Gilbert Ellzey Carmichael (June 27, 1927 – January 31, 2016) was an American businessman and politician. Born in
Columbia, Mississippi
Columbia is a U.S. city in and the county seat of Marion County, Mississippi, which was formed six years before Mississippi was admitted to statehood. Columbia was named for Columbia, South Carolina, from which many of the early settlers had migr ...
, he attended
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...
and served in the
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...
during the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, earning a Silver
Lifesaving Medal
The Gold Lifesaving Medal and Silver Lifesaving Medal are U.S. decorations issued by the United States Coast Guard. The awards were established by Act of Congress, 20 June 1874; later authorized by . These decorations are two of the oldest med ...
for helping rescue crewmen from a sinking tanker. In June 1950 Carmichael was hired by the
Dow Jones & Company
Dow Jones & Company, Inc. is an American publishing firm owned by News Corp and led by CEO Almar Latour.
The company publishes ''The Wall Street Journal'', ''Barron's'', ''MarketWatch'', ''Mansion Global'', ''Financial News'' and ''Private Equ ...
to sell its newspaper, ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
''. After eight years, he joined a friend in distributing cars in
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is t ...
. He later became a partner in a car dealership in
Meridian, Mississippi
Meridian is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, seventh largest city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 41,148 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census and an estimated population in 2018 of 36,347. It is the count ...
before taking over the business. A member of the
Republican Party, he became involved in politics in the 1960s, making two unsuccessful bids for a seat in the
Mississippi State Legislature
The Mississippi Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The bicameral Legislature is composed of the lower Mississippi House of Representatives, with 122 members, and the upper Mississippi State Senate, with 52 me ...
. Carmichael also ran for a
U.S. Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
seat in 1972 and in 1975 ran for the office of
Governor of Mississippi
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...
, the first serious Republican contender for the post in decades. He lost a narrow race and made another unsuccessful bid in 1979. He also launched an unsuccessful independent campaign in 1983 to be elected
Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi
The lieutenant governor of Mississippi is the second-highest ranking executive officer in Mississippi, below the governor of Mississippi. The office of lieutenant governor was established when Mississippi became a state, abolished for a few decade ...
. From the 1970s to the 1990s he served on various national transportation advisory boards. He died in 2016.
Early life and business career
![Marion County Mississippi Courthouse](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Marion_County_Mississippi_Courthouse.jpg)
Gilbert Ellzey Carmichael was born on June 27, 1927 in
Columbia, Mississippi
Columbia is a U.S. city in and the county seat of Marion County, Mississippi, which was formed six years before Mississippi was admitted to statehood. Columbia was named for Columbia, South Carolina, from which many of the early settlers had migr ...
, United States to Calvin Ellzey Carmichael and Clyde Myrna Smith Carmichael.
[ His father died when he was young, forcing his mother to provide for the family. He graduated from ]Columbia High School Columbia High School may refer to:
*Columbia High School (Huntsville, Alabama)
*Columbia High School (Georgia)
*Columbia High School (Florida)
*Columbia High School (Idaho)
*Columbia High School (Illinois)
*Columbia High School (Mississippi), a Mis ...
in 1944, served in the United States Military
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
from 1945 to 1946. He thereafter attended Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...
, where he graduated in 1950 with a business degree and a minor in petroleum engineering. He married and had a son. Carmichael was commissioned as an officer in the United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...
during the Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
.[ While serving at the rank of ]ensign
An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...
in 1952, he participated in the rescue of crewmen from the sinking tanker ''SS Fort Mercer
SS ''Fort Mercer'' was a Type T2-SE-A1 tanker built by Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., at Chester, Pennsylvania in October 1945. SS ''Fort Mercer'' (hull number 534), was built under a Maritime Commission contract and launched on October 2, 194 ...
'' off the coast of Cape Cod
Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...
, when the ship broke apart in a storm. He commanded a boat which retrieved two men off of the ship's bow, and for his efforts was awarded a Silver Lifesaving Medal
The Gold Lifesaving Medal and Silver Lifesaving Medal are U.S. decorations issued by the United States Coast Guard. The awards were established by Act of Congress, 20 June 1874; later authorized by . These decorations are two of the oldest med ...
for "heroic action".[
In June 1950, Carmichael was hired by the ]Dow Jones & Company
Dow Jones & Company, Inc. is an American publishing firm owned by News Corp and led by CEO Almar Latour.
The company publishes ''The Wall Street Journal'', ''Barron's'', ''MarketWatch'', ''Mansion Global'', ''Financial News'' and ''Private Equ ...
to sell its newspaper, ''The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
''. Assigned to a distribution area comprising southern Mississippi, southern Louisiana, and the city of , he would go door-to-door in office buildings and pitch the paper and teach potential customers how it should be read. After eight years, he joined a friend in distributing Fiat
Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...
cars in Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is t ...
. He later became a partner in a car dealership in Meridian, Mississippi
Meridian is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, seventh largest city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 41,148 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census and an estimated population in 2018 of 36,347. It is the count ...
before buying out the entire business. He established a Volkswagen
Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...
dealership in 1961[ and later expanded to sell ]Audi
Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide.
Th ...
and Mercedes vehicles. He also acquired dealerships in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-largest city, it had an estimated population of 1 ...
. He sold his dealerships in Meridian upon his appointment to the Federal Railroad Administration
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is an agency in the United States Department of Transportation (DOT). The agency was created by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966. The purpose of the FRA is to promulgate and enforce rail saf ...
, but retained their buildings and later used them as he became involved in his son's commercial real estate company, Missouth Properties.[
]
Political career
1972 U.S. Senate election
Carmichael was a member of the Republican Party. He became involved in politics in the 1960s, making two unsuccessful bids for a seat in the Mississippi State Legislature
The Mississippi Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The bicameral Legislature is composed of the lower Mississippi House of Representatives, with 122 members, and the upper Mississippi State Senate, with 52 me ...
[ and chairing ]Rubel Phillips
Rubel Lex Phillips (March 29, 1925 – June 18, 2011) was an American politician and lawyer. Growing up poor in Alcorn County, Mississippi, he served in the United States Navy during World War II and, upon returning, earned a law degree. Haili ...
's 1963 gubernatorial campaign organization in Lauderdale County. In 1971 he considered running for the office of Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi
The lieutenant governor of Mississippi is the second-highest ranking executive officer in Mississippi, below the governor of Mississippi. The office of lieutenant governor was established when Mississippi became a state, abolished for a few decade ...
, but was convinced not to by Republican leaders who were fearful that his bid would associate the Republican Party with the gubernatorial campaign of black independent Charles Evers
James Charles Evers (September 11, 1922July 22, 2020) was an American civil rights activist, businessman, radio personality, and politician. Evers was known for his role in the civil rights movement along with his younger brother Medgar Evers. A ...
. In 1972 black civil rights activist James Meredith
James Howard Meredith (born June 25, 1933) is an American civil rights activist, writer, political adviser, and Air Force veteran who became, in 1962, the first African-American student admitted to the racially segregated University of Mississ ...
declared himself a candidate for the Republican nomination to contest the U.S. Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
seat held by Democrat James Eastland
James Oliver Eastland (November 28, 1904 February 19, 1986) was an American attorney, plantation owner, and politician from Mississippi. A Democrat, he served in the United States Senate in 1941 and again from 1943 until his resignation on Decem ...
. A group of Mississippi Republicans felt that Meredith was not a strong enough contender and did not want the party to become associated with another black candidate, and recruited Carmichael to run instead. He won the Republican primary election, but faced opposition in his bid from national Republicans. President Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
, though a Republican, wanted to maintain good relations with Eastland so as to ease his political interests in the federal government. A Nixon campaign official visited Carmichael and told him that if he withdrew from the race, Nixon would appoint him as an ambassador. Carmichael refused. When Vice President Spiro Agnew
Spiro Theodore Agnew (November 9, 1918 – September 17, 1996) was the 39th vice president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1973. He is the second vice president to resign the position, the other being John ...
traveled to Mississippi to host a rally, he was instructed to specifically not invite Carmichael. This action backfired, as the press learned of the maneuvering and covered Carmichael as an underdog
An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the case where an underdog wins, the ...
. Carmichael ultimately lost the general election to Eastland, taking only 39 percent of the vote.
Gubernatorial campaigns
In 1975, Carmichael declared his candidacy for the office of Governor of Mississippi
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...
. He was the first serious Republican candidate for gubernatorial office in decades. In the general election he faced Democrat Cliff Finch
Charles Clifton Finch (April 4, 1927 – April 22, 1986) was an American politician who served as the 57th Governor of the U.S. state of Mississippi, from 1976 to 1980.
Early life
Finch was born on April, 1927 in the village of Pope in Pan ...
. A black politician, Henry J. Kirksey, also ran as an independent. Finch largely ignored his opponents and espoused vague rhetoric. Carmichael offered specific proposals and stances. He supported the creation of a new state constitution, the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex. Proponents assert it would end legal distinctions between men and ...
, the supply of federal financial aid to New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, gun registration, reduced penalties for marijuana possession, and mandatory school attendance for children. He believed that the Republican Party should be biracial, arguing that it was "the party of emancipation, the party of homeownership, the party of individual responsibility ..the natural party for black people to be involved in." Thus he attempted to appeal to black voters, placing black politician Robert G. Clark Jr. on his campaign strategy committee and visiting the all-black community of Mound Bayou; these entreaties had minimal impact. Carmichael ultimately lost but drew 47 percent of the vote, a high figure for a statewide Republican candidate at that time. His largest support came from urban and suburban areas. Many Republicans felt he had staked out positions viewed as too liberal by Mississippians and would have won the election otherwise. He served as a delegate at the 1976 Republican National Convention
The 1976 Republican National Convention was a United States political convention of the Republican Party that met from August 16 to August 19, 1976, to select the party's nominee for President. Held in Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri, the ...
and backed Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...
's candidacy. The convention revealed significant conservative-moderate divisions in the party as well as disagreement over race, and Carmichael declared that he wanted to ensure that the party would not become " lily white and hard right".
Carmichael decided to run for governor again in 1979. Finch's administration had been plagued by corruption scandals, and he hoped to exude a moderate and professional image which Mississippians would find attractive. More conservative Mississippi Republicans who blamed Carmichael for losing the 1975 race thought he should not run again and recruited another candidate for the Republican primary, Leon Bramlett Leon Crow Bramlett Jr. (September 17, 1923 – October 19, 2015) was an American farmer, football player, and politician. Born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, he briefly played football at the University of Mississippi and the University of Alabama bef ...
. Bramlett styled himself as the "conservative alternative" to Carmichael. Carmichael ultimately had better name recognition and prevailed in the primary, taking 17,216 votes to his opponent's 15,236. Long-time politician William F. Winter won the Democratic primary to Carmichael's dismay; the two men exuded similar images, but Winter had more experience in government. Harmed by his divisive primary, Carmichael trailed Winter in polls and lost the general election, carrying a majority of the votes in only three counties. The moderate wing of the Mississippi Republican Party
The Mississippi Republican Party is the Mississippi state affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), United States Republican Party. The party chairman is Frank Bordeaux, and the party is based in Jackson, Mississippi. The original Repu ...
declined after his loss, as well as the party's attempts to secure black support. In 1983, Carmichael ran for the office of lieutenant governor as an independent. Making an appeal to rewrite the state constitution the centerpiece of his campaign, he took only 35.7 percent of the vote, losing to Brad Dye
Bradford Johnson Dye Jr. (December 20, 1933 – July 1, 2018) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the 27th Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi from 1980 until 1992. Dye was the only individual in state history to have served as Li ...
.[ In 1998 he delivered a series of speeches calling for the state of Mississippi to redraft its constitution.][ He also advocated changing the ]Mississippi state flag
The flag of Mississippi, also known as the Mississippi flag, consists of a white magnolia blossom surrounded by 21 white stars and the words 'In God We Trust' written below, all put over a blue Canadian pale with two vertical gold borders on a ...
later in his life.[
]
Later life and death
In 1973 Carmichael was appointed to the National Highway Safety Advisory Committee as a consolation for the Nixon administration's lack of support for him in the 1972 Senate race. He became its chairman before being made the federal commissioner for the National Transportation Policy Study Commission in 1976. He left the job in 1979. Carmichael worked in the Federal Railroad Administration from 1989 to 1993[ and strongly supported ]intermodal freight transport
Intermodal freight transport involves the transportation of freight in an intermodal container or vehicle, using multiple modes of transportation (e.g., rail, ship, aircraft, and truck), without any handling of the freight itself when changing ...
. He created the Transportation Institute at the University of Denver
The University of Denver (DU) is a private university, private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Mountain States, Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is ...
in 1996.[ In 1998 he was appointed to the ]Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
Reform Council. He was made chairman the following year and left the council in mid-2002.[ The body produced recommendations to ]U.S. Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...
on ways to improve the financial viability of Amtrak. From 1993 to 2002 he wrote a column for ''Progressive Railroading''. Carmichael died of a heart attack at Anderson Regional Medical Center in Meridian, Mississippi on January 31, 2016. A funeral was held for him at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Meridian on February 5.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Carmichael, Gil
1927 births
2016 deaths
American automobile salespeople
Mississippi Republicans
United States Coast Guard personnel of the Korean War