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Francis M. Wilhoit

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Francis M. Wilhoit
Born
Francis Marion Wilhoit[1][2]

(1920-04-24)April 24, 1920[3]
Moore County, North Carolina
DiedJune 9, 2010(2010-06-09) (aged 90)
Carthage, North Carolina, U.S.
EducationHarvard University
OccupationPolitical scientist
EmployerDrake University

Francis "Frank" Marion Wilhoit (April 24, 1920 – June 9, 2010) was an American political scientist and author who was the Thomas F. Sheehan Professor of Political Science at Drake University.[4]

Early life and education

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Wilhoit was born in 1920 in North Carolina.[5] He attended Harvard University, where he earned a bachelor's degree, a master in public affairs, and a PhD in political science.[4] He was friends with Henry Kissinger and Zbigniew Brzezinski in college.[6]

Career

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Before going to college, Wilhoit worked in military intelligence as a cryptographer for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II.[4] He also worked for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).[7]

Wilhoit taught in Georgia and Florida.[5] In 1961, he joined the faculty in the department of political science at Drake University. He was Thomas F. Sheehan Professor from 1981 to 1985, and retired in 1990.[4] He wrote several books.

Wilhoit was vocal in his opposition to racism. In 1967, he spoke about the history of slavery as part of the Progressive Young Negro Enterprises's Negro Heritage Series.[5] One of his books was about massive resistance in the Southern United States;[8] he was awarded the 1973 Chastain Prize for the book.[6] In 1976, he accused a Christian pastor in Texas of hypocrisy; the pastor had denounced the publication of Playboy but had supported Jim Crow laws decades earlier.[9]

Wilhoit's law

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This quotation is often incorrectly attributed to Francis M. Wilhoit:

Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.[10]

However, it was actually a 2018 blog response by 59-year-old Ohio composer Frank Wilhoit, years after Francis Wilhoit's death.[11]

Personal life and death

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Wilhoit lived alone, and was an opera aficionado.[6] He died on June 9, 2010, in Carthage, North Carolina, at age 90.[4]

Selected works

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  • Wilhoit, Francis M (1973). The Politics of Massive Resistance. New York: George Braziller. ISBN 978-0-8076-0700-8. OCLC 185875294.
  • Wilhoit, Francis M (1979). The Quest for Equality in Freedom. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction Books. ISBN 978-0-87855-240-5. OCLC 493261129.

References

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  1. ^ North Carolina, Birth Indexes, 1800–2000
  2. ^ U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940–1947
  3. ^ U.S. Social Security Death Index, 1935–2014
  4. ^ a b c d e "Retired professor 'Frank' Wilhoit leaves outstanding teaching legacy at Drake". Drake University. June 11, 2010. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  5. ^ a b c Szumski, Jerry (November 14, 1967). "Cites Court's Role on Bias". The Des Moines Register. p. 3. Retrieved December 21, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b c Monson, Valerie (April 9, 1983). "Francis Wilhoit: A scholar with wit". The Des Moines Register. Des Moines, Iowa. p. 17. Retrieved December 21, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Sorkin, Michael (July 16, 1972). "Crank Calls to Professor Foil Phone Firm's Efforts". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  8. ^ Krueger, Thomas A (March 1, 1975). "The Politics of Massive Resistance. By Francis M. Wilhoit. (New York: Braziller, 1973. 320 pp. Tables, appendix, notes, and index. Cloth, $8.95; paper, $3.95.)". The Journal of American History. 61 (4): 1153–1154. doi:10.2307/1890720. JSTOR 1890720.
  9. ^ Wilhoit, Francis (October 15, 1976). "For Astray?". Des Moines Tribune. p. 16. Retrieved December 21, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Farrell, Henry (March 21, 2018). "Comment by Frank Wilhoit on The Travesty of Liberalism". Crooked Timber.
  11. ^ Grabar, Henry (June 3, 2022). "The Pithiest Critique of Modern Conservatism Keeps Getting Credited to the Wrong Man". Slate. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
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