"YOU ARE DESTROYING THE CONSTITUTION"

JFK SENDS TROOPS TO MISSISSIPPI TO RESTORE ORDER

Oxford, Mississippi (JFK+50) On October 1, 1962, 23,000 United States Army troops arrived on the campus of the University of Mississippi here in Oxford to restore order following rioting that resulted in the deaths of two persons.

President John F. Kennedy gave the order for deployment after rioting began on September 30.  The riots were sparked by the attempt of African-American James Meredith to enroll in the all-white state university.

On September 13, 1962, a federal court had ruled that James Meredith must be admitted by the university, but Mississippi Governor Ross Barnett* ordered state police to stand down.

The Governor was declared in contempt of court and Meredith was admitted to "Ole Miss" with the assistance of Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy who dispatched 127 U.S. marshals, 316 border patrol agents and 97 Federal Bureau of Prisons officers.

Governor Barnett was forced to give in, but not without a parting shot in a radio address in which he said...

"Gentlemen, you are trampling on the sovereignty of this great state.  You are destroying the Constitution...May God have mercy on your souls." 

*Ross Robert Barnett (1898-1897) was born in Standing Pine, MS. & educated at Mississippi College & the University of Mississippi.  RRB served in WWI & became a member of the Dixiecrats, Southern Democrats supporting racial segregation.  He was Governor of Mississippi 1960-1964.

 

U.S. Army Trucks with U.S. Marshals

Oxford, Mississippi 

October 3, 1962

Photo by Jerry Huff, UPI

Library of Congress Image 

MEREDITH ARRIVES AT UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI

JFK+50:  Volume 5, No. 2084

JAMES MEREDITH ESCORTED BY FEDERAL MARSHALS TO OLE MISS

Oxford, Mississippi (JFK+50) Fifty-four years ago today, September 30, 1962, James Meredith*, who was to become the first African-American to attend the University of Mississippi, was escorted by federal marshals to the campus here in Oxford.

Mr. Meredith was enrolled for classes on October 1, 1962, but his presence at the previously all-white university sparked rioting that resulted in two deaths.

James Meredith's primary goal in enrolling at the all-white institution of higher learning was to get the federal authorities to enforce his rights as an American citizen.  He saw his successful enrollment at Ole Miss as an attack on white supremacy.

*James Howard Meredith was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi in 1933.  He served in the USAF from 1951-1960.  JHM graduated from the University of Mississippi with a degree in Political Science in 1963.  JHM earned his law degree from Columbia University in 1968.

Sculpture of James Meredith

University of Mississippi

Photo by Allspamme (2011)

DEATH OF WILLIAM FAULKNER

WILLIAM FAULKNER DIED 52 YEARS AGO 

Byhalia, Mississippi (JFK+50) American novelist William Faulkner* died 52 years ago today, July 6, 1962, here in Byhalia.  

Mr. Faulkner wrote 13 novels, many short stories and a play.  One of his most famous works is "The Sound and the Fury" (1929).

Faulkner won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1949.

President John F. Kennedy said...

"Since Henry James, no writer has left behind such a vast and enduring monument to the strength of American literature. 

From this world he sought to illuminate the restless searching of all men and his insight spoke to the hearts of all who listened."

William Faulkner (1954)

Photo by Carl Van Vechten

William Cuthbert Faulkner (1897-1962) was born in New Albany, Mississippi. His family moved to Oxford when he was 6 and he spent most of his life there. Faulkner did not graduate from high school but attended the University of Mississippi where he often skipped classes and received a D in English. 

WCF grew up listening to the stories of the Civil War era told to him by his great grandfather, the "Old Colonel," William Clark Faulkner.  He wrote his first novel in 1925, "Soldiers' Pay," and it was followed by "Flags in the Dust" in 1927 and "Sartoris" in 1928.

NUCLEAR TEST LEAVES HUGE CRATER 

Yucca Flat, Nevada (JFK+50) A nuclear test conducted 52 years ago today, July 6, 1962, here at Yucca Flat,  resulted in the largest man-made crater in United States history as well as two radioactive clouds which rose 2 to 3 miles into the air.

The test was conducted by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

The Yucca Flat site had a total of 739 nuclear test explosions.

 Crater at Yucca Flat, Nevada

 July 6, 1962

 National Nuclear Security

 Administration

U.S. OFFICIALS OPTIMISTIC SOVIETS WILL SEEK CLOSER TIES 

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) Officials of the Kennedy administration expressed cautious optimism 51 years ago today, July 6, 1963, that growing ideological differences between the Union of Soviet Socialists Republics and Communist China would lead the Soviets to seek closer relations with the United States.

The Chinese government had been increasingly critical of Soviet policy which it considered to be accommodating to the West.

The optimism expressed by government officials was short-lived, however, when Chairman Nikita Khrushchev was replaced in 1964 by more hard-line Soviet leaders.

Nikita Khrushchev

Soviet Premier (1963)

Photo by Peter Heinz Junge

German Federal Archive

P.J. KENNEDY ARRIVES IN KANSAS CITY

Kansas City, Missouri (JFK+50) Patrick Joseph Kennedy**, representing the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, arrived here in Kansas City as delegate of the Democratic National Convention 114 years ago today, July 6, 1900.

This marked the third time Mr. Kennedy had served as a delegate at a national convention.

P.J. Kennedy, John F. Kennedy's paternal grandfather, was known as a politician who was always willing to help constituents in need.

"Everyone who ran for political office would get $50 or $75 from P.J...."

Unfortunately, PJ's generosity did not do him any favors when he ran for Street Commissioner in 1908.  His defeat hit him and particularly his son, Joe, very hard.

Doris Kearns Goodwin writes that the lesson young Joe Kennedy learned from this experience was to "stay out of politics."

William Jennings Bryan and Adali E. Stevenson were selected as the Democratic Presidential and Vice-Presidential nominees of 1900.

SOURCE

"The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys, An American Saga," by Doris Kearns Goodwin, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1987.

P.J. Kennedy

JFK Library Photo

**Patrick Joseph Kennedy (1858-1929) was the 5th child of Patrick and Bridget Murphy Kennedy, immigrants from New Ross, County Wexford, Ireland.  PJ attended Boston College and by the age of 30 established a successful liquor-importing business.

PJ served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives (1884-1889) and the State Senate (1889-1895).