He worked in private legal practice from 1954 and was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives for a one-year term in 1955.

He served in the United States Air Force from 1951 to 1952, attaining the rank of Staff Sergeant.

[4][2] He was unpopular during his single term in the state legislature due to his support for prison expansion.

[4] Sponsored by United States Senator Fritz Hollings, Anderson was nominated by President Jimmy Carter on April 18, 1980, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina vacated by Judge James Robert Martin Jr.

[1] Anderson suffered declining health in later life and died on December 1, 2020, at a South Carolina nursing home.