Developments in Georgia from 1945 to 1970

 If you were tasked with recovering Atlanta’s economy after the Great Depression and WWII, what kind of changes would you make?

 Population shifts from rural to urban because:  Boll weevil destroyed crops  African-Americans left to northern cities  People wanted factory jobs in the cities  Advanced agricultural technology meant there were less farming jobs

 Major businesses move to Georgia after WWII  Became a hub for air and trucking industries as well  Rapid increase in technological and industrial development  Major League Sports comes to Atlanta- Ivan Allen, Jr.  Thousands of jobs  Millions of dollars to state’s economy  Helped Atlanta win the 1996 Olympics

 Goal: To make ATL the most economically successful city in the south  Known for:  Bringing air transportation to the state (Hartsfield Airport)  Longest serving mayor  Very supportive of civil rights  Coined the phrase: “Atlanta- the city too busy to hate”  His support for the Civil Rights Movement led to the relatively calm desegregation of ATL schools

 Mayor of Atlanta after Hartsfield  Continued Hartsfield’s aggressive development policies  Extremely supportive of the Civil Rights Movement and desegregation (worked closely with MLK, Jr.)  Started MARTA  Best known for bringing major league sports to ATL- built multiple stadiums, brought the Falcons

 After reading both articles and responding to the focus questions, answer the following question in one paragraph:  Who did more for the city of Atlanta- Hartsfield or Allen? Justify your response.

 Governor who defeated Eugene Talmadge  Very supportive of civil rights:  Restored accreditation to universities  Abolished the poll tax  Lowered the voting age  Established a teacher’s retirement system

 Soldiers returning from WWII began to push for greater civil rights  Movement actually began in the 30s and 40s, as a response to the Jim Crow laws  Most governors were segregationists (racists)

 Son of Eugene Talmadge  Elected governor in 1948  Always opposed any civil rights measures: wanted Georgia to stay segregated  Elected to Senate after governor term was over  Always supported agriculture and industry in GA  Opponent of civil rights movement

 Leading advocate of Civil Rights Movement  Mentor to MLK, Jr.  Traveled to India to learn civil disobedience strategies from Gandhi  Became President of Morehouse

 Incredibly embarrassing for GA  3 different men claimed to be governor at the same time (after Eugene Talmadge’s death while in office)  All three men in the running were strict segregationists, undoing many of the progressive policies put in place by Ellis Arnall  Herman Talmadge, Melvin Thompson, Ellis Arnall

 GA had been a one-party state (Democrats)  White primary: Only white people could vote in the primary election  Kept blacks from voting for a new candidate  This practice ended when several African- Americans sued the state and won their case

 Many people around the country sued their state to end segregation in public schools- segregation was made illegal  Represented decades of social and legal battles against institutionalized racism  GA Assembly opposed decision and said governor could close schools that desegregated  Reaction: many private schools were opened to keep segregation alive

 After Brown vs. BOE, white Georgians were encouraged to massively resist desegregation  1956 flag included the Confederate battle flag, used by the KKK and other hate groups  Stayed the state flag until 2003