Lucius Mendel Rivers (September 28, 1905 – December 28, 1970) was a Democratic U.S. Representative from South Carolina, representing the Charleston-based 1st congressional district for nearly 30 years. As chair of the House Armed Services Committee, Rivers developed a reputation for his unwavering support of American involvement in the Vietnam War. His reputation suffered as the American public at large turned against further escalation in the Vietnam War. In 1968, Rivers condemned American servicemen who attempted to stop the My Lai massacre, labeling them as "traitors". Rivers served in the House until his death in 1970.
Early life and education
Mendel Rivers was born in Gumville, South Carolina, to Lucius Hampton Rivers and Henrietta Marion McCay. The family moved to a farm in St. Stephen in 1907 and lived comfortably until 1915. That year the father Lucius died from pneumonia. Mendel's older brother Earle was put in charge of running the farm, but was not interested in agriculture. At the same time, agriculture suffered financial pressures and the family's assets declined. Eventually, they moved to North Charleston, where they opened a boarding house on O'Hear Avenue.
Rivers attended local public schools. He took six years to graduate from Charleston High School in 1926. He attended the College of Charleston for three years and the University of South Carolina School of Law for two years, graduating from neither. The law school dean at the University of South Carolina advised Rivers to take up another profession because, although he knew the assignments, he suffered from stage fright. Rivers was determined to become a lawyer so he returned to College of Charleston, took classes to prepare himself for the bar examination.
Career
After passing the bar exam in 1932, he was unable to find work in Charleston law firms during the Great Depression, so he started his own practice.
Entry into politics
Rivers first became involved in politics in 1930 when he participated in Ed Pritchard's unsuccessful campaign for the state legislature against Russell McGowan. He was an active member of the Charleston Young Democrats club and shortly after passing the bar, Rivers decided to run for one of the twelve state representative spots from Charleston County. County politics in the 1930s were controlled by the political machine of Charleston mayor Burnet R. Maybank, and gaining his endorsement was crucial to winning an election. Rivers sought the mayor's blessing, but was rejected because he was an unknown candidate from North Charleston. He ran as an Independent Democrat and was defeated in his bid for election.
A vacancy on the Charleston County delegation arose in 1933 when Ben Scott Whaley resigned to join the staff of Senator James Francis Byrnes. Rivers won the special election by running against Charleston and campaigning on the slogan "Give the Northern End of the County Representation." In 1934, Rivers ran for re-election and received the most votes of any state House candidate on the Charleston County ticket, making him chairman of the county delegation. As a state Representative, Rivers served on the Judiciary and Education committees. He became the state president of the Young Democrats in 1935 and was a delegate to the 1936 Democratic National Convention.
The rapid ascendancy of Rivers attracted the attention of 1st district Congressman Thomas S. McMillan who became worried when Rivers requested papers from the state Democratic secretary in 1936 to run for office. McMillan arranged a meeting with Rivers and offered him a position as a Special Assistant to the Attorney General of the United States. Rivers accepted and worked throughout the South collecting unpaid criminal fines and forfeited bail bonds.