How Did George Wallace Influence The Civil Rights Movement

Alabama governor George Wallace was very influential in the history of the American South, but his influence extends beyond the Mason-Dixon Line. He is known chiefly for his racism and for being a segregationist, but he is much more complex than that. Although he became the face of anti-civil rights in the South, his stance was political and opportunistic. His great skill and ambition as a politician was to seize the moment of his era. As a result, Wallace would not only become the symbolic antagonist of the Civil Rights Movement, but he would also influence the outcome of the 1968 presidential election and re-shape the American two-party political system.
George Wallace’s most important “contribution” to American History was in being the

This was in 1958, and he imputed his loss in the election to being “outniggered by John Patterson” (American Experience). In the next election, he won in a landslide because of his newfound, provincial southern approach. In his most famous speech, Wallace said “Let us rise to the call for freedom-loving blood that is in us and send our answer to the tyranny that clanks its chains upon the South. In the name of the greatest people that have ever trod this earth, I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny, and I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever" (1963 Inaugural Address). These words went down in history because they are so racist, ironically invoking the “chains” that shackle white southerners, but this spoke to the white voters of Alabama, symbolizing

Wallace experienced a radical downfall: the death of his wife, an assassination attempt that left him paralyzed, and an eventual plea for forgiveness from the black community of Alabama. He puts a face to asking for forgiveness, for asking for redemption. In 1968, after she had run for governor (really as a puppet to Wallace’s administration), Lurleen Wallace passed away. This was the start of Wallace’s downfall because she had supported him on his rise to power. It was the year he was running for president, so it was a challenge to his typical, composed demeanor as a politician. 3 years later, Wallace remarried; that marriage only lasted 5 years, and George couldn’t find another Lurleen. In 1972, George Wallace was shot by an assassin(Washington Post). He would have wished to be killed, but was actually paralyzed. Wallace suffered a lot after this, which led him to realize all the mistakes he made, particularly how unfair he was to the African-American population. Wallace begged and begged for forgiveness from the people and eventually was forgiven. His downfall is a reminder of the true consequence of power--what goes up, must come