Wallace, George C

Wallace, George C(orley)

(born Aug. 25, 1919, Clio, Ala., U.S.—died Sept. 13, 1998, Montgomery, Ala.) U.S. politician. He served in the Alabama state legislature (1947–53). As a circuit court judge (1953–59), he was known for his resistance to federal investigations of racial discrimination. Campaigning as a segregationist, he was elected governor in 1963 and kept his pledge “to stand in the schoolhouse door” to prevent enrollment of African American students at the University of Alabama. He yielded only in the face of the federalized National Guard. Further confrontations made him a nationwide symbol of Southern opposition to racial integration. He formed the American Independent Party and was its presidential candidate in 1968, winning 13% of the popular vote. He again served as governor (1971–79). While campaigning for the 1972 Democratic presidential nomination, he was shot in an assassination attempt and left partly paralyzed. In the 1980s he renounced his segregationist views, and he won his last term as governor (1983–87) with support from African American voters.