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| He enlisted into the ] in early 1941 and fought in ], advancing from ] to ] and earning a ] with clusters and ] for his actions aboard the troopship USS ''Henrico'', after a ] attack during the ]. His image appears in the Infantry Officer Hall of Fame at ]. | He enlisted into the ] in early 1941 and fought in ], advancing from ] to ] and earning a ] with clusters and ] for his actions aboard the troopship USS ''Henrico'', after a ] attack during the ]. His image appears in the Infantry Officer Hall of Fame at ]. | ||
| Rockefeller married '''Barbara "Bobo" Sears''' on February 14, 1948 in Florida, which brought unwanted press attention on the family |
Rockefeller married '''Barbara "Bobo" Sears''' on February 14, 1948 in Florida, which brought unwanted press attention on the family. Winthrop was a hard drinker. He divorced Barbara in 1951; he had only one son, ] (September 17, 1948 – July 16, 2006). | ||
| ==Move to Arkansas== | ==Move to Arkansas== | ||
Revision as of 02:26, 10 October 2006
Winthrop Rockefeller (1 May 1912 – 22 February 1973), was a politician and philanthropist who served as the first Republican governor of Arkansas since Reconstruction.
Early life
Winthrop Rockefeller was born in New York City, New York to John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and Abby Greene Aldrich, and was a third generation member of the Rockefeller family. His four famous brothers were: Nelson, David, Laurance and John D. 3rd.
Nelson served as Governor of New York and Vice President of the United States. Winthrop and Nelson Rockefeller were the first brothers to serve simultaneously as governors of two U.S. states.
Winthrop attended Yale University from 1931 to 1934 but was ejected as a result of misbehavior before earning his degree.
He enlisted into the U.S. 77th Infantry Division in early 1941 and fought in World War II, advancing from Private to Colonel and earning a Bronze Star with clusters and Purple Heart for his actions aboard the troopship USS Henrico, after a kamikaze attack during the Battle of Okinawa. His image appears in the Infantry Officer Hall of Fame at Fort Benning, Georgia.
Rockefeller married Barbara "Bobo" Sears on February 14, 1948 in Florida, which brought unwanted press attention on the family. Winthrop was a hard drinker. He divorced Barbara in 1951; he had only one son, Winthrop Paul (September 17, 1948 – July 16, 2006).
Move to Arkansas
Rockefeller moved to central Arkansas in 1953 and established Winrock Enterprises and Winrock Farms atop Petit Jean Mountain near Morrilton, Arkansas.
In 1955 Governor Orval Faubus appointed him as chairman of the Arkansas Industrial Development Commission (AIDC). In 1956 he married Jeanette Idris.
He was once recognized as the single most important influence of William Jefferson Clinton who himself became governor before being elected to the White House. Rockefeller initiated a number of philanthropies and projects for the benefit of the people of the state. He financed the building of a model school at Morrilton, and led efforts to establish a Fine Arts Center in Little Rock. He also financed the construction of medical clinics in some of the state's poorest counties, in addition to making annual gifts to the state's colleges and universities. These philanthropic activities continue to this day through the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation.
First political campaigns
Rockefeller resigned his position with the AIDC and conducted his first campaign for governor in 1964. His campaign was ultimately unsuccessful against the powerful Faubus, but Rockefeller had energized and reformed the tiny Republican Party and had set the stage for the future.
When Rockefeller made his second run in 1966 only 11% of Arkansans considered themselves Republicans. But the people of Arkansas had grown tired of Orval Faubus after six terms as Governor and as head of the Democratic "machine." Democrats themselves seemed to be more interested in the reforms that Rockefeller offered in his campaign than "winning another one for the party." An odd coalition of Republicans and Democratic reform voters catapulted Rockefeller into the Governor's office.
Governor of Arkansas
The Rockefeller administration enthusiastically embarked on a series of reforms but faced a hostile Democratic legislature. Rockefeller endured a number of personal attacks and a concerted whispering campaign regarding his personal life.
Rockefeller had a particular interest in the reform of the Arkansas prison system. Soon after his election he had received a shocking State Police report on the brutal conditions within the prison system. He decried the "lack of righteous indignation" about the situation and created the new Department of Corrections. He named a new warden, academic Tom Murton, the first professional penologist Arkansas had ever had in that role. However, he fired Murton less than a year later, when Murton's aggressive attempts to expose decades of corruption in the system subjected Arkansas to nation-wide contempt.
Rockefeller also focused on the State's lackluster educational system, providing funding for new buildings and increases in teacher salaries when the legislature allowed.
At the 1968 Republican National Convention, Winthrop Rockefeller received backing from members of the Arkansas delegation as a "favorite son" presidential candidate. He received all of the Arkansas' delegation's 18 votes; his brother Nelson, then concluding a major presidential bid, received 277 and together they became the first, and to date the only, brothers ever to receive votes for President at the same major-party convention.
Rockefeller won re-election in November 1968 and proposed tax increases to pay for additional reforms. Rockefeller and the legislature dueled with competing public-relations campaigns and Rockefeller's plan ultimately collapsed in the face of public indifference. Much of Rockefeller's second term was spent fighting with the recalcitrant legislature.
Racial politics
During this term Rockefeller quietly and successfully completed the integration of Arkansas schools that had been such a political bombshell only a few years before. He established the Council on Human Relations despite opposition from the legislature. Draft boards in the state boasted the highest level of racial integration of any state in the Union by the time Rockefeller left office. When he entered office not one African-American had served on a Draft Board in the state.
End of the Rockefeller era
In the campaign of 1970 Rockefeller expected to face Orval Faubus, who led the old-guard Democrats, but a young Turk named Dale Bumpers rose to the top of the Democratic heap by promising reform from the Democratic side of the aisle. The youth of Bumpers and the excitement of a new type of Democrat was too much for an incumbent Republican to overcome. Rockefeller had lost the 1970 election but had forced the Democrats to reform their own party.
As a shocking last act, Governor Rockefeller commuted the sentences of every prisoner on Arkansas' Death Row and urged the Governors of other states to do likewise. Thirty-three years later, in January of 2003, Illinois' lame duck governor, George Ryan, would do the same, granting blanket commutations to the 167 inmates then sentenced to death in that state.
In September 1972 Rockefeller was diagnosed with inoperable cancer of the pancreas and endured a devastating round of chemotherapy. When he returned to Arkansas the populace was shocked at the gaunt and haggard appearance of what had been a giant of a man.
Winthrop Rockefeller died on February 22, 1973 in Palm Springs, California, at the age of 60.
Legacy
The legacy of Winthrop Rockefeller lives on in the form of numerous charities, scholarships, and the activities of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation. The foundation provides funding for projects across Arkansas to encourage economic development, education, and racial and social justice.
Rockefeller's political legacy lives on in both the Republican and Democratic parties of Arkansas, both of which were forced to reform due to his presence in Arkansas politics.
Rockefeller was the subject of the 2 December 1966 cover of Time magazine. He is also the "Rockefeller" mentioned in Billy Joel's history themed song "We Didn't Start the Fire".
Winthrop Rockefeller's son Winthrop Paul "Win" Rockefeller served as Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas. Like his father, Win Rockefeller's political career was cut short by a devastating cancer.
The Winrock Shopping Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico is named for Rockefeller, as he developed it in a relationship with the University of New Mexico, the owners of the property on which the shopping center was built.
Further reading
- Memoirs, David Rockefeller, New York: Random House, 2002.
- The Life of Nelson A. Rockefeller: Worlds to Conquer, 1908-1958, New York: Doubleday, 1996.
See also
External links
- Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation
- Time Magazine Cover (Time Magazine Archive Site)
- The Winthrop Rockefeller Center
| Preceded byOrval Eugene Faubus (D) | Governor of Arkansas
Winthrop Rockefeller (R) |
Succeeded byDale L. Bumpers (D) |
| Governors of Arkansas | ||
|---|---|---|
| Territorial (1819–1836) |  | |
| State (from 1836) |
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