EXAM 3 - 7A-The Great Depression and New Deal in Georgia

Great Depression in Georgia

Economic crisis that devastated both urban and rural Georgians; by 1930, only 48% of Atlanta’s workforce was employed, and many tenant farmers lived in poverty without electricity or plumbing.

Boll weevil

Insect that destroyed cotton crops in Georgia, worsening rural poverty and accelerating farm abandonment.

Tenant farmers

Poor farmers who worked land owned by others; during the Depression, many could barely survive on homegrown food.

Great Migration

Movement of African Americans from the South to the North for better opportunities; continued during the Depression, though at a slower rate.

Eugene Talmadge

Georgia politician and staunch segregationist who served multiple terms as governor (1933–37, 1941–43); known for his opposition to the New Deal and defense of white supremacy.

County-unit system

Georgia’s voting system that gave rural counties more political power than urban areas, helping Talmadge secure repeated electoral victories.

New Deal

President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s federal programs to combat the Great Depression; Talmadge opposed them, calling them “communist” and trying to limit Georgia’s participation.

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

New Deal program providing jobs for young men in environmental conservation projects; active in Georgia despite Talmadge’s resistance.

Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Major New Deal agency that created public works jobs in Georgia, funding roads, buildings, and arts projects.

Nepotism

Practice of favoring relatives or associates for government positions; used by Talmadge to fill state offices.

Social Security System (1935)

Federal program providing retirement and disability benefits; Talmadge tried to block Georgia’s participation, calling it socialist.

Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR)

U.S. President (1933–45) who authored the New Deal; frequently visited Warm Springs, Georgia, for polio treatment and remained highly popular in the state.

Warm Springs, Georgia

Location of Roosevelt’s personal retreat and rehabilitation center for polio; symbolized his close ties to Georgia.

Charles D. Redwine

Talmadge’s handpicked successor for the 1936 gubernatorial race, who lost to pro–New Deal candidate Eurith D. Rivers.

Eurith D. Rivers

Georgia governor (1937–41) who embraced the New Deal by expanding public housing, rural electrification, and highway projects.

Housing Authority

State agency created under Rivers to use federal funds for building public housing projects in Georgia.

Rural Electrification

New Deal initiative bringing electricity to rural communities in Georgia, improving quality of life and agricultural productivity.

Soil and agricultural improvements

Programs introduced under Rivers to promote better farming practices and prevent erosion.

State debt and education cuts (1939)

Result of Georgia’s heavy New Deal participation; legislature refused to raise taxes, leading to school funding cuts and declining support for Rivers.

Cocking Affair (1941)

Controversy in which Governor Eugene Talmadge forced the firing of University of Georgia dean Walter D. Cocking and college president Marvin S. Pittman for allegedly supporting racial integration.

Walter D. Cocking

Dean of the University of Georgia’s College of Education, dismissed by Talmadge during the Cocking Affair for supposed “un-Southern” ideas.

Marvin S. Pittman

President of Georgia State Teachers College at Statesboro, also dismissed by Talmadge in the Cocking Affair.

Harmon W. Caldwell

President of the University of Georgia who opposed Talmadge’s actions during the Cocking Affair and threatened to resign in protest.

Board of Regents (University System of Georgia)

Governing body of Georgia’s public colleges that Talmadge manipulated to fire educators he accused of subversion and liberalism.

Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools

Accrediting organization that suspended Georgia’s state colleges and universities in response to Talmadge’s interference in academic freedom.

Adolf Hitler admiration

After leaving office, Talmadge openly expressed isolationist views and admiration for Hitler, further tarnishing his reputation.