Spessard Holland

While serving as governor, Holland promoted the establishment of military bases in his state. He also supported the state public school system's financial condition. A variety of financial reforms were also undertaken during his tenure as governor.[3]

Holland officially became governor of Florida on January 7, 1941.[3] While serving as governor, his abilities were limited. Under the 1885 Florida Constitution, the governor could only serve for one four year term and the governorship was described as being weak position. Holland also had to compete with the influence of cabinet members who could be re-elected.[16]

Concerns about World War II were dominant with his audience when becoming governor saying he wished for peace but said that preparations should be made in the case of war. His preparations began when he decided to review $7 million in State Road Department contracts made during the tenure of the Cone administration. He and his wife attended Franklin Delano Roosevelt's third inauguration and while in Washington D.C. he spoke with federal authorities and the Floridian congressional delegation to try to get more money for defense road construction which he was successful in getting.[17] Florida saw an influx of military activities in it during the mobilization prior to entering World War II.[18]

When Holland became governor, he attempted to improve Florida's lynching record. Florida, like the rest of the Southern U.S., faced pressure to take action on lynching during the 1940s. Holland's first challenge came on May 12, 1941, when a 22-year-old African-American man named A.C. Williams, who was accused of raping a 12-year-old girl and committing a robbery, was abducted from a jail in Marianna and lynched. Afterwards, there was pressure on the local government to act as they feared it would result in the federal government responding and pressure was also seen from the Association of Southern Women for the Prevention of Lynching (ASWPL) who wrote letters to Holland. In response, Holland called for an investigation into the death of Williams and named Maurice Tripp as the special investigator. A spokesperson for him said he "would be able to reach a decision on whether any action by him against Quincy law enforcement authorities was justified. The pressure of legislative business on the governor was heavy, and the inquest transcript is long." to give the impression that he was stalling when in reality he was shifting responsibility of the investigation. Tripp submitted a report to Governor Holland on May 25, 1941, and the case was given to the United States Department of Justice in July 1942, which reviewed it. The identities of those who killed Williams were never found.[19]

When American involvement in World War II began with the attack on Pearl Harbor, Holland promoted new military bases in Florida and coordinated state defenses with the federal government. Governor Holland ordered the Florida Highway Patrol to be on standby to assist the Federal Bureau of Investigation with putting Japanese and other foreigners into custody.[20]

The impact of World War II was felt at a more personal level in Spessard Holland's life as well. One of his sons, Spessard Holland Jr., served as a Marine in the South Pacific. The family planted a victory garden and set up a chicken coop at the Governor's Mansion. His daughter Mary volunteered as an aircraft spotter, while his daughter Craney his wife Mary sewed squares to be used in quilts sent to US troops. The Mansion was opened to visitation by British soldiers who were training in the area. Mary Holland even corresponded with the mothers of the soldiers.[21]

When the United States entered World War II, German Admiral Karl Dönitz launched Operation Drumbeat starting in January 1942, in an effort to cause significant damage to American shipping along the Eastern seaboard and the Gulf Coast. U-boat activity on Florida's coasts lasted until April but did have a brief lull period in March. As a result of the U-boat activity, tourism declined in the state, and the idea of building the Cross Florida Barge Canal was revived. Holland was neutral on the canal compared to Senators Charles O. Andrews and Claude Pepper who were strongly in support of it. Holland said the reason behind his neutrality was because of the canal itself being incredibly controversial.[22]

During the 1942 general elections, Holland participated despite not being up for re-election. Holland participated by travelling throughout the state making public appearances in an attempt to generate interest in the election, trying to get a gas tax amendment passed. Holland made a statewide radio address urging people to vote. That year nine amendments were on the ballot, and Holland backed three of them: an amendment that would streamline the process for amending the state constitution, the gas tax amendment and another that would create a state freshwater fish & game commission. All nine amendments passed that year with almost no opposition[23]

During 1943 there were calls for a special session of the state legislature. State senator Wallace Sturgis, from Ocala, wanted a special session of the legislature to revise a 1943 absentee voting law to allow Floridians who were serving in the military outside of the state to register to vote. Sturgis later got the backing of the president pro-tempore of the Senate, Ernest F. Householder. Those wanting to repeal the cigarette tax also joined in with calling for a special session. Holland reacted to this by attempting to reduce enthusiasm towards a special session. In regards to the absentee voting law, Holland thought that it did a good job when it came to the first primary except in instances of those who became 21 prior to leaving the state. However, he thought it was not practical with a second primary as he thought it was very close in time to the first one along with being able to give and receive ballots as well. In terms of the cigarette tax, he thought that it would be safe to not repeal the cigarette tax in the case that if other taxes were to decrease it could serve as a supplement. Holland also cited potential changes in wartime restrictions. Having a special session became a significant issue in the 1944 Democratic gubernatorial primaries.[22]

During a conference sometime during 1943 in Denver, Colorado, Holland promoted new railroad freight prices, helping the Florida economy.[24]

Holland was also an outdoorsman and environmentalist. Holland's negotiation of the purchase of Everglades wetland and marshland in 1944 helped lead to the establishment of the Everglades National Park in 1947.[24]

Holland's term ended on January 2, 1945, when Millard F. Caldwell took office.[24]

On September 25, 1946 Holland assumed the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Charles O. Andrews, who had died a week earlier[3] after being nominated by Governor Caldwell.[28] In November 1946 he defeated Republican J. Harry Schad to win a full six-year term.[29]

As he had in the Florida Senate, Holland supported abolishing the poll tax for federal elections during his time in the U.S. Senate, making an attempt to ban it during every session for a dozen years after arriving in Congress. During the 80th Congress, he introduced H.R. 29, which passed the House of Representatives in a 290-112 vote on July 21, 1947, but was filibustered in the Senate. During the following 81st Congress he introduced H.R. 3199 which also passed the House on July 26, 1949, in a 273-116 vote but got stuck in the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration.[30] On other issues, Holland remained a segregationist who supported discrimination against Black voters, but maintained his view that the poll tax should be repealed because it was a form of wealth discrimination.[31][4]

In 1952, he ran again for re-election winning a significantly larger margin of the vote (99.82%) than in the previous race in 1946 (78.65%).[32] He, along with all other senators from the former Confederate states (except Lyndon B. Johnson, Estes Kefauver, and Albert Gore, Sr.), signed the 1956 "Southern Manifesto", which condemned the Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), declaring that segregation of public schools was unconstitutional, and promised to resist its implementation. Holland was in favor of Alaskan and Hawaiian statehood. Holland was the first southerner to support statehood for Hawaii.[3] He also voted for Alaska Statehood Act[33] and the Hawaii Admission Act.[34] Along with Alaska's statehood, he introduced the two Senators-elect of the Alaska's congressional delegation that were produced as a result of the Alaska-Tennessee Plan to the US Senate: Ernest Gruening and Bill Egan.[35]

Up for re-election in 1958, Holland was challenged by his former colleague Claude Pepper in the Democratic primary. After fending off Pepper's challenge, he easily defeated his Republican opponent, Leland Hyzer, in November to win a third term.

During the 87th Congress, Holland finally succeeded in his long-standing quest to ban the poll tax federally. Holland introduced a constitutional amendment that would prohibit states from conditioning the right to vote in federal elections on payment of a poll tax or other types of tax. The amendment was approved by the required two-thirds majority of both houses of Congress in August 1962, was quickly ratified by the required three-fourths of the states (38), and in January 1964 became the Twenty-fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution.[5] Described as being a Conservative Democrat, he believed in maintaining the filibuster and believed that civil rights were something that was a matter for the states. Speaking in opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Holland said "We'll stand up and fight as long as we can".[3]

On November 22, 1963, in the absence of Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, Senator Edward Kennedy was presiding over a routine session of the Senate. Senators were debating a bill about federal library services, and it was almost time for a lunch break before Richard Reidell came running into the chamber where he bumped into Holland whispering that President Kennedy had been shot and Holland was the first senator to be informed of it. Reidell repeated his message to Senator Wayne Morse before telling Senator Kennedy of the news. After hearing this he left and went to the lobby where he called the White House and his brother Robert F. Kennedy before going to his office in the Senate Office Building. Holland replaced Kennedy as the presiding officer in the Senate when he left and [36] Holland took up the chair of the Senate Majority Leader, Mike Mansfield.[37]

He won a fourth term in 1964, this time defeating Republican Claude R. Kirk, Jr. Then, in November 1969, at the age of 77, Holland announced that he would not seek re-election in 1970. He actively campaigned for Democrat Lawton Chiles, who defeated U.S. Representative William C. Cramer in the November 1970 election. Cramer had the endorsement of U.S. President Richard Nixon, and had handily defeated G. Harrold Carswell (whom Nixon had earlier nominated unsuccessfully to the United States Supreme Court) in the Republican primary.