Cold War Politics

1950 South Carolina Gubernatorial Election

The incumbent South Carolina Governor Strom Thurmond coming off a miserable defeat in the 1948 Presidential election was not permitted to run for reelection, for in 1950 the Governor’s seat in South Carolina was limited to a single term. [23] Eying an easy victory in his home state James F. Byrnes announced his candidacy for governor in January, 1950, and would go have landslide victories in both the South Carolina Democratic Primary, and the South Carolina Gubernatorial Election. James F. Byrnes claimed the state’s highest office with quite the track record, having served as a United States Congressman, United States Senator, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, and the 49th United States Secretary of State. [23] Byrnes was a major player in international politics, he was a household name, and somewhat of a celebrity for his time even being named the 1947 Time Magazine Man of the Year. The man who guided the United States into the Cold War became the most powerful man in South Carolina. Taking a stance in opposition to President Truman, and doubling down on Communism within the state and abroad he impacted the way South Carolinians perceived both national, and global politics. In his inaugural address (shown to the left) Byrnes advocated for the United Nations to decree China as an aggressor in the Korean War, so that the United States and United Nations forces could attack communist forces in Manchuria. He criticized what he understood as a soft stance against Communism in Asia stating that “if the United Nations is unwilling promptly to declare China an aggressor, authorize our Air Force to attack the supply bases of the enemy, and join in blockading China, then our forces should be withdrawn from Korea.” [2a] He felt that a global conflict between Russia and the United States was inevitable, and that the United States should centralize their forces in Europe insisting that “it is not wise to have our army divided between Korea and Europe. To my mind western Europe is an indispensable first line in the defense of civilization.” [2a]

Governor Brynes, a staunch segregationist who disreputably blocked national anti-lynching laws during his tenure in the U.S. Senate, “claiming that lynching would ‘hold in check the Negro in the South,’” without question opposed Truman’s Executive Order 9981 ordering the desegregation of the Armed Forces. [32] Although, there was nothing he could do to reverse that decision, Governor Byrnes strived to preserve segregation within South Carolina. Byrnes’ key ‘achievement’ during his tenure as South Carolina’s Governor would be “the equalization schools that sprouted up,” across the state, and in doing so “his efforts prolonged the injustice faced by South Carolina's black citizens.” [32] Some South Carolina children of both white and black Korean War veterans would be confined to racially segregated schools throughout their time within South Carolina’s public education system (see the “Education” tab on the homepage).

The Second Red Scare and McCarthyism in Horry County

One of the many defining aspects of the Cold War was the intense fear, and paranoia of Communism and Socialism that gripped American society particularly during the Korean War. The conflict in Korea exacerbated fears of espionage, and Communist upheavals within the United States. While McCarthyism typically took aim at politicians and celebrities the everyday citizen was not above the finger of suspicion. The notion that your friend, neighbor, or coworker could be a Communism sympathizer, or actively working against the interests of the United States was a very real and present threat in the daily lives ordinary civilians. Locals commonly read about about American citizens who were exposed for participating in pro-Communist activities, drafting and distributing seditious materials, and committing treasonous acts. The notorious case of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg who were arrested and convicted of espionage on behalf of the USSR in 1950 would have been common knowledge amongst the populace in Horry County, and it was cases like that of the Rosenbergs that put locals on high alert. The conception of McCarthyism began, of course, with Senator Joseph McCarthy from Wisconsin who in his infamous February, 1950 “Enemies from Within” speech proclaimed that “I have here in my hand a list of 205 … a list of names that were made known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping policy in the State Department.” [23] Interestingly, McCarthy’s claims factual or not hit close to home for South Carolinians. American historian Robert L. Messer in his book James F. Byrnes, Roosevelt, Truman, and the Origins of the Cold War wrote that “Senator Joseph McCarthy announced that an unnamed secretary of state had knowingly allowed 205 Communists to operate within the department. Afterward the specific number of alleged communists fluctuated. But the identity of the secretary referred to by McCarthy was soon established beyond dispute. The famous list of names derived from a 1946 internal security investigation. The secretary in question was Byrnes.” McCarthy’s accusations came just a few short weeks after James Byrnes announced his candidacy for South Carolina Governor making him the subject of national scrutiny. [23] McCarthy’s accusations unequivocally put Byrnes in the hot seat, so it was clearly in the best interest of Byrnes to take a hard line against Communism which he did from the moment of his inauguration (See above section). Luckily for Byrnes blame for the supposed Communist invasion of the Department of State shifted towards President Truman with local newspapers wasting no time to project blame on the President claiming that “if Truman had had [sic] his way, there would have been no investigation of Communism in the State Department and other federal agencies…today, brave and wise men of both parties in Congress stand between the American people and Harry Truman, a little fellow who would like to be a dictator.” [14] Nearly every issue of the local newspapers The Field, The Horry Herald, and The Myrtle Beach Sun included an article regarding a Communist, Socialist, or left-wing invasion of American society. In a July 28, 1950 edition of the The Myrtle Beach Sun an article titled THE FBI AND SABOTAGE warned Horry County citizens of Communist spies and saboteurs within the county urging citizens that “if any fact of any nature comes to your attention which suggests sabotage or espionage, report it at once. This is vitally important now. The forces which are working to undermine us are not always easy to identify. They have been trained in deceit. They utilize cleverly camouflaged movements, such as certain peace groups and civil rights organizations, to advance the non-communist world. And the center of that world is the United States. — the FBI is our first line of defense against the destructionists within this country. Help it whenever you can, and help without delay.” [14] Later editions of The Myrtle Beach Sun advertised to the locals that tickets for the highly anticipated film “I Was a Communist For the FBI…based on the amazing true experience story of a dashing undercover man” was sold out. [14] McCarthyism and a paralyzing fear of Communism permeated into every aspect of American society markedly within Horry County which was only exacerbated by local influence and exposure to the previously mentioned newspapers and film in addition to supplementary media and an neighborhood gossip.

By 1952 the American people were fed up with the Truman Administration, and his horrid approval ratings all but forced Truman to decline to seek a second full term in office. The 1952 electoral map clearly shows a much more united electorate, and a massive red wave in comparison to the 1948 electoral map which retained a three party split and blue wave in favor of Truman. Dwight Eisenhower crushed his Democratic opponent Adlai Stevenson II, and won the popular vote by a much larger margin than Harry Truman did just four years prior. During his campaign Eisenhower fervently attacked Truman’s handling of the Korean War, and more broadly the early events in what we know today as the Cold War. Eisenhower readily charged the Truman administration for allowing Communists, and spies to infiltrate the government arguably becoming Eisenhower’s primary campaign issue. [34] The Korean War was inextricably intertwined within Eisenhower’s attacks against the Truman Administration, and the Democratic Party. Eisenhower wholeheartedly blamed Truman and the Democratic Party for failing to adequately prepare the United States for the conflict in Korea, and one of his key campaign promises was to end the Korean War. Despite losing South Carolina’s nine electoral votes, Eisenhower only lost the state by less than 5,000 votes. [34] Despite gaining endorsements from prominent South Carolina politicians Strom Thurmond, and James Byrnes, Horry County was not among the counties in the state that Eisenhower won with over 54% of the county’s electorate voting in favor of Stevenson. [34] The 1952 Presidential Election signaled a return to normalcy for the electorate of Horry County who, with exception to the 1948 Presidential Election had voted Democratic every election since 1876. Despite the popular notion that the party of Truman was “the worst enemy the South has ever had,” the state narrowly chose the losing side in the dogfight that was the 1952 Presidential Election. [14] Yet, with the Eisenhower presidency came the conclusion of the Korean War, and that is certainly one thing that locals from Horry County were relieved to see.