Anderson, John Byard

Born and raised in Rockford , Illinois , in the family of Swedish expat E. Albin Anderson, owner of a small grocery store, and Edna Mable. In his youth he worked in a family store. He studied at the University of Illinois until the beginning of the Second World War . In 1943 he joined the army. He served as a staff sergeant in the American field artillery until the end of the war. Four times marked by military awards. After the war, Anderson completed his education, received a doctorate in law and began his law practice in Rockford , while continuing his education. In 1949 he graduated from Harvard Law School and entered the diplomatic service. In the years 1952-1955 working in West Berlin . After retiring, he returns to Rockford to practice law.

In 1956, Anderson was elected state attorney in the district of Winnebago Illinois . He remained in this position until 1981.

In 1961, in general elections, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives from the 16th District of Illinois . Anderson became famous for thrice (1961, 1963, and 1965) putting to the vote an amendment to the Constitution , recognizing the “ law and authority of Jesus Christ ” over the United States . The amendment has never been adopted, but its author has earned the reputation of one of the most conservative congressmen, even among Republicans .

In 1964 he received a place in the Procedural Committee. In 1969 he became chairman of the Conference of the Republican Chamber, becoming in fact the third person in the Republican party. Then his views begin to shift to the left , primarily in matters of social support for the poor , his differences with his party colleagues are becoming more and more obvious. In the 70s, in the face of a growing Democratic rating, Anderson lost votes, but retained his post at the expense of intersecting votes. During the Watergate, he criticized Richard Nixon , increasingly distancing himself from the Republican Party .

After the defeat of Gerald Ford in the presidential elections of 1976, Anderson’s position in the House has been shaken. His reputation as a Republican with a democratic outlook on the economy under the rule of the Democratic president began to work against him. In the camp of the Republicans, radical conservatives , supporters of liberal , partly even libertarian , views came to the fore. Anderson was offered to run for the Senate post of Adlai Stevenson III , but he decided to go for president. Sociological studies conducted on the order of Anderson a year before his nomination showed little interest in his candidacy, and difficulties arose in raising funds for the election campaign. However, in 1979, he still put forward his candidacy for the primaries . His opponents were Robert Dole , John Connally , Howard Baker, George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan .

Among the main slogans of his campaign was a 50% reduction in the tax on gasoline for cars. The idea did not receive widespread support, but the campaign to collect signatures attracted additional attention to Anderson. So at the start of the election campaign, he was on a par with his main competitors. Anderson clearly showed himself at the debate of Republican candidates on January 5 in Des Moines , Iowa . He, the only candidate, supported the grain embargo against the Soviet Union , announced by Jimmy Carter after the introduction of troops into Afghanistan . He, unlike his opponents, made a proposal for a clear energy program in the context of an energy crisis. Among journalists, Anderson received great popularity for his ability to debate and excellent rhetorical data. In the primary elections in Iowa, Anderson received 4.3% and finished sixth.

An ambiguous point of his election campaign was a speech before the activists of the NRA ( National Shooting Association ). On it, Anderson said the need to introduce licenses to purchase weapons. According to Anderson, this would allow to pull out cheap weapons from the hands of criminals. From the stage, he went under the whistle and threat. However, the press stood on his side for courage. With this speech, Anderson drew to his side voters who were inclined to vote for the Democrats , and who doubted. In New Hampshire , a state with a high share of the democratic electorate, Anderson received almost 10% and took 4th place in the primary.

After the election round in New Hampshire and moderate Massachusetts , Anderson’s rating went up sharply, amid widespread media coverage of his campaign and the flow of funds into his election fund. The press twice mistakenly declared him the winner of the preliminary voting by state, however, after the completion of the counting of votes, the information was refuted. In Massachusetts, Anderson lost to George Bush with a difference of 0.3%, in Vermont the difference with Ronald Reagan was 690 votes. After this relative success in Connecticut and Wisconsin, Anderson showed the third result (22% and 27% respectively). In his home state of Illinois, Anderson was second with a score of 37%. Having shown the best result in large cities - Chicago , Rockford , he lost to rural areas in Reagan (48%). After several setbacks, Anderson faced a choice: to refuse presidential nomination or to be nominated as an independent candidate. Public opinion polls, which showed high support for his candidacy among traditionally democratic states, spoke in favor of the second option. Before the start of the presidential campaign, polls promised him about 22% in the national elections. With the support of a major media strategist, Devita Hertha, Anderson decided to nominate himself as an independent candidate.

As an independent candidate, Anderson faced a number of problems. One of the main issues was the financing of the election campaign, it was also necessary to get the right to nominate one's candidacy in all states and the right to publicize one’s campaign in the media . At first, Anderson more than successfully solved all the problems he encountered. He received the right to each ballot (nomination in all states) and attracted enough funds to his election fund. Through his team he raised the rating to 26%, according to a Gallup poll . But then his rating began to fall, primarily due to the fault of Anderson himself and his team. In the midst of the election campaign, Anderson made a trip abroad, wishing to show his readiness to solve foreign policy problems. Just at this time, the decisive phase was entered by the election campaign of Ronald Reagan , who pushed Anderson into the bottom lines of informational tapes. The mistake was his appearance along with Ted Kennedy . Conservative voters greeted this move with bayonets, and by the end of August, Anderson’s rating had dropped to 13-15%. There was a question about his possible non-participation in the election debate. The question was cleared after Anderson’s candidacy was supported by the League of Women Voters, their support created him a solid electoral platform at the level of 15%. In early September, he overcame the qualification threshold and was admitted to the public tripartite debate.

In late August, Patrick Luke, the former Wisconsin Governor for the Democratic Party and the current US ambassador to Mexico , was announced as a vice presidential candidate .

On September 21, a debate took place in Baltimore between John Anderson and Ronald Reagan . Also in the debate was supposed to take part Jimmy Carter , the current president, but he said that he could not appear in the same place as Anderson. Subsequently, this failure was one of the main reasons for the defeat of Carter in the elections. Well, speaking at the debate, Anderson still could not beat Reagan on the part of his charisma, and in the following weeks his rating dropped from 16% to 10-12%. The direct clash of two representatives of the Republican Party made conservative voters choose one side or the other, and they preferred Reagan, who looked more consistent. Despite the fact that the main opponents did not meet, these debates became a turning point of the entire campaign. Now only two real candidates for the presidency participated in the elections. Anderson’s voices continued to melt, so that by voting day his rating was estimated at around 7%.

According to the results of the voting held on November 4, 5,719,850 votes were cast for John Anderson, which amounted to 6.6% of the total number of voters. Anderson finished third, losing to two main contenders - Ronald Reagan , who became the 40th President of the United States and Jimmy Carter . His result was the highest among independent candidates and candidates from third parties since 1968 and the sixth in the twentieth century. Before him, Theodore Roosevelt ( running for the Progressive Party in 1912 and gaining over 27%), Robert Lafolet ( 1924 , Progressive Party , 16.6%) and George Wallace (1968, Independent Party , 13.5% ). After 1980, Ross Perot , who ran as an independent candidate, twice achieved serious results (18.9% in 1992 and 8% in 1996 ).

In the history of the United States more than once it happened that a candidate who really did not claim to win had a great influence on the outcome of the vote. John Anderson proposed to the voters a program that represented a cross between the programs of the Republican , right-wing conservative Reagan and Democrat, left-wing liberal Jimmy Carter . According to opinion polls, supporters of Anderson called both Reagan and Carter as the “second candidate”. Thus, the influence of Anderson on the results of the final vote was insignificant.

After losing the presidential election and losing a place in Congress , Anderson returned to legal and teaching activities. Even during the election campaign, polls showed his great popularity on campuses. As a guest lecturer, Anderson spoke at Stanford University , Duke University , Illinois Law University, Brandeis University and others.

From 1996 to 2008, he served as chairman of FairVote and to this day is in his board. Consisted president of the World Federalist Association. He was considered a possible candidate for the 2000 presidential election from the Reform Party , but supported Ralph Nader . In 2008, supported the presidential nomination Barack Obama . In 2012, he participated in the creation of Rocky Anderson, the center-left Justice Party.

• John bayard anderson
• Amy, Douglas. Real Choices / New Voices. - New York: Columbia University Press, 1995.
• Bisnow, Mark. Diary of Dark Horse: The 1980 Anderson Presidential Campaign. - Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1983.
• John B. Anderson
• John B. Anderson on the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress