Stuart Barns Carter (April 25. 1906 – June 12, 1983) was a

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

lawyer, farmer and businessmen who also served as the Democratic legislator representing Botetourt and Craig Counties: first as a delegate in the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...

and later as a State Senator from the 20th District. A lifelong Democrat, Carter helped lead his party's progressive faction, particularly as they opposed the

Byrd Organization The Byrd machine, or Byrd organization, was a political machine of the Democratic Party led by former Governor and U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd (1887–1966) that dominated Virginia politics for much of the 20th century. From the 1890s until the l ...

's policy of

Massive Resistance Massive resistance was a strategy declared by U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd Sr. of Virginia and his brother-in-law James M. Thomson, who represented Alexandria in the Virginia General Assembly, to get the state's white politicians to pass laws and p ...

to racial integration in Virginia's public schools.

Early life and education

Carter was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

to Charles Dale Carter and his wife Sarah Barns. Widowed when Stuart was an infant, Sarah remarried John S. Pechin and moved to Buchanan, Virginia. He had a half-brother Richard S. Pechin, five years younger than himself. Stuart Carter studied at the

Virginia Episcopal School Virginia Episcopal School (VES) is a private, co-educational college preparatory, boarding and day school for students in grades 9 - 12, located in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. The school was first conceived in 1906 by the Reverend Rober ...

Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner John Lynch (1740–1820), John Lynch, the city's populati ...

, then at Western Reserve University in

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, and at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

. He graduated from

Cumberland University Cumberland University is a private university in Lebanon, Tennessee. It was founded in 1842. The campus's current historic buildings were constructed between 1892 and 1896. History 1842-1861 The university was founded by the Cumberland ...

's law school (now the

Cumberland Law School Cumberland School of Law is an American Bar Association, ABA accredited law school at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. It was founded in 1847 at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee and is the 11th oldest law schoo ...

Samford University Samford University is a private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama. In 1841, the university was founded as Howard College by Baptists. Samford University describes itself as the 87th oldest institution of higher learning in the United Sta ...

) in

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in 1934. He married Mary Pechin Shelley Sheridan Carter (1901–1966) and they had several children.

Career

After admission to the Virginia bar, Carter began his private legal practice in Fincastle, Virginia, county seat of Botetourt County in 1935. He held various county and state offices before 1950, when he began his formal part-time political career. Carter was a vestryman in his local Episcopal Church, as well as active in the Ruritans,

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

s, and

Virginia Bar Association The Virginia Bar Association (VBA) is a voluntary organization of lawyers, judges and law school faculty and students in Virginia, with offices in Richmond, Virginia. Key elements are advocacy, professionalism, service and collegiality. It provid ...

. He also held a seat on the Democratic Central Committee and served as chairman of the 6th Congressional District Democratic Committee. In 1959, Carter and his wife moved into Greyledge, a historic home they purchased from Bertha Pechin Jameson, his wife's aunt, in 1954. In 1966 Carter served as President of the Virginia Association of Counties.

Political career

Carter initially was affiliated with the

, but broke with the policies of U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd over integration of Virginia's public schools. Carter and state senator

Armistead Boothe Armistead Lloyd Boothe (September 23, 1907 – February 14, 1990) was a Virginia Democratic legislator representing Alexandria, Virginia: first as a delegate in the Virginia General Assembly and later as a State Senator from the newly create ...

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...

became leaders of what some called the "Young Turks", mostly moderates who had served in

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and realized the economic and social cost of

. That had begun after the United States Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education (and companion cases including one from Prince Edward County, Virginia) in 1954 and 1955. At the time Virginia's schools were in the lowest quartile in the nation both in funding and workforce educations (the typical white attended a year of high school; the typical African American Virginia received only an eighth grade education). Improving the schools and racial integration seemed inevitable to Carter. However, Southside Virginia and other conservative Byrd Democrats vehemently opposed racial integration, and preferred to close schools rather than allow integration anywhere in the state, even pursuant to a court order or where a local school board decision. Though Virginia's official response to ''Brown'' was a commission under State Senator Garland Gray to study options, Gray and U.S. Senator Byrd (and others) became radicalized. When the legislature finally met in August 1956, it debated the a radicalized version of the Gray Commission plan, which became known as the Stanley Plan. That in part proposed to fund

segregation academies Segregation academies are private schools in the Southern United States that were founded in the mid-20th century by white parents to avoid having their children attend desegregated public schools. They were founded between 1954, when the U.S. ...

through tuition grants, which Carter opposed, although it was sponsored by his cousin, H. Stuart Carter. As a lawyer, Carter respected the U.S. Supreme Court's authority to promulgate both decisions in ''Brown'', and did not have ambitions for higher office and so did not feel a need to cater to either the segregationist nor integrationist wings of his party. Byrd Democrats proposed closing public schools to fight integration despite a provision of the state constitution requiring free public education (hence the January 1956 referendum to modify the state constitution which Carter was only one of four delegates to oppose). After both the

Virginia Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears direct appeals in civil cases from the trial-level city and county circuit courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and administrative ...

and a three-judge federal panel announced on January 19, 1959 that the Stanley Plan was unconstitutional, Governor

J. Lindsay Almond James Lindsay Almond Jr. (June 15, 1898 – April 14, 1986) was an American lawyer, state and federal judge and Democratic party politician. His political offices included as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 6th congre ...

eventually reconsidered his opposition to ''Brown'', and joined with the Perrow Commission plan. Meanwhile, Carter had been elected to the Virginia Senate, and although recovering from recent abdominal surgery, appeared to cast his crucial vote in favor of the Perrow Commission plan. Thus, it passed by a single vote. After Carter's retirement, his senate district was represented by attorney Hale Collins of Covington, Virginia, who would hold it for two decades (although after the 1964 census redistricting, Allegheny, Bedford, Botetourt, Buena Vista, Clifton Forge, Covington, Craig and Rockbridge Counties were collectively placed in the 19th senatorial district).

Death and legacy

Carter survived his beloved wife by more than a decade. He died in Roanoke, Virginia after complications from cancer surgery on June 12, 1983. He and Mary had deeded Greyledge to their children, who eventually sold it in 2001. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Stuart B. 1906 births 1983 deaths Democratic Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates Democratic Party Virginia state senators Virginia lawyers Politicians from Philadelphia University of Virginia alumni People from Fincastle, Virginia 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American legislators People from Buchanan, Virginia 20th-century Virginia politicians