Armistead Inge Selden Jr. (February 20, 1921 – November 14, 1985) was a segregationist

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from Alabama.

Early life and military service

Born in Greensboro, Alabama, Selden attended the public schools. He graduated from Greensboro High School in 1938 and from the University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee, in 1942. He served in the United States Navy from August 1942 until March 1946, with 31 months aboard ship, primarily in the North Atlantic, and was discharged as a lieutenant. He served as lieutenant commander in the United States Naval Reserve. He entered the University of Alabama School of Law and graduated in 1948. He was admitted to the bar in 1948 and commenced practice in Greensboro, Alabama. He served as member of the

Alabama House of Representatives The Alabama State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of state of Alabama. The House is composed of 105 members representing an equal number of districts, with each constituency contai ...

in 1951 and 1952.

Congressional and diplomatic career

Selden was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the

Eighty-third Congress The 83rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 1953, until January 3, 1955, during the last two weeks of the Truman administration, with ...

. He was reelected to the seven succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1969). While in Congress he was a signatory to the 1956

Southern Manifesto The Declaration of Constitutional Principles (known informally as the Southern Manifesto) was a document written in February and March 1956, during the 84th United States Congress, in opposition to racial integration of public places. The manife ...

that opposed the desegregation of public schools ordered by the Supreme Court in '' Brown v. Board of Education''. He served as a member of the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs and as head of the now-defunct US House Inter-American Affairs Committee. Following the Cuban Revolution in 1958, led by

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

, Selden was influential in the passage of the October 19, 1960 United States embargo against Cuba and their expulsion from the

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...

on January 31, 1962. He also represented the US at the inauguration of Anastasio Somoza in 1967. He was not a candidate in 1968 for reelection to the United States House of Representatives but was an unsuccessful candidate for nomination to the United States Senate, losing the Democratic primary to former

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

James Allen. He resumed the practice of law until October 1970. He served as Principal Deputy Assistant

Secretary of Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

(International Security Affairs), October 1970 – February 1973, and as

U.S. Ambassador Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the President of the United States, president to serve as the country's diplomat, diplomatic representatives to foreign nations, international organizations, and as Ambassador-at-large, ...

to New Zealand,

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

, The

Kingdom of Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesia, Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has List of islands and towns in Tonga, 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its tota ...

, and Western Samoa from 1974 to 1979. He was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for nomination in the United States Senate election in Alabama, 1980. He served as president of the American League for Exports and Security Assistance from 1980 to 1985. He was a resident of Greensboro, Alabama, and

Falls Church, Virginia Falls Church is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 14,658. Falls Church is included in the Wash ...

, until he died of cancer in Birmingham, Alabama, November 14, 1985. He was interred in Greensboro City Cemetery, Greensboro, Alabama.

A.I. Selden Dam A. I. Selden Dam is a dam in Hale County, Alabama. The concrete gravity dam was constructed in 1958 by the United States Army Corps of Engineers with a height of and long at its crest. It impounds the Black Warrior River for navigation and ...

, built in 1958 on Alabama's Black Warrior River, bears his name.

References

Retrieved on 2009-03-02
Archives of Sewanee: The University of The South

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Selden, Armistead I. Jr. 1921 births 1985 deaths People from Greensboro, Alabama Ambassadors of the United States to New Zealand Democratic Party members of the Alabama House of Representatives Sewanee: The University of the South alumni United States Navy officers United States Navy personnel of World War II University of Alabama alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Alabama 20th-century American politicians Ambassadors of the United States to Fiji Ambassadors of the United States to Tonga Alabama Republicans 20th-century American diplomats American segregationists