After Roosevelt 's death , Byrnes served as a close adviser to Truman , becoming United States Secretary of State in July 1945 . In this capacity , Byrnes attended the Potsdam Conference and the Paris Peace Conference . However , relations between Byrnes and Truman soured , and Byrnes resigned from the Cabinet in January 1947 . He returned to elective politics in 1950 , winning election as the Governor of South Carolina . As governor , he opposed the Supreme Court decision in '' Brown v. Board of Education '' and sought to establish " separate but equal " as a realistic alternative to the desegregation of schools . He endorsed most Republican presidential nominees after 1948 and supported Strom Thurmond 's switch to the Republican Party in 1964
Potsdam Conference
Potsdam Conference
James F. Byrnes