Former Sen. Jesse Helms Dies at 86

Former North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms died of natural causes in Raleigh at 1:15am on July 4. Helms served 30 years in Congress and was known for his firebrand rhetoric and contentious political stances, such as his prolonged resistance to integration and vehement opposition to Communism.

In his later years, Helms suffered from a variety of illnesses, including a bone disorder, prostate cancer and heart problems. He was 86 at the time of his death.