James P. Coleman
Encyclopedia
James Plemon "J.P." Coleman (January 9, 1914 September 28, 1991) was a politician from the state of Mississippi
.
. He obtained a law degree from The George Washington University Law School
in 1939. As a young man, he served upon the staff of Mississippi Congressman A. L. Ford. In Washington, D.C., he made a name for himself by challenging and defeating another young southern congressional staffer and future president, Lyndon Baines Johnson, for Speaker of the Little Congress, a body that Johnson had dominated before Coleman's challenge. Coleman and Johnson became lifelong friends.
Returning to Mississippi, Coleman was elected District Attorney in 1940, and served until 1946, when he became judge on the state circuit court. After a stint as a justice on the Mississippi Supreme Court, Coleman was the Mississippi Attorney General from 1950 to 1956. Coleman became the Governor of Mississippi in 1956 as a moderate candidate in a campaign where, to appease the emotions of the day, he promised to uphold segregation
. As governor, he befriended Democratic presidential nominee, Senator John Fitzgerald Kennedy, but set up the State Sovereignty Commission. After his term ended in 1960, he won a seat in the Mississippi House of Representatives
and served until 1964. He thus became the only Mississippi politician in history to serve in an elected capacity in all three branches of Mississippi government.
His subsequent campaign for Governor in 1963 was unsuccessful as he lost to Paul B. Johnson, Jr.
The segregation candidate Johnson ran against Coleman, painting Coleman as a racial moderate and friend of the Kennedy administration. Paul Johnson's campaign staff charged that during the 1960 presidential campaign Coleman had allowed candidate Kennedy to sleep in the Governor's Mansion in the bed of white supremacist Theodore Bilbo.
President Kennedy offered Coleman various posts, including Secretary of the Army and ambassador to Australia, but Coleman declined. After President Kennedy's assassination
, President Lyndon Baines Johnson appointed Coleman to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
, where he served from 1965 to 1981. He finished his career in Ackerman, Mississippi, where he practiced law and farmed until he suffered a severe stroke on December 11, 1990.
J. P. Coleman State Park, a state park
in Mississippi, is named after him.
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
.
Biography
Coleman was born in Ackerman, MississippiAckerman, Mississippi
Ackerman is a town in Choctaw County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,696 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Choctaw County.It is named for an early landowner.-Geography:Ackerman is located at ....
. He obtained a law degree from The George Washington University Law School
The George Washington University Law School
The George Washington University Law School, commonly referred to as GW Law, is the law school of The George Washington University. It was founded in 1825 and is the oldest law school in Washington, D.C. The school is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a charter member of the...
in 1939. As a young man, he served upon the staff of Mississippi Congressman A. L. Ford. In Washington, D.C., he made a name for himself by challenging and defeating another young southern congressional staffer and future president, Lyndon Baines Johnson, for Speaker of the Little Congress, a body that Johnson had dominated before Coleman's challenge. Coleman and Johnson became lifelong friends.
Returning to Mississippi, Coleman was elected District Attorney in 1940, and served until 1946, when he became judge on the state circuit court. After a stint as a justice on the Mississippi Supreme Court, Coleman was the Mississippi Attorney General from 1950 to 1956. Coleman became the Governor of Mississippi in 1956 as a moderate candidate in a campaign where, to appease the emotions of the day, he promised to uphold segregation
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
. As governor, he befriended Democratic presidential nominee, Senator John Fitzgerald Kennedy, but set up the State Sovereignty Commission. After his term ended in 1960, he won a seat in the Mississippi House of Representatives
Mississippi House of Representatives
The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi....
and served until 1964. He thus became the only Mississippi politician in history to serve in an elected capacity in all three branches of Mississippi government.
His subsequent campaign for Governor in 1963 was unsuccessful as he lost to Paul B. Johnson, Jr.
Paul B. Johnson, Jr.
Paul Burney Johnson, Jr. was a United States Democratic Mississippi politician and son of former Mississippi Governor Paul B. Johnson, Sr.....
The segregation candidate Johnson ran against Coleman, painting Coleman as a racial moderate and friend of the Kennedy administration. Paul Johnson's campaign staff charged that during the 1960 presidential campaign Coleman had allowed candidate Kennedy to sleep in the Governor's Mansion in the bed of white supremacist Theodore Bilbo.
President Kennedy offered Coleman various posts, including Secretary of the Army and ambassador to Australia, but Coleman declined. After President Kennedy's assassination
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas...
, President Lyndon Baines Johnson appointed Coleman to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Eastern District of Louisiana* Middle District of Louisiana...
, where he served from 1965 to 1981. He finished his career in Ackerman, Mississippi, where he practiced law and farmed until he suffered a severe stroke on December 11, 1990.
J. P. Coleman State Park, a state park
State park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the federated state level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational...
in Mississippi, is named after him.