The Byrd Organization (usually known as just "the Organization") was a political machine that dominated Virginia politics for much of the first half of the 20th Century. A political machine is an unofficial system of political organization based on patronage, the spoils system, and behind-the-scenes control within the structure of a representative democracy. ... State nickname: Old Dominion Other U.S. States Capital Richmond Largest city Virginia Beach Governor Mark R. Warner (D) Tim Kaine (D-Governor Elect) Senators John Warner (R) George Allen (R) Official language(s) English Area 110,862 km² (35th)  - Land 102,642 km²  - Water 8,220 km² (7. ... Look up Politics in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Politics (disambiguation) Democracy History of democracy List of democracy and elections-related topics List of years in politics List of politics by country articles Political corruption Political economy Political movement Political parties of the world Political party Political psychology Political sociology Political...

It was created by and named for Harry F. Byrd, Sr., initially to support his run for governor in 1926. A conservative Democrat, he served until 1930, then was appointed to the United States Senate in 1933, serving until his retirement in 1965. During that time, Byrd built up relationships with the "courthouse cliques," consisting of the constitutional officers in every county. They made recommendations for suitable candidates, and Byrd only decided after careful consultation. Without Byrd's "nod," no candidate had a chance at statewide office in Virginia. Harry Flood Byrd, Sr. ... The Governor of Virginia serves as the chief executive of the Commonwealth of Virginia for a four-year term. ... 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... In political science, a democrat is an advocate, follower, or proponent of democracy. ... 1930 (MCMXXX) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Seal of the Senate The United States Senate is one of the two chambers of the Congress of the United States, the other being the House of Representatives. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link goes to calendar). ...

Byrd's policies appeared progressive at first, restructuring state government to streamline operations and use tax dollars more effectively. He also had a keen interest in improving roads, dramatically increasing funding for secondary roads. When that wasn't enough, he pushed through a law that gave the state responsibility for maintaining county roads. He also made property taxes solely a county responsibility.

However, on balance, Byrd's measures were far from progressive. His primary support was among rural voters in his native Shenandoah Valley and Southside, who had less interest in improved state services (other than roads) than in low taxes and limited government. Byrd initiated a "pay as you go" approach to spending, in which no state money was spent until enough taxes and fees were available. While this freed Virginia from having to pay off road construction debt, it also kept support for higher education and other state services at low levels. Rural areas were heavily overrepresented in the General Assembly, ensuring that support for education and social welfare remained very low for decades. Canoeing on the Shenandoah River near Winchester, Virginia. ... Southside is the colloquial name given to a broad swath of southeastern and/or south-central Virginia. ... The Virginia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Virginia. ...

He also reduced the number of statewide offices to just three--governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general--eliminating potential bases for opposition. Several measures that had been in place well before Byrd's time also ensured his dominance. A poll tax enacted in 1902 effectively disenfranchised blacks and poor whites, and the courthouse cliques fell all over themselves to ensure that reliable voters' taxes were paid on time (often as early as three years before an election). The General Assembly, through circuit court judges, controlled the electoral commissions that ruled on voter eligibility. While the Organization never was able to establish a foothold in urban areas, the blatant malapportionment in favor of rural areas ensured statewide dominance. A poll tax, head tax, or capitation is a tax of a uniform, fixed amount per individual (as opposed to a percentage of income). ... 1902 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

With this structure in place, Byrd's Organization practically selected every governor from 1930 until 1970, even as Virginia became friendlier to Republicans. Many Virginia Democrats drifted away from the national party due to its strong support of organized labor during the New Deal. This only accelerated during the Civil Rights Movement, when Byrd drafted the Southern Manifesto in opposition to Brown v. Board of Education and encouraged a policy of "Massive Resistance" to racial integration. This was a major factor why Virginia has voted for the Democratic presidential candidate only once since 1948--in the 1964 landslide of Lyndon Johnson. 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... The Republican Party, often called the GOP (for Grand Old Party, although one early citation described it as the Gallant Old Party) [1], is one of the two major political parties in the United States. ... A union (labor union in American English; trade union, sometimes trades union, in British English; either labour union or trade union in Canadian English) is a group of workers who act collectively to address common issues. ... The New Deal was President Franklin D. Roosevelts effort to rescue the United States from the Great Depression. ... Civil Rights Movement in the United States, political, legal, and social struggle to gain full citizenship rights for African American and to achieve racial equality. ... The Southern Manifesto was a document written in 1956 by legislators in the United States Congress opposed to racial integration in public places. ... Holding Racial segregation in public education violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment; separate facilities are “inherently unequal. ... Massive Resistance was a policy declared by U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd, Sr. ... Racial integration, or simply integration, in United States usage, includes desegregation (the process of ending systematic racial segregation). ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... For the Nintendo 64 emulator, see 1964 (Emulator). ... Lyndon Baines Johnson (August 27, 1908–January 22, 1973), often referred to as LBJ, was an American politician. ...

Harry F. Byrd Sr. died in 1966. The Byrd Organization finally broke down in 1969, when a split in the Democratic Party allowed Linwood Holton to become the state's first Republican governor since Reconstruction. A year later, Republicans won six of the state's 10 congressional districts--the first time Republicans had held a majority of the state's congressional delegation since Reconstruction. Ironically, one of the districts that turned Republican was the 7th District, the Byrds' home district. 1966 was a common year starting on Saturday (link goes to calendar) // Events January January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday For other uses, see Number 1969. ... A. Linwood Holton Jr. ... In the history of the United States, reconstruction was the period after the American Civil War when the states of the breakaway Confederacy were reintegrated into the United States of America. ... In the history of the United States, reconstruction was the period after the American Civil War when the states of the breakaway Confederacy were reintegrated into the United States of America. ...