John Connally
John Bowden Connally Jr. (February 27, 1917 – June 15, 1993) was an American politician who served as the 39th governor of Texas (1963–1969) and as the 61st United States Secretary of the Treasury (1971–1972). He began his career as a Democrat and later became a Republican in 1973.
Not to be confused with John Connelly.
John Connally
June 15, 1993 (aged 76)
Houston, Texas, U.S.
Republican (from 1973)
Democratic (until 1973)
4
Wayne Connally (brother)
Born in Floresville, Texas, Connally pursued a legal career after graduating from the University of Texas at Austin. During World War II, he served on the staff of James Forrestal and Dwight D. Eisenhower before transferring to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater. After the war, he became an aide to Senator Lyndon B. Johnson. When Johnson assumed the vice presidency in 1961, he convinced President John F. Kennedy to appoint Connally to the position of United States Secretary of the Navy. Connally left the Kennedy Administration in December 1961 to successfully run for Governor of Texas. In 1963, Connally was riding in the presidential limousine when Kennedy was assassinated, and was seriously wounded. During his governorship, he was a conservative Democrat.
In 1971, Republican President Richard Nixon appointed Connally as his treasury secretary. In this position, Connally presided over the removal of the United States dollar from the gold standard, an event known as the Nixon shock. Connally stepped down from the Cabinet in 1972 to lead the Democrats for Nixon organization, which campaigned for Nixon's re-election. He was a candidate to replace Vice President Spiro Agnew after the latter resigned in 1973, but Nixon chose Gerald Ford instead. He sought the Republican nomination for president in the 1980 election, but withdrew from the race after the first set of primaries. Connally did not seek public office again after 1980 and died of pulmonary fibrosis in 1993.
Early life and education[edit]
Connally was born on February 27, 1917, into a large family in Floresville, the seat of Wilson County, southeast of San Antonio. He was one of seven children born to Lela (née Wright) and John Bowden Connally, a dairy and tenant farmer.[1] His six siblings included four brothers: Golfrey, Merrill, Wayne and Stanford, and sisters Carmen and Blanche.[2] According to Ronnie Dugger, Connally's family had "had no money, no home, and no furniture."[3] Connally's parents grew even poorer because of the Great Depression, and when speaking about his poverty, Connally often recalled that he had to study by kerosene light.[3]
Despite the initial hardship, John Bowden Connally was able to lift the family out of poverty by running a successful bus route, and by 1932 the family bought a 1000-acre farm.[3] The income from the farm was enough to cover Connally's tuition. Connally attended Floresville High School and was one of the few graduates who attended college. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, where he was the student body president and a member of the Friar Society. It was at the University of Texas where he met his future wife Nellie Connally. He subsequently graduated from the University of Texas School of Law and was admitted to the bar by examination.
In 1936, Connally met and befriended Lyndon Johnson, of whom he remained a political ally and friend for his entire life.[3] Johnson helped Connally get a job in the campus library, and Connally played a minor role in Johnson's bid for Congress in 1937. Johnson rewarded Connally for his help by taking him to Washington in 1939, where Connally remained until 1941, when he enlisted in the Naval Reserve.[3]
Military service and legal career[edit]
Connally served in the United States Navy during World War II, first as an aide to James V. Forrestal. Subsequently, he was on General Dwight D. Eisenhower's staff for planning the North African campaign. After transferring to the South Pacific Theater, he served as fighter-plane director aboard the aircraft carrier USS Essex and was awarded the Bronze Star for bravery. After being transferred to the USS Bennington, he was awarded the Legion of Merit. He was discharged in 1946 at the rank of lieutenant commander.[4]
Connally practiced law in the Alvin Wirtz law firm, until Lyndon Baines Johnson, then a newly elected senator, persuaded him to return to Washington, to serve as a key aide. He had close ties with Johnson before his navy days and maintained them until the former president's death in 1973.
Two of Connally's principal legal clients were the Texas oil tycoon Sid W. Richardson and Perry Bass, Richardson's nephew and partner, both of Fort Worth. Richardson's empire in the 1950s was estimated at $200 million to $1 billion. Under Richardson's tutelage, Connally gained experience in a variety of enterprises and received tips on real estate purchases. The work required the Connallys to relocate to Fort Worth. When Richardson died in 1959, Connally was named to the lucrative position of co-executor of the estate.[5]
Connally was also involved in a reported clandestine deal to place the Texas Democrat Robert Anderson on the 1956 Republican ticket as vice president. Although the idea fell through when Dwight Eisenhower retained Richard Nixon in the second slot, Anderson received a million dollars for his efforts and a subsequent appointment as U.S. Treasury Secretary.[5]
Indictment, trial and acquittal[edit]
In July 1974, Connally was indicted for allegedly pocketing $10,000 from dairy industry lawyer Jake Jacobsen in exchange for influencing the government to increase federal dairy price support.[42] At his April 1975 trial, Connally's defense called as character witnesses former First Ladies Jacqueline Kennedy and Lady Bird Johnson, as well as Texas state senator Barbara Jordan (the first female, black state senator in Texas history), Dean Rusk, Robert McNamara and Billy Graham.[43]
According to a November 1979 profile by Paul Burka in Texas Monthly magazine, "The case turned first on whether Connally would simultaneously be tried for perjury—some embarrassing inconsistencies had crept into his pretrial testimony—but his lawyer was able to prevent it, and then the issue came down to whether John Connally or Jake Jacobsen was telling the truth." On the strength of the defense's prominent character witnesses, Connally was acquitted.[44][45]
Legacy[edit]
A number of buildings and institutions in Texas bear Connally's name. Educational institutions named for him including the John B. Connally Middle School, part of Northside ISD, and John B. Connally High School, part of Pflugerville ISD. Texas A&M University and Texas State Technical College each have a building named in his honor. Other notable institutions named for him include a portion of Interstate 410 in San Antonio, the Connally Loop, and the John B. Connally Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in Karnes County. The Connally Memorial Medical Center in Floresville is named for the Connally family. Downtown Houston has a life-sized statue of Connally in Connally Plaza.[61]
In January 1964, Connally donated the suit he wore on November 22, 1963, to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC). The suit was displayed to the public until March 1964. In 2000, TSLAC loaned the suit to the National Archives and Records Administration for examination purposes.[62] From October 2013 to February 2014, the suit was featured as part of an exhibit at the TSLAC to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination.[63]