Coleman served from 1956 to 1960.
Link to the catalog1956: James P. Coleman becomes Mississippi’s fifty-second governor
Governor James P. Coleman
March 12, 1956: Southern congressmen call for massive resistance to Supreme Court desegregation rulings
James O. Eastland
Senator James O. Eastland co-authors the “Southern Manifesto.”
Link to the catalogMarch 21, 1956: Mississippi legislature creates Sovereignty Commission to fight integration
The legislature created the Sovereignty Commission to preserve segregation. For the next seventeen years, until it was shut down in 1973, the commission spied on civil rights workers, acted as a clearinghouse for information on civil rights activities and legislation, and funneled money to pro-segregation causes.
March 29, 1956: Governor Coleman signs Sovereignty Commission bill into law
As governor, Coleman was chairman of the commission.
April 12, 1956: Elvis Presley posts first #1 hit
Presley’s song “Heartbreak Hotel” reached #1 on the Billboard chart.