1. Georgia 1877-1918 and the New South Key people and events of this Period
SS8H7 The student will evaluate key political, social, and economic changes that occurred in Georgia between 1877 and (a, b, c, and d)

2. People of the New South Reformer or Status Quo Supporter?
Black or White?
How did they work for change?

3. Bourbon Triumvirate
“Bourbon” the name of a ruling class in France and “Triumvirate” referring to a ruling body of three.
Joseph E. Brown, Alfred Colquitt, John B. Gordon, three men united in a common goal to rebuild the south.
They were bound together in the belief that in order for GA’s economy to grow, we needed to expand our ties with the industrial North.
Wanted to keep many of the old southern tradition, including the belief in white supremacy
Active in GA politics from 1870s-1890s

4. Joseph E. Brown John B. Gordon Alfred H. Colquitt
Brown + Colquitt + Gordon = B.C.G. = “Bourbon Control Group”

5. Henry Grady “Voice of the New South”
Graduated from University of Georgia
In 1880 became managing editor of Atlanta Constitution
In one of his most famous speeches he stressed the need for industry in Georgia, particularly the textile mills
One of the planners of the Atlanta 1881 International Cotton Exposition
Grady Hospital and other Georgia landmarks named after him
Video: GPB: Henry Grady (3:30)

6. The Populists A new political party in the 1890’s
Appealed to white farmers who had been struggling due to low cotton prices, debt and high railroad freight charges
Developed out of the Farmers Alliance which was an agricultural society
Rose in opposition to the Democratic Party
Was popular in many southern states but strongest in Georgia

7. Tom Watson: a Powerful Leader of his time
Member of the Georgia General Assembly, the U.S. House in 1890 and Senate in 1920
Represented the Farmer’s Alliance and the Populist Party, opposed national banks, paper money, and wanted a decrease in taxes for low income citizens
Succeeded in instituting an experimental program of bringing free delivery of mail to rural areas (Rural Free Delivery bill)
When many were supporting Northern industry, Watson supported the farmers and the agrarian traditions
Turned into a racist politician in the end
Video:
GPB: Tom Watson (3:30)

8. Rebecca Latimer Felton
First women to serve in the U.S. Senate (for one day!)
Entered politics through her husband, William Felton’s political career
They lived on a farm outside Cartersville
Supported many reform movements such as the end of the convict-lease system and the women’s suffrage movement
VIDEO: GPB: Rebecca Felton

9. Differing ideas for reaching equality
Booker T. Washington
W.E.B. Dubois
Popular spokesman for African American rights
Believed the best way to equal rights was through education, "industry, thrift, intelligence and property.“
Had a network of supporters (many wealthy northern philanthropists)
Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute
Founder of the Niagara Movement that later becomes the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)
Believed the best way to equal rights was through political representation and the “talented tenth” or the intellectual elite

10. Alonzo Herndon
Born a slave, then sharecropper and barber, and later becomes Atlanta’s first African American millionaire
Founder and president of Atlanta Mutual Life Insurance Co
Owned the Crystal Palace, a barbershop in Atlanta that served elite white society of Atlanta
VIDEO: GPB: Alonzo Herndon

11. John and Lugenia Burns Hope
Lugenia was the founder of the Atlanta Neighborhood Union in 1908, which was a women led self-help and social service organization
John was an educator and politician that helped with the Niagara Movement and the NAACP
John was president of Morehouse College until his death in 1936

12. Events of the New South

13. Atlanta and the International Cotton Exposition
1895 International and Cotton States Exposition opens
Final event of three total Cotton Expositions in Atlanta
It showcased the latest technology in transportation, manufacturing, mining, agriculture, and other fields.
Helped attract investor and highlighted Atlanta as a regional business center
Booker T. Washington gave the famous speech known as the “Atlanta Compromise “
DISCUSS: How does the 1895 Exposition compare to the 1996 Olympic Games?

14. Courtesy of Atlanta
History Center
Archives

15. Jim Crow Laws and the restriction of civil rights
Separation and Segregation in the late 1800s
A group of laws in the South that were designed to limit and restrict the civil rights of African Americans
Based on white supremacy, these laws separated people of color from whites in schools, housing, jobs, transportation, and public gathering places.
Through legal means they were prevented from voting with poll tax (pay to vote), literacy test (read to vote), grandfather clause (family to vote)

16. Jim Crow “White citizen league barring Black voters”
Harpers Weekly 10/31/1874

17. Plessy v. Ferguson
Homer Plessy was arrested in Louisiana for refusing to move from a train seat reserved for whites
Purposefully challenged the segregation accepted in society
“In the pivotal case of Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that racially separate facilities, if equal, did not violate the Constitution. Segregation, the Court said, was not discrimination.”
Upheld Jim Crow Laws and segregation as normal and accepted

18. The 1906 Atlanta Race Riot Occurred September 22-24, 1906
Racial tensions were aggravated by wide spread unemployment and competition for few jobs
White mob attacked innocent blacks after the newspaper erroneously reported that white women had been assaulted by black men
Lasted three days until the GA militia stepped in to control the mob and arrested 250 men outside of Brownsville
There were varying reports on the death total, it ranged from twenty-five to forty African American deaths, but most accounts agree that only two whites were killed.
VIDEO: GPB: Race Riot of 1906

19. Leo Frank Case
Convicted of the murder of 13 year old Mary Phagan, a young worker at National Pencil factory (in Atlanta)
Because he was Jewish, the superintendent of the pencil factory, and from the north, he represented many things southerners resented at the time
African American janitor forced to testify against Leo Frank
After the governor committed (reduced) his sentence to life in prison, a mob from Mary’s hometown of Marietta took him from jail
He was lynched on August 17, 1915 in Marietta by the mob (one block from where the Big Chicken is today)
VIDEO:
GPB: Leo Frank Case