Tolliver Cleveland Callison

Tolliver Cleveland Callison Sr. (July 17, 1884 – March 17, 1966) was an American lawyer and politician who served as Attorney General of South Carolina from 1951 to 1958. He advocated for South Carolina's segregationist laws.

Early life Tolliver Cleveland Callison was born on July 17, 1884, in Callison, Edgefield County, South Carolina, United States to Preston Brooks Callison and Mattie Ella (née White) Callison. His family had high social status in the county, and his father served two terms in the South Carolina General Assembly. Callison attended public schools and the Bailey Military Institute in Greenwood. He studied law at the University of South Carolina, graduating in 1909. He defended racial segregation, arguing that both black and white South Carolinians would prefer separate schools and saying that South Carolina "recognizes the absolute right of each race to control its own social affairs without any governmental regulation of any kind or character." He chaired the Southern Association of Attorneys General in 1955. In 1957 Callison accused President Dwight D. Eisenhower of violating the United States Constitution when the latter federalized Arkansas troops to ensure the integration of Little Rock Central High School, saying, "A more serious crisis has never arisen in connection with internal affairs of the United States." He left the attorney general's office in 1958