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Essay on George Wallace: American Independent

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Voting for president of the United States is a very big concern. Americans vote for their president elect on several different categories, campaign platform, personal beliefs, Democrat or Republican Party, and in the earlier years, whether they were from the North or the South. One such person was George C. Wallace. Wallace campaigned in favor of segregation, but was he really for segregation, or did he just believe that the government was stepping on state’s rights? Wallace attended the University of Alabama in 1942, and graduated with his law degree. After attending law school, Wallace aspired as a politician. In 1946 he ran as a moderate Democrat, and was elected as the state representative of Barbour County. (Riechers, 2003) …show more content…

Although Wallace changed his platform to get elected, “ ‘Richard Flowers, former Alabama state attorney general, thought Wallace did it all to get elected and once in office would do the right thing.’ ” (Riechers, 2003) In 1963 Wallace proved that he would stand behind his campaign from 1962. On June 11, 1963, Wallace stood in the doorway at the University of Alabama, blocking two black students from gaining access. This was his second act of defying federal government orders. Again in September 1963, Wallace ordered schools in Alabama closed to keep the federal government from integrating schools. Although Wallace supported segregation, the United States Congress was voting on the Civil Rights Act. Originally proposed by President John F. Kennedy, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act on July 4, 1964.
Wallace, in June 1964 decided to throw his hat in the ring for his first presidential election. He ran as a Democrat. His platform was that he opposed to the federal government gaining power over the states. He did carry one third of the votes in the primaries in Indiana, Maryland and Wisconsin; but eventually he withdrew from the election.
Although Wallace continued to take his stand against segregation, the federal

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