George Wallace was a far-right American politician and 45th Governor of Alabama. He sought the U. S. presidency three times, unsuccessfully. He is best remembered for his segregationist and right-wing views, which placed him in stark opposition to Martin Luther King Jr.
One of the reasons why Wallace was able to gain so much support in Alabama was because of the large numbers of disenfranchised Black Americans and poor whites in his state. This was reversed by the federal civil rights legislation of 1964 and 1965, which greatly decreased his influence. Another reason why his influence declined was because he changed his views later on in his career. In the late 1970s, Wallace announced he was a born-again Christian and apologized for his actions against civil rights leaders. Finally, Martin Luther King Jr. was fighting for civil rights at a time when the youth of the U. S. was a large political force and was driven by pacifist goals of equality. King was able to ride on this movement and contribute to it significantly.