May 15, 1972

Would-be assassin Arthur Bremer shot Gov. George Wallace five times at a political rally in Maryland. The shots hit Wallace in the chest and abdomen, and one of the bullets lodged in his spinal column, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. The assassination attempt effectively ended Wallace’s third presidential campaign, despite his victories in the Maryland and Michigan Democratic primaries the next day. While recovering from his injuries, Wallace suffered from depression and became a born-again Christian, later renouncing racism and apologizing to black civil rights leaders for his actions. He won his final two terms as governor, in 1974 and 1982, with help from black voters.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.

Wallace adapted his “Stand Up for Alabama” slogan for his presidential campaigns. The presidency eluded Wallace in his four attempts at the office. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, Courtesy of Alabama Department of Archives and History)

Gov. George Wallace attempting to block integration at the University of Alabama, 1963. (Photograph by Warren Leffler, U.S. News & World Report Magazine Photograph Collection, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)

For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.