Some events change the direction of the community, the state or the nation. Such a sea change occurred with the murder of attorney Albert Patterson on June 18, 1954 — 70 years ago.
Patterson had just won the statewide race for the Democratic nomination for Alabama Attorney General. At that time, Alabama was a one-party state — all Democrat. Winning the Democratic nomination was “tantamount to election.”
Albert Patterson was effectively the Attorney General-elect of Alabama. He faced no opposition in the formal general election slated for November 1954, and he was all set to take office as the state’s top prosecutor in January 1955.
It never happened. Some East Alabama operators of illegal businesses and their compatriots would not stand for it.
Patterson had run his AG campaign on one issue, an issue that was prominent in news stories across Alabama — the rampant vice and corruption in and around Patterson’s town of Phenix City: illegal gambling, prostitution, alcohol, and drug trade in its early days. Some local officials in Phenix City and Russell County were protective of their hometown gangsters.
Individuals and groups who profited from those illegal activities wanted no outside interference. A crusading AG who intimately knew the situation in Phenix City and was committed to cleaning it up could be the worst possible outside interference.
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The killers’ elimination of Patterson had ripple effects for decades in Phenix City, Montgomery, state government and state elections.
Had Patterson not been murdered, things would likely have been different from then until now, 70 years later.
PHENIX CITY CORRUPTION CLEANUP
The state news media, the Alabama public and state officials were shocked by Albert Patterson's assassination. The murder moved them to take fast and decisive action. They moved quickly to clean up Phenix City, taking the boldest of steps to do so.
If Patterson had lived, that responsive action would not have taken place. The cleanup start would have waited for Albert Patterson to take office as AG in January 1955. Patterson had a plan, and there would have been a methodical and slow cleanup. Phenix City's underground economy supporters would have fought Patterson each step of the way with lawsuits, legislative lobbying, and delay tactics. Likely, the Phenix City underworld would have eventually been put out of business, but it may have been a partial muzzling rather than a complete ouster, and it could have taken the rest of the 1950s to do it.
The fast and complete cleanup of Phenix City as a reaction to the Patterson assassination would not have happened.
JOHN PATTERSON WOULD NOT HAVE BECOME ATTORNEY GENERAL OF ALABAMA IN 1955.
With their nominee for AG dead, the State Democratic Executive Committee had to meet and nominate another lawyer to accept that nomination. The nominee would have no opposition in November and take office as AG in January 1955.
Their choice was John Patterson, the son of the slain AG-in-waiting. The YOUNG son, John Patterson, was only 33 years old then. AGs were typically in their 50s or 60s. But John was bright, a sentimental favorite, and his last name was “Patterson.” He was handed the nomination, won the November general election with no opponent, and became AG in January 1955, just as his father would have if he had lived.
As AG, John Patterson did not start the cleanup of Phenix City, but he helped finish it. Gov. Gordon Persons and other Alabama officials had mostly done the job already. It was not as big of an issue as it had been, so John Patterson took the remaining steps, as the lead had already been taken.
AG John Patterson moved on to other issues, such as protecting Alabama’s way of life against the federal government’s forced de-segregation of the races. That issue became the number one issue in Alabama.
AG John Patterson established his position as the people's number one fighter on the number one issue. If Albert Patterson had not been killed, that would not have happened.
Some old-time Alabama political commentators say the only difference would have been a different Patterson, that Albert Patterson would have been the crusader against integration instead of John. Maybe or maybe not. Albert Patterson already had his issue and was committed to it. He was a crusader, alright, but he was the crusader against vice and corruption in East Alabama. That was his story, and he was sticking to it.
JOHN PATTERSON WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ELECTED GOVERNOR IN 1958.
In 1958, AG John Patterson was well-positioned to run for the open seat of Governor despite his relative youth (then 37) and short resume, only one term as AG. He was the recognized leader of the fight against racial de-segregation. He still had lingering sentimental support because of his father's assassination. He had name recognition from his AG work and late father. There was a 1955 feature-length movie about him and the assassination.
John Patterson was opposed by a field of candidates led by George Wallace of Barbour County. Wallace had used his service in the Alabama Legislature and as a Circuit Judge to prepare to run for governor. People who knew him say he had been running for governor since graduating from the University of Alabama Law School during World War II.
As a judge, Wallace had staged a fight against federal interference with his former classmate, federal Judge Frank Johnson, a Republican but a progressive on racial issues. Johnson won that fight in the courtrooms, but Wallace won it in the court of public opinion.
If Albert Patterson had not been assassinated, John Patterson would not have been AG nor a candidate for governor in 1958. Someone else would have won the governor’s race, likely Wallace.
In 1958, Wallace was a moderate on racial issues. He had backing from some black voters and leaders. The rip-snorting defender of the Alabama way of life had not developed yet and, in fact, began in 1958, partially due to John Patterson’s strategic use of the segregation issue in the gubernatorial race.
“I’ll never be out-segged again.” — George Wallace.
If Wallace had been elected governor in 1958, he possibly would have been a moderate, solution-seeking governor somewhat similar to later Gov. Albert Brewer. Would we have seen the stand in the schoolhouse door? Would a New South Governor Wallace have run for president? Would he have run his wife Lurleen for governor? Would he have run to attempt a comeback against incumbent Gov. Brewer?
While we can never know the answers to these what-ifs, there are those who knew George Wallace who still insist he would have done all these things anyway. He might have been a bit later in coming to the front of the fight, or he might have come at it from a different vantage point. But they believe he was destined to “Stand Up for America.”
Albert Patterson's murder thrust John Patterson not only into the AG’s office but also into the 1958 gubernatorial race. It was the only defeat that George Wallace would suffer in a state election in Alabama.
What a difference a murder can make.
Albert Patterson was born in Tallapoosa County, fought in World War I, and was decorated. After the war, Patterson attended Jacksonville State Teachers College and then worked as a high school principal in Clay and Coosa Counties. He completed his bachelor’s degree from the University of Alabama in 1926.
Patterson earned his law degree at Cumberland University Law School, which was located in Lebanon, Tennessee. He had a famous classmate, Cordell Hull, who was later the U.S. Secretary of State.
Albert Patterson opened a law practice with offices in Opelika and Alexander City. In 1933, he relocated to nearby Phenix City. He was later elected there to the board of education and then to the State Senate in 1946, serving from 1947 to 1951.
Phenix City had become a hot destination for soldiers stationed at nearby Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia. A very short bridge ride over the Chattahoochee River carried soldiers from straight-laced Georgia into wide-open Phenix City, mostly for gambling, alcohol, prostitutes and numbers games.
There are two narratives about the businesses in Phenix City offering illicit services to soldiers and other patrons. One is that it was organized crime with overseers sometimes referred to as “the Dixie Mafia.”
Others say the service providers were independent operators competing with each other. This was a private, capitalist crime, not organized crime.
Regardless of their business organization, the illegal operations were profitable. They required some cooperation from local law enforcement and public officials.
Before running for attorney general, Albert Patterson had been involved with the Russell Betterment Association, which was formed to combat vice and corruption in Phenix City. This involvement apparently led to his office being set on fire in 1952.
This narrative catches us up to 1954. Patterson ran on a “Clean Up Phenix City” platform and won the nomination for attorney general, tantamount to election.
Two weeks later, on June 18, 1954, Patterson was getting into his car in the parking lot at the Coulter Building where his law office was. He was shot three times but made it down the street before collapsing in a pool of his own blood.
One of the bullets had pierced Patterson’s throat, which kept him from speaking to witnesses as he breathed his last breaths.
Later that summer, Alabama Gov. Gordon Persons declared martial law in Phenix City, ordering Gen. Walter “Crack” Hanna, backed by soldiers of the Alabama National Guard, to take over the Russell County courthouse and city hall of Phenix City.
Gov. Persons arranged for the removal of the sheriff, some deputies and some police officers, and Gen. Hanna’s troops raided the gambling places to destroy slot machines and gather evidence. The state action led to 749 indictments against 152 people. All but two were convicted.
The raids led to a 23-day jury trial, which found Deputy Albert Fuller guilty of murdering Patterson and sentenced him to life in prison on March 9, 1955.
Fuller was paroled after ten years and died in 1969.
Albert Patterson’s death was commemorated in June 2020 with the erection of a statue across the street from his former law office. The sculpture depicts Patterson sitting on a bench so passersby can sit with him and reflect on the story of Phenix City.
“The law came to Phenix City at last. It took my father's death to bring it. It wasn't the kind of law my father fought and died for. But it was the only law the men who killed him could understand. The law with a loaded gun in its hand.” — John Patterson
Jim ‘Zig’ Zeigler’s beat is the colorful and positive about Alabama. He writes about Alabama people, places, events, groups and prominent deaths. He is a former Alabama Public Service Commissioner and State Auditor. You can reach him for comments at ZeiglerElderCare@yahoo.com.
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