Lesson 1: Economics of the New South Georgia Studies Unit 6: The New South Lesson 1: Economics of the New South Study Presentation

Lesson 1: Economics of the New South ESSENTIAL QUESTION: How did politics, public discourse, and social reaction lead to divisions in Georgia after Reconstruction?

The Bourbon Triumvirate Democrats controlled Georgia’s government after Reconstruction. Powerful Democratic leaders, known as the “Bourbon Triumvirate” were Joseph E. Brown, Alfred H. Colquitt, and John B. Gordon. Their goals were: expand Georgia’s economy and ties with industries in the North Instituting low taxes maintain the tradition of white supremacy Dominated GA politics for 20 years… they rotated positions as governor & U.S. Senator from the 1870s to the 1890s. (See Teacher Notes at www.georgiastandards.org for more information about the 3 men) They were interested in developing the RR and mining industries in GA The wanted to keep the old antebellum planter class

The New South Era Challengers to the Bourbon Triumvirate wanted Georgia to be more industrialized. Henry Grady was a speaker and newspaper editor. Grady described Georgia as a place which could have competitive industry and more efficient farming. Grady envisioned improved race relations in a “New South” which left its antebellum past behind. He was editor of the Atlanta Journal Other accomplishments: brought ICE to ATL; creator of the GA Institute of Technology (GA Tech) Only lived to be 39, but due to his achievements his legacy can be seen through Grady’s Hospital and the Grady School of Journalism See Teacher Notes for the link to a video segment at www.georgiastandards.org

Business in Georgia First International Cotton Exposition was held in 1881. Helped to show off the economic recovery of the South after Reconstruction. Other International Cotton Expositions were held in 1887 and 1895. 1895 International Cotton Exposition a.k.a. “Cotton States & International Exposition” Only 800,000 visitors in 3 months encouraged investments in southern businesses Similar to the World’s Fair 1895 Expo is where Booker T. Washington gave his famous Atlanta Campaign speech which urged blacks to focus on economic improvements instead of political and social rights. He was supported by white “New South” advocates

STOP! Compare & Contrast the International Cotton Exposition with the (1996) Olympic Games!

The People’s Party Populists: Supporters of a political idea (populism) that supported the rights of the “common” people in their struggle with the wealthy people Poor farmers and low wage workers were followers of Populists Grange and Farmer’s Alliance worked to protect farmers’ rights – joined with unions to create People’s Party Wanted “Australian ballot” – printed by the government, not local political parties, then collected and locked in ballot boxes Tom Watson, famous Georgia populist, worked for Rural Free Delivery bill to deliver mail to rural areas for free Watson was one of the most popular and controversial figures in GA history: He was a firm believer in helping both black and white farmers and later changed to a segregationist, but also hated Jews, Catholics, and immigrants

Rebecca Latimer Felton Along with her husband, William, they worked to improve conditions for poor Georgians using newspapers to highlight problems in the state Rebecca later served briefly as the first female U.S. Senator from Nov. 21, 1922 until the next day “Independent Democrats” criticized the Bourbons for not attending to the needs of the poor or improve education and working conditions in factories The convict lease system “rented” prisoners to companies to use as workers. It took many years for the poor conditions the prisoners endured to be brought to light and changed. The seat she held was Tom Watson’s because he died before his term was up.

1906 Atlanta Riot Began as a result of racial tensions between white and black citizens of Atlanta Large number of unemployed whites who viewed blacks as threats to jobs and the establishment of social order Whites were jealous of successful black business leaders Newspapers began to publish stories about African American men attacking white women. Rioting began on September 22nd and lasted until September 24th. Military forces are eventually brought in to help end the riots. Estimated deaths were between 25 and 40 people; hundreds of others wounded and large amounts of property were destroyed Other causes included GA’s governor Hoke Smith who worked to concentrate political power in the rural counties instead of larger counties and cities (b/c more blacks lived in the urban counties); Smith was also a former publisher for the Atlanta Journal who in in 1906 along with Clark Howell (editor of the Atlanta Constitution) both ran for governor (Smith won) and used their influence in the media to try and take away voting rights for black citizens Death estimate was unclear because the city coroner only issued 10 death certificates for black victims (most accounts agree that only 2 whites were killed, 1 of whom was a woman who had a heart attack after seeing the mob outside her house) The morning of Sept. 22nd 4 articles were published about assaults on white women, so a group of unemployed white men and boys gathered in downtown ATL seeking revenge and attacked any black they saw The newspaper articles were later proved untrue! Alonzo Herndon was among those successful black business owners whose business was targeted by the white mob The riot caused negative national and international attention for “the jewel of the New South” Black & white business leaders came together (this in and of itself was historical!) which led to an even deeper segregation in the city and more of an economic divide between the black social elite and the lower class This riot disproved Booker T. Washington’s views on economic accomplishments before social and political equality

The Trial of Leo Frank 1913: man accused of killing a 14-year-old employee, Mary Phagan in Atlanta Mr. Frank was a Jewish man from New York Little evidence against Mr. Frank, but he was convicted and sentenced to death Governor Slaton changed death sentence to life imprisonment Armed men, calling themselves the Knights of Mary Phagan, took Frank from the prison, and he was lynched White supremacist Ku Klux Klan reborn from the members of the Knights of Mary Phagan *Reach from Teacher Notes at www.georgiastandards.org regarding the story behind Leo Frank’s conviction (pg. 50-51) and use the link from the same article to show a video segment about the case Some believe Tom Watson’s anti-sematic articles led to Frank’s lynching

The County Unit System In 1917,the Neil Primary Act created the “county unit system”. Plan designed to give small counties more power in state government so that the larger counties (which contained large numbers of black voters) would have less power Smaller counties had more county unit “votes” even though they had fewer voters People could be elected to office without getting a majority of votes Declared unconstitutional in 1962 The state was predominantly Democrat Candidates who won the primary were guaranteed to win the election under this system Urban counties: 6 votes/ Towns: 4 votes/ Rural counties: 2 votes

Education in the New South Era Funding to provide elementary education for all children in GA grew slowly from 1868 to 1895 Teachers were paid little more than farm hands and had little to no training. Normal schools were starting to train more teachers The “school year” was only 3 months long which allowed children to work on farms or in factories The state constitution of 1877 did not allow for school beyond 8th grade and segregated black and white students The state was predominantly Democrat Candidates who won the primary were guaranteed to win the election under this system Urban counties: 6 votes/ Towns: 4 votes/ Rural counties: 2 votes

Agriculture in the New South Era Crop prices declined through the 1870s The Grange and the Farmers’ Alliance started out as social groups but began to reorganize to put pressure on lawmakers to find ways to help farmers. (populism) GA created the first state to have a Department of Agriculture Co-ops allowed farmers to work together to buy goods and equipment at a lower cost The state was predominantly Democrat Candidates who won the primary were guaranteed to win the election under this system Urban counties: 6 votes/ Towns: 4 votes/ Rural counties: 2 votes