George Wallace 1976 Presidential Campaign Poster

Historical Significance

This is the poster from George Corley Wallace's 1976 Presidential Campaign, which was his fourth and final bid for the White House. Wallace was the 45th Governor of Alabama between 1963 and 67, 1971 and 79 and between 1983 and 87, making him the longest serving governor of Alabama. He is known for his staunch opposition to the Civil Rights movement throughout the 1960s and 70s, and for his attempts to stop the desegregation of schools. The most notable example of this was his Stand in the Schoolhouse Door on June 11th, 1963, wherein he stood in the doorway of the Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama in a symbolic attempt to block Vivian Malone and James Hood from registering for classes. 

This poster was designed to reflect George Wallace's life, beginning in the top left as a child and leading all the way until the present:

• In the centre of the image, we see George Wallace as Governor, likely around the time this poster was created.

• In the top left, Wallace is shown at approximately 8 years old, around 1928. 

• In the top right, we see Wallace as a bantamweight brawler in College, with a record of 24-2 and 21 knockouts, which is where he gained the nickname "The Fighting Little Judge". He can also be seen in American Football attire, with a brown jersey marked with the number 5 for Barbour County High School (where he was a quarterback). 

• On the left, he is shown as a Judge, holding a book simply entitled "LAW". Wallace served as an assistant attorney general of Alabama and was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in 1946. 

• Beneath the portrait of him as a Judge, we see Wallace on one knee, positioned in front of a B-29 Superfortress, as Wallace was a Staff Sergeant in the US Army Air Forces in the 468th Bombardment Group.

• On the right, we see Wallace addressing a crowd at what appears to be his 1963 Inaugural Address as Governor, where he pledged "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever". 

• In the bottom right, we see Wallace addressing and speaking with a group of people from varying walks of life, the elderly, farmers, the young, and even construction workers. 

• At the very bottom, a church steeple is shown rising upwards, which reflects George Wallace's religious beliefs. 

Considering this poster was produced for his 1976 campaign, its release follows the failed assassination attempt made on Wallace by Arthur Bremer, who did so in an attempt to gain fame, at Laurel Shopping Centre in Maryland. Wallace was paralysed from the waist down, an injury which affected him for the rest of his life, and ultimately brought his 1972 campaign to an end. It was following this incident that Wallace began to change his stance, and started with moderating on race in the late 1970s, announcing that he was a born-again Christian and made efforts to apologise to black civil rights leaders for his past actions and stance as a segregationist. He won the Alabama gubernatorial Democratic primary in 1982 and ultimately the election to become Governor, a position he served in until January 1987 when he retired from public life. Wallace died in 1998 aged 79. 

Select References & Further Reading:

• Carter, Dan T. The Politics of Rage: George Wallace, the Origins of the New Conservatism, and the Transformation of American Politics.

• Alabama Department of Archives and History. George C. Wallace Collection (LPR124).

• University of Southern Mississippi. George C. Wallace Speeches Collection.

• Wallace, George. Inaugural Address of Governor George C. Wallace.

• Wallace, George. Address to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

• Bremer, Arthur. An Assassin's Diary.

• Lesher, Stephan. George Wallace: American Populist.

• McCabe, Daniel & Stekler, Paul. Settin' the Woods on Fire. PBS American Experience. 

Header image: President Dwight D. Eisenhower with Soviet leader Nikita Krushchev and others, standing on the steps of Blair House, Washington.. John T. Blesdoe; September 27, 1959. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.