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The Chronicles of Zerrachaboam

A recent e-mail message led to a new acquisition this week for the archives – a typed copy of The Chronicles of Zerrachaboam, a piece of political satire written in 1954 by the late Professor Lewis P. Jones.  

JonesLP Dr. Jones was a scholar of many things, particularly South Carolina history, and even more particularly the late 19th century – an era he chronicled in his doctoral dissertation.  During the 1890s, some anonymous observers had written, in language reminiscent of the King James Old Testament, a political commentary on South Carolina under the rule of Benjamin Tillman.  They were styled the "Chronicles of Zerrachaboam."  Dr. Jones would have been quite familiar with these writings, and when the opportunity presented itself again in South Carolina, he chose to write "Zerrachaboam II."  His subject: The 1954 U. S. Senate race between Strom Thurmond and Edgar Brown.  

When Senator Burnet Maybank died just before the 1954 Democratic Primary (the only election that mattered in those days), the state Democratic Party was left in a dilemma.  They had to replace Maybank on the ballot, but they didn't have time to call a special primary.  They chose to nominate longtime state senator Edgar Brown, known around the state as the Bishop from Barnwell.  Strom Thurmond, a former governor and Dixiecrat candidate for president, saw his chance to run against the Barnwell Ring – he'd beaten them before in his 1946 governor's race.  Several other notable characters played a role – Governor James F. Byrnes, Senator Olin D. Johnston, and others.  Thurmond, of course, went on to win what was, until November 2010, the only write-in candidacy for the Senate.  Just this year, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski won a write-in contest, giving the 1954 SC Senate race a little bit of historical publicity as well.  

The situation was ripe for commentary, and so Dr. Jones wrote about it in these chronicles.  Click for a larger version.  

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By Phillip Stone

I've been the archivist of Wofford College and the South Carolina United Methodist since 1999. I'll be sharing college, Methodist, and local history, documents, photographs, and other interesting stories on this blog, which I've been keeping since December 2007.