American politician (1890?1970)
Thomas Stanley
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In office
January 20, 1954 ? January 11, 1958
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Lieutenant
| Allie Edward Stakes Stephens
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Preceded by
| John S. Battle
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Succeeded by
| J. Lindsay Almond
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In office
June 24, 1956 ? June 23, 1957
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Preceded by
| Arthur B. Langlie
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Succeeded by
| William Stratton
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In office
November 5, 1946 ? February 3, 1953
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Preceded by
| Thomas G. Burch
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Succeeded by
| William M. Tuck
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In office
January 14, 1942 ? November 5, 1946
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Preceded by
| Ashton Dovell
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Succeeded by
| G. Alvin Massenburg
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In office
January 13, 1932 ? November 5, 1946
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Preceded by
| Constituency established
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Succeeded by
| Willey R. Broaddus
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In office
January 8, 1930 ? January 13, 1932
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Preceded by
| Sallie C. Booker
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Succeeded by
| Constituency abolished
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Born
| Thomas Bahnson Stanley
(
1890-07-16
)
July 16, 1890
Spencer
,
Virginia
,
U.S.
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Died
| July 10, 1970
(1970-07-10)
(aged 79)
Stanleytown
, Virginia, U.S.
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Political party
| Democratic
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Spouse
| Anne Bassett
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Education
| Eastman Business College
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Thomas Bahnson Stanley
(July 16, 1890 – July 10, 1970) was an American politician, furniture manufacturer and
Holstein
cattle breeder.
[1]
A
Democrat
and member of the
Byrd Organization
, Stanley served in a number of different political offices in Virginia, including as the 47th
speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates
and as the Commonwealth's 57th
governor
. He became known for his support of the
Massive Resistance
strategy to prevent school
desegregation
mandated by the
United States Supreme Court
's decisions in
Brown v. Board of Education
, and Virginia's attempt to circumvent those decisions (ultimately overturned by both the
Virginia Supreme Court
and by federal courts) was known as the
Stanley Plan
.
Early life
[
edit
]
He was born to Crockett Stanley (January 8, 1838 – March 12, 1915) and Susan Matilda Walker (August 17, 1845 – April 9, 1922) on a farm near
Spencer, Henry County, Virginia
, the youngest of seven children. He married Anne Pocahontas Bassett (November 28, 1898 – October 20, 1979) on October 24, 1918, in
Bassett, Virginia
. Anne was the daughter of John David Bassett (July 14, 1866 – February 26, 1965), a founder of
Bassett Furniture
, and Nancy Pocahontas Hundley (November 21, 1862 – January 11, 1953). Stanley graduated from
Eastman Business College
in
Poughkeepsie, New York
, in 1912.
Business
[
edit
]
Stanley worked for his father-in-law's company,
Bassett Furniture
, as an executive until 1924, when he left and founded
Stanley Furniture
,
[2]
a leading
Virginia furniture
maker, in what would become
Stanleytown, Virginia
. His sons Thomas Bahnson Stanley, Jr. and John David Stanley joined him at Stanley Furniture.
Politics
[
edit
]
As the
Great Depression
began,
Henry County
voters elected Stanley to represent them (part time) in the
Virginia House of Delegates
. Re-elected multiple times, he served from 1930 to 1946, and fellow delegates elected him their
speaker
from 1942 to 1946. After the end of
World War II
, voters elected Stanley to the
U.S. House of Representatives
, where he represented
Virginia's 5th district
from November 5, 1946, until February 3, 1953, when Stanley resigned on to run for Virginia's governor. Fellow Byrd Organization loyalist and former Virginia Governor
William M. Tuck
succeeded to the seat.
The
Byrd Organization
selected Stanley to be the
Democratic
candidate for
governor of Virginia
in 1953, and he won the Democratic primary. In the general election, Stanley handily defeated
Republican
Theodore Roosevelt Dalton
and Independent
Howard Carwile
. He served as the governor of Virginia from 1954 to 1958. As governor, Stanley improved the administration of state hospitals and increased funding to
mental hospitals
and
public schools
.
While governor, Stanley became embroiled in conflict. The budget fight between the Old Guard of the
Byrd Organization
and the Young Turks (many returning military veterans) over budget surpluses and historic underfunding of education (especially egregious with respect to non-white Virginians) in the 1954 legislative session affected relations in the state's Democratic Party for a generation. Stanley supported segregation, and the United States Supreme Court declared such illegal twice in
Brown v. Board of Education
(which included a companion case from
Prince Edward County, Virginia
). After the 1954 Brown decision, Governor Stanley appointed a committee of mainly politicians from
Southside Virginia
(historically over-represented in the Virginia General Assembly and which depended politically on various methods of disenfranchising non-white Virginians) to study ways to preserve segregation through legislative means, including a school voucher program. Meanwhile,
U.S. Senator
Harry F. Byrd
declared the strategy known as
Massive Resistance
, while
Richmond News Leader
publisher
James J. Kilpatrick
advocated a more drastic policy, which passed a special legislative session in 1956 and became known as the
Stanley Plan
. Most parts were declared illegal by Virginia and federal courts within three years, long after Governor Stanley's term had ended. In fact, although Governor Stanley had vowed to close schools to prevent their desegregation, that aspect of the plan was first tested under the next governor,
J. Lindsay Almond
after a federal panel ordered desegregation of Charlottesville schools in 1958.
[3]
Electoral history
[
edit
]
- 1946
; Stanley was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and concurrently won a general election to the seat with 75.4% and 73.52% respectively in both races, defeating Republican William Creasy in both races.
- 1948
; Stanley was re-elected with 99.53% of the vote, defeating Independent Gene Graybeal.
- 1950
; Stanley was re-elected unopposed.
- 1952
; Stanley was re-elected unopposed.
- 1953
; Stanley was elected Governor of Virginia with 54.76% of the vote, defeating Republican Theodore R. Dalton and Independent Howard Hearness Carwile.
Later years
[
edit
]
After his gubernatorial term ended, Stanley resumed his oversight of the furniture business, as well as became vice president and director of the First National Bank, and chairman of the Commission on State and Local Revenues and Expenditures.
[3]
However, the Byrd Organization imploded in the 1960s, after U.S. Supreme Court decisions upholding the one-man, one-vote principle, including
Davis v. Mann
.
Death
[
edit
]
Stanley died in
Martinsville, Virginia
, on July 10, 1970, and is buried in Roselawn Burial Park. His home
Stoneleigh
was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
in 1982.
[4]
References
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edit
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External links
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edit
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