Nixon selected Agnew to be his vice presidential running mate. Agnew quickly developed a reputation for strong polemical speeches critical of the antiwar movement, the media, and liberals. Agnew was disbarred in After his resignation Agnew left politics and became a businessman representing a variety of international clients, splitting his time between California and Maryland.
Biographical Directory of the U. Maryland State Archives. Eisenberg, Gerson G. Marylanders Who Served the Nation. White, Frank F. Although he lost that election, the next year saw him winning the seat of Baltimore county executive, the first Republican to do so in seventy years. His run as county executive was generally considered to be very successful, and he gained a popular following which served him well when he ran for governor of Maryland in and won.
He ran against Democratic civil rights hard-liner and millionaire contractor, George Mahoney. Notwithstanding the overwhelming Democratic edge in registration, Agnew captured half of the votes, defeating Mahoney , to , Governor Agnew proved to be a progressive, urban-oriented executive with moderate civil rights leanings and liberal credentials. While in office he passed tax reform, increased funding for anti-poverty programs, passed legislation removing barriers to public housing, repealed a law banning interracial marriage, spoke out against the death penalty, passed a more liberal abortion law, and drafted the nation's toughest clean water legislation.
However, around the time of the urban riots and the rise of the anti-war movement in , the tone and tolerance of Agnew's administration began to undergo alteration.
He began arresting civil rights demonstrators, speaking harshly against the rising waves of protest, encouraging a sharp increase in police powers and the use of the military in civil disturbances.
When Nixon won the nomination he accepted Agnew as his running mate. A key sentence uttered by Agnew in his vice presidential acceptance speech was, "I fully recognize that I am an unknown quantity to many of you. Former Vice President Nixon wanted someone who was a Southerner, an ethnic American, an experienced executive, a civil rights moderate, a proven Republican vote-getter with appeal to Democrats, and a law and order advocate.
Agnew fit all these qualifications. Agnew's strengths generally helped the ticket, although several of his racially offensive gaffs created momentary fears about the wisdom of the choice. The Nixon-Agnew victory over Humphrey-Muskie was close yet clear cut, with a half million popular votes separating victors and losers. As vice president, Agnew was assigned a then-unprecedented office in the White House and was urged to help shape federal-state policies and other domestic matters. He learned his job quickly, making up for a lack of foreign and national experience by attacking administration opponents through attention-getting speeches.
Relying on a crack team of writers led by William Safire, Patrick Buchanan, and Cynthia Rosenwald, the vice president became noted for coining phrases, lashing out against college radicals, dissident intellectuals, American permissiveness, and a "liberal" media elite.
He married Judy in before leaving for combat duty in Europe. Agnew commanded a tank company, was awarded a Bronze Star a medal given for outstanding service performed under combat conditions , and was discharged with the rank of captain.
After his army discharge, Agnew went back to the University of Baltimore Law School and graduated in He completed advanced law studies at the University of Maryland in and passed the Maryland Bar an association that oversees the state's lawyers exam.
He could now practice law in the state of Maryland. After spending a brief time with a Baltimore law firm, Agnew moved to Towson, a suburb of Baltimore, and opened his own law practice.
When the Korean War —53 broke out, he was recalled to active duty for a year. During the Korean war, the United States supported the government of South Korea in its fight against a takeover by the communist government of North Korea.
After returning from active military duty, Agnew restarted his own law firm and became involved in Baltimore County's local politics. He joined the Republican Party in and began working for national and local campaigns. Spiro Agnew. Courtesy of the Library of Congress. Agnew's first term in public office came in when he was appointed to a one-year term on the Baltimore County Zoning Board of Appeals.
Agnew was reappointed for a three-year term in and eventually became the board chairman. He ran for associate circuit court judge in , but lost, coming in fifth in a five-person race. Agnew then ran for chief county executive in and won.
He was the first Republican executive elected in Baltimore County in seventy years. Agnew's term as county executive was considered successful, and he became more popular. In he became the Republican candidate for governor of Maryland. His main opponent, George Mahoney, was strongly opposed to civil rights. He opposed open housing legislation which would apply to the individual home owner, but instead, he stated that he would only support State measures if they applied to new apartments and subdivisions.
Agnew accused him of ducking the issues by basing his campaign on an appeal to bigotry. It was purely a personal triumph for Agnew, because his Republican Party failed to secure a majority in the General Assembly or to elect either the Comptroller or the Attorney General. Many Negroes also voted for him because of the impact of the Mahoney emotional slogan. Agnew because they were convinced he was the [p. He was the first Governor to be inaugurated on the fourth Wednesday of January after his election.
He advocated fiscal reform, executive reorganization and praised the people for approving a constitutional convention. He called for 'a new spirit of leadership which will consciously and continually dedicate itself to the pursuit of excellence.
It shall be the resolve of this administration to pursue a course of excellence in its exercise of the duties of government. Each program, each statute, each appropriation will be measured to see that it achieves high standards of excellence. It shall be the hallmark of the new administration to exact excellence in programs and service. Without change, immediate and positive change, we will become merely custodians of a static state; driving from a state of indifference to a state of emergency.
All of these he achieved through a close working relationship with the Democratic-controlled General Assembly, the first to be newly reapportioned and now under the domination of the cities and the suburban counties.
In , these included a fiscal reform program which, for the first time, based the State income tax on a graduated scale instead of a flat rate and gave local governments a major revenue source other than the property tax. It also passed an open housing law that was the first on a statewide basis south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Finally it authorized the planning and building of four additional toll crossings of the Chesapeake Bay and Baltimore Harbor.
He also initiated, with legislative approval, a new policy of substantial cash down payments on capital improvements to save interest costs. He appointed executive-legislative committees to study reform of the business tax structure and highway financing. State agencies, at his urging, commenced planning on the development of comprehensive air and water pollution control programs.
Nearly eighty-five per cent of the additional revenue raised from the tax reform program also went directly to local governments, primarily to finance educational and police protection improvements and to provide real estate tax credits for the elderly.
These met needs that otherwise would have fallen on local property taxes. The Convention concluded its work on January 10, with the formal signing of the Document. Agnew supported its ratification, but in spite of all the careful preparation which had gone into drafting it, the voters overwhelmingly rejected it by an overwhelming majority. The General Assembly also enacted legislation 'to reform our outmoded business tax structure, infuse some new life into our lagging roads program, strengthen the hands of public officials in coping with civil disorders and place Maryland in the forefront of states offering a new approach to correctional problems by authorizing establishment of a regional detention center.
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