New South governor facts for kids

New South governors is a term for certain governors who led states in the Southern United States during the second half of the 1900s. These governors were generally seen as modern and open to new ideas. They avoided talking about race in a negative way and wanted to improve how their state governments worked.

A New Era in the South

In the early 1900s, the Southern United States had strict rules called Jim Crow laws that separated people by race. Many black citizens could not vote, and political power was held by a single party. Governors at this time often had less power.

Things started to change after 1954. The United States Supreme Court made a big decision in the Brown v. Board of Education case, saying that separate schools for black and white children were unfair. The civil rights movement also grew stronger, and new laws were passed to protect civil rights.

A very important law, the Voting Rights Act, was passed in 1965. This law made it much easier for black citizens to register and vote. As more black people voted, they joined with white voters who had moderate views. Together, they started to change who won elections in the South.

The First New South Leaders

New South governors usually did not use racial slurs or strongly support segregation during their campaigns. Their campaigns were more modern and used media like TV and newspapers. They built support from groups of moderate white voters and black voters.

Terry Sanford was the first New South governor. He was elected Governor of North Carolina in 1960. He focused on peaceful race relations, making education better, and growing the state's economy. Carl Sanders of Georgia was elected in 1962.

In 1970, several more New South governors were elected:

• Reubin Askew in Florida
• John C. West in South Carolina
• Dale Bumpers in Arkansas
• Jimmy Carter in Georgia

Many news organizations across the country saw these elections as a sign of positive change in the South. Dale Bumpers said these election results were "a cry for new leadership in the South." When they became governors, they all promised to move past old racial issues. They often avoided talking about race to make sure they didn't upset white voters. Bill Waller won in Mississippi in 1971. He was followed by Cliff Finch in 1975, who The New York Times called a symbol of the New South.

By 1972, almost all Southern states had elected a governor who spoke about race in a moderate way. The only exception was Alabama. Albert Brewer became governor of Alabama in 1968 but was not elected to a full term. He lost in 1970 to George Wallace. Wallace had run a campaign that focused on racial issues, but he changed his approach after he won.

More New South Governors Emerge

Later, another group of New South governors was elected. These included:

• Richard Riley of South Carolina
• Bob Graham of Florida
• George Busbee of Georgia
• David Treen of Louisiana
• William F. Winter of Mississippi
• Lamar Alexander of Tennessee
• Chuck Robb of Virginia
• David Pryor and Bill Clinton of Arkansas
• James Holshouser, Jim Hunt, and James G. Martin of North Carolina

Many of these governors looked up to Terry Sanford as an example. Some of them even tried to gain influence in national politics. Two of them, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, later became President of the United States. Carter was elected in 1976, and Clinton in 1992.

Most New South governors were members of the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party had been very strong in the South for a long time, since the Civil War. However, a few New South governors were Republicans. James Holshouser was the first Republican governor of North Carolina in 76 years. Dave Treen was the first Republican governor of Louisiana in over 100 years. In the 1980s and 1990s, many New South governors were replaced by leaders with more conservative views.

What Made Them Different?

New South governors often had good educations. Sometimes, they had studied outside of the South. Once in office, they were very active leaders. They wanted to make government more efficient and honest.

They supported some new government services but usually avoided big tax increases. The changes they supported mostly focused on:

• Education
• Mental health services
• Prisons

Most of them also wanted to invest public money in things like roads and bridges. However, they generally did not support programs that aimed to spread wealth more evenly. Many of them were careful with money, meaning they were economically conservative.

These governors also avoided using racial language and took a balanced approach to racial issues. They did this because they wanted to attract new businesses and investments to their states. They also wanted to build a stronger workforce with skilled professionals. They tried to have better relationships with the federal government than earlier governors, who had focused more on states' rights (the idea that states should have more power than the federal government).

List of New South Governors

      Ascended to office through death or resignation of incumbent governor

Governor		Party		State	Term			Notes
					Start	End	Length of service
	Terry Sanford		Democratic	North Carolina	January 5, 1961	January 8, 1965	4 years, 3 days	Later served as U.S. Senator from 1986 to 1993.
	Carl Sanders		Democratic	Georgia	January 14, 1963	January 10, 1967	3 years, 361 days
	Albert Brewer		Democratic	Alabama	May 7, 1968	January 18, 1971	2 years, 256 days
	Reubin Askew		Democratic	Florida	January 5, 1971	January 2, 1979	7 years, 362 days
	Dale Bumpers		Democratic	Arkansas	January 12, 1971	January 3, 1975	3 years, 356 days	Later served as U.S. Senator from 1975 to 1999.
	Jimmy Carter		Democratic	Georgia	January 12, 1971	January 14, 1975	4 years, 2 days	Later served as President of the United States from 1977 to 1981.
	John C. West		Democratic	South Carolina	January 19, 1971	January 21, 1975	4 years, 2 days
	Bill Waller		Democratic	Mississippi	January 18, 1972	January 20, 1976	4 years, 2 days
	James Holshouser		Republican	North Carolina	January 5, 1973	January 8, 1977	4 years, 3 days
	David Pryor		Democratic	Arkansas	January 14, 1975	January 3, 1979	3 years, 354 days	Later served as U.S. Senator from 1979 to 1997.
	George Busbee		Democratic	Georgia	January 14, 1975	January 11, 1983	7 years, 362 days
	Cliff Finch		Democratic	Mississippi	January 20, 1976	January 22, 1980	4 years, 2 days
	Jim Hunt		Democratic	North Carolina	January 8, 1977 January 9, 1993	January 5, 1985 January 6, 2001	15 years, 364 days
	Bob Graham		Democratic	Florida	January 2, 1979	January 3, 1987	8 years, 1 day	Later served as U.S. Senator from 1987 to 2005.
	Bill Clinton		Democratic	Arkansas	January 9, 1979 January 11, 1983	January 19, 1981 December 22, 1992	11 years, 356 days	Later served as U.S. President from 1993 to 2001.
	Richard Riley		Democratic	South Carolina	January 10, 1979	January 14, 1987	8 years, 4 days
	Lamar Alexander		Republican	Tennessee	January 20, 1979	January 17, 1987	7 years, 362 days	Later served as U.S. Senator from 2003 to 2021.
	William F. Winter		Democratic	Mississippi	January 22, 1980	January 10, 1984	3 years, 353 days
	Dave Treen		Republican	Louisiana	March 10, 1980	March 12, 1984	4 years, 2 days
	Chuck Robb		Democratic	Virginia	January 16, 1982	January 18, 1986	4 years, 2 days	Later served as U.S. Senator from 1989 to 2001.
	James G. Martin		Republican	North Carolina	January 5, 1985	January 9, 1993	8 years, 4 days