|
John Elliott Rankin (March 29, 1882 – November 26, 1960) was a Democratic congressman who served for sixteen terms from the U.S. State of Mississippi, from 1920 to 1952. He was co-author of the bill for the Tennessee Valley Authority and supported the New Deal programs of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, which brought investment and jobs to the South. He was described as a "racial demagogue", supporting racial segregation and white supremacy.〔(Tusa, Bobs M. "Rankin (John E.) Collection (M333)" ), The University of Southern Mississippi -- McCain Library and Archives, 2010, accessed 12 June 2015〕 Rankin proposed a bill to prohibit interracial marriage and opposed a bill to prohibit states' use of the poll tax, which southern states had used since the turn of the century to disenfranchise most blacks and many poor whites. He used his power to support segregation and deny federal benefits of varied programs to African Americans. For instance, in 1944, following the Port Chicago disaster, the U.S. Navy asked Congress to authorize payments of $5,000 to each of the victim's families. But, when Rankin learned most of the dead were black sailors, he insisted the amount be reduced to $2,000; Congress settled the amount at $3,000 per family.〔Allen, ''The Port Chicago Mutiny'', 67.〕 He had larger negative effects through other political positions. To agree to support the GI Bill, Rankin insisted that its administration be decentralized, which led to continued discrimination against black veterans in the South and their virtual exclusion from one of the most important postwar programs to build social capital among United States residents. In the South, black veterans were excluded from loans, training and employment assistance.〔 The historically black colleges were underfunded and could accept only about half the men who wanted to enroll.〔(Gavin Wright, "The New Deal and the Modernization of the South" ), ''Federal History'' 2010, p. 15, published by the Society for History of the Federal Government, accessed 12 June 2015〕 On the floor of the United States House of Representatives, Rankin expressed racist views of African Americans,〔 Japanese Americans,〔 and Jews,〔 accusing Albert Einstein of being a communist agitator.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Einstein on Politics )〕 During World War II, Rankin had supported a bill to incarcerate all Japanese Americans in the US and its territories in camps; almost all ethnic Japanese on the West Coast were incarcerated in inland camps. In the late 20th century Congress authorized payment of reparations to survivors and their descendants. ==Early life== Rankin was born near Bolanda in Itawamba County, Mississippi to a family that had planter ancestors with large holdings before the Civil War. His parents were Thomas Braxton Rankin, a schoolteacher and resident of Tupelo, and Venola Modeste (née Rutledge), born in Arkansas as the daughter of Robert Rutledge and Ellen (nee Conoway) Rutledge. His paternal ancestors had come to Mississippi from South Carolina in 1840. After attending local schools and a normal school, Rankin went to college, graduating from the University of Mississippi law school in 1910. He set up a practice in Clay County near where he grew up. He married Annie Laurie Burrous. They had a daughter Annie Laurie Rankin. He became prosecuting attorney of Lee County in 1912, a position he held until 1915.〔("John E. Rankin" ), ''Biographical Dictionary of the United States''〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「John E. Rankin」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|