MODERN GEORGIA
1945 - PRESENT
Transformation of GA’s Agriculture
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GI Bill provided educational opportunities to
veterans…men left the farm for school.
Better technology and farming methods led to lees
people needed to work on the farms.
Increase in synthetic materials led to a decrease in
the demand for cotton,
Atlanta Develops
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
“Forward Atlanta Commission” was an advertising
campaign that spent millions around the country.
Telling the nation about the location, transportation,
climate, resources and workforce.
In three years 700 new firms brought 17,000 new
jobs to Atlanta.
Hartsfield and Allen
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
Hartsfield was the first mayor to push for the
development of a first class airport.
Allen Was the leader of the Forward Atlanta
Commission.
Hartsfield
Ivan Allen Jr.
Professional sports
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
Braves, Falcons, Hawks, and Thrashers.
The teams give hundreds of people jobs and help
generate business for the teams, cities, Marta, and
downtown businesses.
Ellis Arnall
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
Ran for governor against Eugene Talmage and
promised reform.
First he reduce the power held by the governor.
 Removed
from controlling university and public
education.
 Gov could no longer pardon criminals.
 Gov could no longer veto constitutional amendments
Ellis Arnall
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Reduced the voting age to 18, GA was 1st in nation
to lower it.
Rewrote the State Constitution to make it less
confusing.
Got rid of the poll tax and the white primary.
Blacks were now allowed to vote in GA’s primaries.
Ellis Arnall
Three Governors Controversy
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
Eugene Talmadge was running unopposed for
reelection in 1946, but he was in poor health.
He died before being sworn in: Thompson was the
Lt. Gov. but not sworn in yet. Carmichael had 669
votes and Herman Talmadge had 617.
Three Governors Controversy
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58 votes that were not counted were found in
Telfair County (Talmadge’s county).
Three men claimed the right to be governor.
M.E. Thompson was appointed acting gov for 2
years and Talmadge was elected in the next
election.
Herman Talmadge
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Like his father he promised a return of the white
primary.
He fought hard to preserve the segregation of the
races, but was unable to restore the white primary.
Created the first state sales tax and increased
funding for education by 74%
Benjamin Mays

President of Morehouse College from 1940-1967.
 While
he was president enrollment doubled and its
endowment quadrupled.

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Became a mentor to MLK, suggested he study the
teachings of Gandhi.
Local civil rights leader
Brown v Board of Education
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
1954 Supreme Court Ruling that ended segregation
in all schools stating that “separate facilities were
not equal”
There was no date that school had to be
desegregated, so many southern states delayed the
equality.
Martin Luther King Jr.

Created the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference (SCLC) which was headquartered in
Atlanta.
 Believed

in nonviolent protest.
While in jail wrote “Letter from Birmingham Jail”
 Explained
why the civil rights movement could not slow
down, because blacks were being beaten and killed.
Martin Luther King Jr.


Led the March on Washington were he gave the “I
Have a Dream” speech.
March was intended to show support for the Civil
Rights Bill of 1964.
 The
bill passed.
1956 State Flag
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Before 1956, the GA state flag did not have the
Confederate Flag.
After 1956, it had the Confederate Flag.
The Flag was changed to protest the integration of
schools and Federal laws.
Defenders of the changed flag said that it
represented Southern heritage.
Then
Now
Student Nonviolent Coordinating
Committee (SNCC)

Students began to protest like MLK and SCLC.

Headquarters were located in Atlanta, GA.

Thought SCLC was too passive, SNCC was more
militant.
 Strained
relationship between both groups.
SNCC Atlanta Headquarters
Sibley Commission
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GA General Assembly appointed a committee to
“study” the effects of integration in schools.
Opened the door for desegregation to start in
Georgia.
Sibley Commission
Hamilton Homes & Charlayne Hunter
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First two black students to attend the University of
Georgia.
Homes became a physician and Hunter became a
journalist.
The Albany Movement
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Created by SNCC in Albany, GA
Goal was to end segregation through negotiation
instead of protest and demonstration.
Hundreds of blacks went to jail as they tested
segregation laws.
Movement began to split over involvement of
outside people like MLK.
The Albany Movement

Movement fails
 People

lose enthusiasm and money for being arrested.
Many of the lessons learned would lead to success
with future demonstrations and civil disobedience.
March on Washington
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250,000 people marched on Washington to show
support for the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Highlighted by MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech
Civil Rights Act
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Prohibited racial discrimination in employment and
labor unions and in public facilities, such as
swimming pools and playgrounds.
Private businesses could not deny service to any
race.
Maynard Jackson
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Elected Mayor of Atlanta, 1973.
First black man elected mayor of a major southern
city.
Lester Maddox
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Outspoken segregationist became GA’s governor in
1967.
Encouraged parents to send their kids to private
schools instead of desegregated public schools.
Claimed the civil rights movement was controlled by
liberals and communists.
Andrew Young
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First black man in GA elected to congress since
Reconstruction.
Resigned from Congress to become the US
ambassador for the United Nations.
Top Aide of MLK, Jr.
Very important in bringing the Olympics to Atlanta.
County Unit System
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A special formula for counting votes in primary
elections of the democratic party.
Applied for only state wide elections like governor
or US Senator.
Went to keep political power in the rural area ad
not the growing urban areas.
Most votes in a county won that county.
 Whoever
won the most counties won the election.
County Unit System

Most votes in a county won that county.
 Whoever
won the most counties won the election.
 Not the statewide vote winner

This gave rural voters more representation than
urban voters.
Reapportionment
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The redrawing of voting districts every 10 years.
GA was forced to do it after the County Unit
System was ruled a violation of the voters rights.
Jimmy Carter

Became governor in 1970.
 Ran
on a platform of ending segregation, modernize
state government, and better serve the people of the
state.

1976 he became the first person from GA to
become president.
 Stressed
honesty and restoring confidence in
government.
Jimmy Carter

Received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.
 Recognized
his decades of work for finding peaceful
solutions to international conflicts.
 MLK, Jr. & Carter BOTH received the Nobel Peace
Prize.
1996 Summer Olympics

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Atlanta prepared for the games for 5 years.
Olympic Stadium was renamed Turner Field and is
used by the Braves.
Provided a huge boost for GA’s economy.
Georgia was left with many sports venues and
parks from the Olympics.
New Immigrant Communities
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Provides a larger tax paying population.
Each ethnic group assimilates into GA’s culture, but
also contributes by sharing their own traditions.
The largest growing sector of immigrant communities
is Hispanic.