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| Affiliation | Democratic |
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1964-01-01 |
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| Name | John J. McKeithen |
| Address |
Columbia, Louisiana , United States |
| Email | None |
| Website | None |
| Born |
May 18, 1918
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| Died | June 04, 1999
(81 years)
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| Contributor | Thibo |
| Last Modifed | RBH
Jun 19, 2015 02:54pm |
| Tags |
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| Info | John Julian McKeithen was born on May 28, 1918, in Grayson, Louisiana, in Caldwell Parish to Jesse J. and DeEtte Eglin McKeithen.
McKeithen, who served as the state's chief executive from 1964-72, was Louisiana's first governor this century to serve consecutive terms. He was reelected to his second term of office with 81% of the vote, the highest percentage received by a governor in modern Louisiana history.
He received his early education in the Caldwell Parish public schools. He later attended Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge after a short stint at High Point College in High Point, North Carolina, a small Methodist institution. He received his Bachelor of Science and his juris doctorate degrees from Louisiana State University.
On June 14, 1942 McKeithen married Marjorie Howell Funderburk and they had six children, including Louisiana's current Secretary of State, W. Fox McKeithen.
During World War II, McKeithen served with distinction in the 77th Infantry Division in the Pacific Theater of Operation, participating in numerous engagements including the battle for Okinawa. He obtained the rank of first lieutenant during the war.
Following the war, he returned to Columbia, Louisiana, where he opened a law office. In 1948, McKeithen's distinguished political career began when he was elected to the state House of Representatives, where he caught the eye of then Governor Earl K. Long, who tabbed the young solon to be one of his floor leaders. It was the colorful Long who enticed McKeithen to run for lieutenant governor in 1952 with Long's hand-picked candidate for governor, Judge Carlos Spaht. The Spaht-McKeithen ticket made it to the general election where it was defeated by the ticket headed by Judge Robert Kennon.
In 1954, McKeithen again entered the political arena when he tossed his hat into the race for Public Service Commissioner for the Third District. He handily won that election and was reelected in 1960. The state's voters, inspired by McKeithen's campaign slogan "Won't Ya Hep Me," gave him a resounding victory in the 1964 gubernatorial election. In that race, he defeated New Orleans Mayor deLesseps Morrison in the Democratic general election after finishing second to Morrison in the primary. He later defeated Republican candidate Charlton Lyons in the general election.
When McKeithen took office, the state was plagued by a stagnant economy, racial discord, and a growing dissatisfaction with government. When McKeithen concluded his second term in 1972, a "new Louisiana" had emerged, one characterized by unprecedented economic growth, racial harmony and a state government viewed as being more effective and responsive. These efforts and accomplishments helped earn him the title "Big John" McKeithen.
During his tenure as governor, he proved to be the state's foremost ambassador for economic development. He worked tirelessly throughout his two terms selling Louisiana to business and industrial leaders, and by 1972 Louisiana led the south in economic expansion. The Superdome in New Orleans most fittingly symbolizes McKeithen's success in revitalizing the state's sagging economy. The project was greeted by its share of naysayers, but McKeithen's determination prevailed, and the Superdome proved to be one of Louisiana's greatest economic investments in history, generating millions of dollars annually for the economies of both New Orleans and the state.
However, economic development was not McKeithen's sole accomplishment while governor. To the contrary, his two administrations ushered in one of the great reform periods in the state's history. Implementation of the state's strongest code of ethics for public officials, establishment of an insurance program for state employees, and reform of the state's correctional system were other major achievements of his two administrations.
It was in the field of race relations, however, that McKeithen displayed the unique brand of statesmanship that set him apart from other Southern governors of the period. Louisiana was spared the racial turmoil experienced in other states primarily because of the leadership he provided during that turbulent period. For example, in 1965, when a racial crisis occurred, Governor McKeithen responded by calling for a cooling-off period and appointing a biracial Louisiana Commission on Human Relations to help quell the situation. His success in race relations was exemplified with his appointments of Israel Augustine and Ernest "Dutch" Morial to Judgeships in New Orleans, the first African-Americans to be so appointed since Reconstruction.
McKeithen's accomplishments during his first term did not go unnoticed by the state's electorate, which, late in his initial term, approved a constitutional amendment allowing governors to serve consecutive terms. He was then overwhelmingly reelected in 1968, thus becoming the first governor this century to be elected to back to back terms.
He retired from public life in 1972, leaving as his political legacy eight years of industrial growth, governmental reform, restoration of the public's trust in its government, economic expansion, and improved race relations.
Following his second term, McKeithen retired to his farm in Caldwell Parish, where he continued practicing law and managing an oil and gas exploration company. He later established a law practice in Baton Rouge, as well. A devout supporter of Louisiana State University, he was appointed to that University's Board of Supervisors in 1983.
Governor McKeithen is survived by his wife, Marjorie Funderburk McKeithen; his sisters, De Ette Williams and Jan Ette Meredith; four daughters, Rebecca McKeithen Hamilton, Melissa McKeithen Cummings, Pamela McKeithen Plummer and Jenny McKeithen Borders; his son, Secretary of State W. Fox McKeithen; and his 15 grandchildren who proudly boast that he was "the Best Grand Daddy in the Whole Wide World": Marjorie Ann McKeithen, Marianne McKeithen, Sarah Hamilton, John Hamilton, Hannah Cummings, Jesse Hamilton, Russell Cummings, Rebecca Ann McKeithen, Jonathan Vining, Laura Cummings, Jennifer Plummer, John McKeithen, Jeremy Vining, Casey Plummer and Jason Vining. He is preceded in death by his brother, Dr. Eglin McKeithen; and son, Jesse Jay McKeithen.
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