James K. Vardaman
American politician
Died when: 68 years 334 days (826 months)Star Sign: Leo
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James Kimble Vardaman (July 26, 1861 – June 25, 1930) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Mississippi and was the Governor of Mississippi from 1904 to 1908.
A Democrat, Vardaman was elected in 1912 to the United States Senate in the first popular vote for the office, following adoption of the 17th Amendment.
He defeated Democratic incumbent LeRoy Percy, a member of the planter elite, to be their party's candidate.Vardaman ran unopposed in the general election and served from 1913 to 1919.
Known as "The Great White Chief", Vardaman had gained electoral support for his advocacy of populism and white supremacy, saying: "If it is necessary every Negro in the state will be lynched; it will be done to maintain white supremacy." Aligning with left-wing populists and favoring progressive reforms in railing against banks, railroads, and tariffs, he appealed to the poorer whites, yeomen farmers, and factory workers.
Vardaman's tenure as Governor of Mississippi was marked by his advocacy of regulating corporations, enacting child labor laws, segregating streetcars, ending educational opportunities for African-Americans, and defending lynching.
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