Sam Caldwell

For other uses, see Samuel Caldwell (disambiguation).

Samuel Shepherd Caldwell
Mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana
In office 1934–1946
Preceded by	George W. Hardy, Jr.
Succeeded by	Clyde Fant
Personal details
Born	(1892-11-04)November 4, 1892 Mooringsport, Louisiana, US
Died	August 14, 1953(1953-08-14) (aged 60) Shreveport, Louisiana
Political party	Democratic Party
Spouse	Anna Pauline Owen Caldwell (married 1914-1953, his death)
Children	Betty Ann Caldwell Morgan Burke
Residence(s)	Shreveport, Louisiana
Alma mater	Louisiana Tech University
Occupation	Oilman

Samuel Shepherd Caldwell (November 4, 1892 – August 14, 1953), was a Louisiana oilman and politician who served as mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana, from 1934 to 1946.[1]

Caldwell was an unusually staunch segregationist even for the era in the Deep South. In 1943, Caldwell chose to turn down $67,000 in federal funds for a new medical center because it would have required hiring 12 blacks out of every 100 workers.[2] (Shreveport was 37% African American in the 1940 census.)[3] "We are not going to be bribed by federal funds," Caldwell explained, "to accept the negro as our political or social equal"; federal officials would not "cram the negro down our throats."[2]

References

1. John Andrew Prime (July 26, 2015). "Our History: Former mayor's impact recalled". The Shreveport Times. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
2. Fairclough, Adam (2008). Race & Democracy: The Civil Rights Struggle in Louisiana, 1915-1972. University of Georgia Press. p. 87. ISBN 978-0-8203-3114-0. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
3. "Louisiana, 1940 U.S. Census" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 11 May 2022.

Preceded by George W. Hardy, Jr.	Mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana 1934–1946	Succeeded by Clyde Fant
Preceded by Lee Emmett Thomas (1927) No LMA from 1928 to 1936	President of the Louisiana Municipal Association 1937–1939	Succeeded by J. Maxim Roy