James
Byrnes
James
F. Byrnes (1879-1972) had a long and varied career
in public service, serving as U.S. Representative,
Senator, Supreme Court Justice, Secretary of State,
and Governor of South Carolina before retiring from
politics in 1955. After dropping out of school at
the age of fourteen in order to help support his family,
Byrnes educated himself and in 1903 passed the South
Carolina bar exam.
Byrnes served in the U.S. House of Representatives
from 1911-1924, when he chose to run for the Senate.
After an unsuccessful campaign in 1924, Byrnes won
a seat in 1930, serving two terms as Senator before
accepting an appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court.
He sat on the court for only one term, 1941-42, before
becoming President Roosevelt's point man in fighting
wartime inflation as the head of the Office of Economic
Stabilization. After becoming the Director of the
Office of War Mobilization in 1943, Bynes held tremendous
power over domestic affairs, initiating policies,
planning programs, and coordinating all aspects of
wartime production.
Byrnes and Harry S. Truman became friends while serving
together in the Senate. Despite being allies on most
Senate legislation, the two also were political rivals
as they moved up through the ranks of the Democratic
Party. In 1944, both men were legitimate contenders
for the Democratic vice-presidential nomination. Truman's
selection by FDR complicated their relationship.
Following FDR's death in 1945, President Truman selected
Byrnes to serve as secretary of state. During his
two years in this post, Byrnes helped negotiate many
of the difficult post-war agreements and laid the
groundwork for future American foreign policy. It
was also at Byrnes' urging that Truman expanded Hoover's
famine assessment survey to cover nations outside
of Europe.
Byrnes resigned as Secretary in January 1947 due to
growing personal and political differences with President
Truman. In 1950, Byrnes was elected governor of South
Carolina and served until his retirement in 1955.
Increasingly at odds with the policies of the Democratic
Party, Byrnes broke with the party in 1960 and allied
himself with the Republican Party until his death
in 1972. For more information see: American National
Biography v.4 (1999) p. 139-41, and The Harry S. Truman
Encyclopedia p.41-2.
