually opened in 1975.

Second term as governor

McKeithen defeated Congressman

John Rarick John Richard Rarick (January 29, 1924 – September 14, 2009) was an American lawyer, jurist, and World War II veteran who served four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, serving Louisiana's 6th congressional district from 1967 to 1975 ...

by a wide margin in the 1967 Democratic primary for Governor, and was elected unopposed in the 1968 general election. During his second term, a series of articles in

Life magazine ''Life'' (stylized as ''LIFE'') is an American magazine launched in 1883 as a weekly publication. In 1972, it transitioned to publishing "special" issues before running as a monthly from 1978 to 2000. Since then, ''Life'' has irregularly publi ...

alleged that he was connected to the New Orleans mafia, though definitive proof did not emerge.

Later life and death

After the completion of his second term, McKeithen retired to his farm in

and continued to practice law. He managed an oil and gas company and was appointed to the Board of Supervisors of

in 1983. McKeithen underwent heart surgery in 1997, after which his health declined. On June 4, 1999, McKeithen died at the age of 81 in Columbia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKeithen, John 1918 births 1999 deaths Democratic Party members of the Louisiana House of Representatives Democratic Party governors of Louisiana People from Caldwell Parish, Louisiana Louisiana State University alumni Louisiana lawyers Members of the Louisiana Public Service Commission Military personnel from Louisiana Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army officers American Methodists American segregationists 20th-century American lawyers People from Columbia, Louisiana 20th-century members of the Louisiana State Legislature