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Obits for Happy Rockefeller blamed her for his political decline. Don’t believe it.

The popular story is simple: Nelson Rockefeller—the governor of New York and presumptive Republican presidential nominee—tanked his candidacy when he married the newly divorced Margaretta “Happy” Fitler Murphy on May 4, 1963. So often has it been repeated that the tale is no longer questioned. Of course a candidate’s rumored affair with and eventual remarriage to a mother almost 18 years his junior with four young children ruined his presidential dreams. The conclusion makes perfect sense today in the era of the 24-hour news cycle that revels in titillating personal details.

Even Nelson Rockefeller gave credence to the narrative that his marriage caused a precipitous decline in the polls, and Happy’s death last Tuesday has revived the old tale. But to blame it all on love requires us to assume that the only newsworthy event in May 1963 was a governor’s remarriage.

The truth is more complicated.

On May 2, 1963, two days before the Rockefeller wedding, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s campaign to help local activists integrate Birmingham, Alabama, reached its peak when more than 1,000 African-American students attempted to march into downtown Birmingham and hundreds were arrested. When hundreds more joined the protest the following day, law enforcement cracked down with extreme violence, using dogs, high-pressure hoses and clubs to quell the demonstration. On May 5, the New York Times ran two above-the-fold headlines: “U.S. Seeking a Truce in Birmingham; Hoses Again Drive Off Demonstrators” and “Gov. Rockefeller Marries Mrs. Murphy at Pocantico; Effect on 1964 is Weighed.” Next to a photo of the smiling newlyweds was an image of Reverend James Bevel of the SCLC reminding demonstrators of their non-violent mission. The day before, the Times had printed graphic photos of police dogs attacking protesters and high-pressure hoses pounding on cowering youths—images seared into the American consciousness, white and black, for generations to come.

For Nelson Rockefeller—arguably the most vocal and unwavering supporter of the civil rights movement among elected officials, Republican or Democrat—the Birmingham protests affected his political career just as much, if not more, than his controversial remarriage the same week. It was the combination of the two that turned out to be ruinous—underscoring the perception Rockefeller was too liberal to be a Republican in a party that was becoming increasingly conservative.

Read entire article at Politico