Tolliver Cleveland Callison Sr.

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T. C. Callison
Attorney General of South Carolina
In office
1951–1958
Preceded byJohn M. Daniel
Succeeded byDaniel R. McLeod
Personal details
BornJuly 17, 1884
Callison, Edgefield County, South Carolina, United States
DiedMarch 17, 1966
Columbia, South Carolina
Political partyDemocratic Party
EducationBailey Military Institute
University of South Carolina

Tolliver Cleveland Callison Sr. (July 17, 1884 – March 17, 1966) was an American lawyer and politician who served as Attorney General of South Carolina from 1951 to 1958. He advocated for South Carolina's segregationist laws.

Early life[edit]

Tolliver Cleveland Callison was born on July 17, 1884, in Callison, Edgefield County, South Carolina, United States to Preston Brooks Callison and Mattie Ella (née White) Callison.[1] His family had high social status in the county, and his father served two terms in the South Carolina General Assembly.[2] Callison attended public schools and the Bailey Military Institute in Greenwood. He studied law at the University of South Carolina,[3] graduating in 1909.[4]

Callison married Margaret Elizabeth Reel on December 17, 1913.[3] They had five children.[4]

Career[edit]

Callison was admitted to the bar in 1909[3] and moved to Lexington, South Carolina, two years later to practice law.[4] During World War I he worked for the Edgefield County Food Administration. He also served as the superintendent of the Baptist Sunday School in Lexington for three years.[3] In the early 1930s he helped organize the Lexington Depository, which became the Bank of Lexington in 1948. He thereafter served as its president until it merged with the First National Bank of South Carolina, and subsequently served as vice president of the merged entity until his death. He also served as president of the South Carolina State Board of Public Welfare.[4]

Callison was a member of the Democratic Party.[3] He served as chairman of the Lexington County Democratic Party from 1924 to 1940. He served as solicitor of the 11th Judicial Circuit from 1920 to 1936. From 1940 to 1951 he served as Assistant Attorney General of South Carolina.[4]

In 1951 Callison became Attorney General of South Carolina.[4] He served as a counsel for South Carolina during the arguments of Brown v. Board of Education before the United States Supreme Court.[5] He defended racial segregation, arguing that both black and white South Carolinians would prefer separate schools and saying that South Carolina "recognizes the absolute right of each race to control its own social affairs without any governmental regulation of any kind or character."[6] He chaired the Southern Association of Attorneys General in 1955.[7] In 1957 Callison accused President Dwight D. Eisenhower of violating the United States Constitution when the latter federalized Arkansas troops to ensure the integration of Little Rock Central High School, saying, "A more serious crisis has never arisen in connection with internal affairs of the United States."[8] He left the attorney general's office in 1958[4] and returned to private legal practice.[9]

Later life[edit]

Callison's wife died in 1960. In March 1966 he suffered a heart attack. He died on March 17 at Baptist Hospital in Columbia, South Carolina.[4]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Snowden 1920, p. 62.
  2. ^ Snowden 1920, pp. 62–63.
  3. ^ a b c d e Snowden 1920, p. 63.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h "Heart Attack Proves Fatal To Callison". The Greenville News. Associated Press. 18 March 1966. p. 48.
  5. ^ "Eminent Lawyers Fought Out Case". The New York Times. May 18, 1954. p. 17.
  6. ^ "School Bias Is Defended: South Carolina Aide Says Both Races Favor Segregation". The New York Times. United Press International. June 7, 1953. p. 38.
  7. ^ "Klan Is Condemned: Southern Attorneys General Oppose Rebirth of Group". The New York Times. Associated Press. August 23, 1955. p. 20.
  8. ^ "President Scored On Use Of Troops". The New York Times. October 6, 1957. p. 27.
  9. ^ Bell 1972, p. 301.

Works cited[edit]

  • Bell, Harold Leonard (1972). The Office of State Attorney General in the South (PhD thesis). University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. OCLC 77774350.
  • Snowden, Yates, ed. (1920). History of South Carolina. Vol. 5. Chicago & New York: Lewis Publishing Company.

External links[edit]

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