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Sam Caldwell

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Samuel Shepherd Caldwell
Mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana
In office
1934–1946
Preceded byGeorge W. Hardy, Jr.
Succeeded byClyde Fant
Personal details
Born(1892-11-04)November 4, 1892
Mooringsport, Louisiana, US
DiedAugust 14, 1953(1953-08-14) (aged 60)
Shreveport, Louisiana
Political partyDemocratic Party
SpouseAnna Pauline Owen Caldwell (married 1914-1953, his death)
ChildrenBetty Ann Caldwell Morgan Burke
Residence(s)Shreveport, Louisiana
Alma materLouisiana Tech University
OccupationOilman

Samuel Shepherd Caldwell (November 4, 1892 – August 14, 1953), was a Louisiana oilman and politician who served as mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana, from 1934 to 1946.[1]

Caldwell was an unusually staunch segregationist even for the era in the Deep South. In 1943, Caldwell chose to turn down $67,000 in federal funds for a new medical center because it would have required hiring 12 blacks out of every 100 workers.[2] (Shreveport was 37% African American in the 1940 census.)[3] "We are not going to be bribed by federal funds," Caldwell explained, "to accept the negro as our political or social equal"; federal officials would not "cram the negro down our throats."[2]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ John Andrew Prime (July 26, 2015). "Our History: Former mayor's impact recalled". The Shreveport Times. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  2. ^ a b Fairclough, Adam (2008). Race & Democracy: The Civil Rights Struggle in Louisiana, 1915-1972. University of Georgia Press. p. 87. ISBN 978-0-8203-3114-0. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  3. ^ "Louisiana, 1940 U.S. Census" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
Preceded by Mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana
1934–1946
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Lee Emmett Thomas (1927)
No LMA from 1928 to 1936
President of the Louisiana Municipal Association
1937–1939
Succeeded by
J. Maxim Roy