- Collection:
- Georgia Political Papers and Oral History Program
- Title:
- Oral history interview with Ellis Arnall, 1986 February 18
- Creator:
- Arnall, Ellis Gibbs, 1907-1992
- Contributor to Resource:
- Steely, Mel
Fitz-Simons, Ted
University of West Georgia. Georgia Political Papers and Oral History Program - Publisher:
- Carrollton, Ga. : University of West Georgia Special Collections in association with the Digital Library of Georgia
- Date of Original:
- 1986-02-18
- Subject:
- Georgia--Politics and government--1865-1950
Georgia--Politics and government--1951-
Governors--Georgia
Legislators--Georgia
Attorneys general--Georgia
University of the South--Alumni and alumnae
University of Georgia. School of Law--Alumni and alumnae
Georgia. General Assembly. House
Short History of Georgia
American Legion
Arnall Manufacturing Company
Atlanta Constitution
Atlanta Gas Company
Atlanta Journal
Civil War
Delta Air Lines
Democratic Party
Eastern Air Lines
FDR Warm Springs Memorial Commission
Georgia
Georgia Education Convention
Governor's Mansion (Georgia)
Great Depression
Integration
Ireland
Kentucky
Ku Klux Klan
National Association for Advance Foods
National Fisheries Institute (NFI)
National Frozen & Refrigerated Food Association (NFRA)
Oglethorpe University
Poll tax
Republican Party
Supreme Court of the United States
Texas
Texas State Capitol
United Kingdom
University System of Georgia (USG)
Washington (D.C.)
White primaries
Works Progress Administration (WPA)
Atlanta, Georgia
Austin, Texas
Bank of the South, the
Barrett, William Hale
Biggers, George C.
Board of Regents, University System of GA
Bremen, Georgia
Butts County, GA
Callaway, Howard Hollis (Bo)
Campbellton University, KT
Carmichael, Stokely
Carrollton, Georgia
Central Baptist Church, Newnan, GA
Clay, Lucius Dubignon
Cook, James F., Jr.
Cornwall, U.K.
Coulter, E. Merton
Coweta County, GA
Cox, James Middleton
Coxon, Helen Williams
Culpepper, John Wesley
Dallas, TX
Dayton, GA
Diva, Judge
Douglas, William Orville (Bill)
Dublin, Georgia
Ellis County, Texas
Ellis, Joseph Matthew
Fitzsimmons, Ted
Ford, Gerald Rudolph, Jr. (Jerry)
Gallogly family, the
Gallogly, Richard (Dick)
General Mills, Inc.
George, Walter Franklin
Gillis, James L. (Jim)
Griffin, Samuel Marvin, Sr.
Hannegan, Robert E. (Bob)
Hanover County, VA
Hodge, George Baird
Howell, Clark
Jenkins, Roy Harris
Johnson, Lyndon Baines
Laurens County, GA
Lee, Robert E.
Little White House, Warm Springs, GA
Lumpkin, Wilson
Macon, GA
Maddox, Lester Garfield
Martin, Jessie
Mercer University, Atlanta, GA
Miller, W. L. (Lint)
Moore, Wiley Lemuel
Moses, George Biggins
Murray, William Henry Davis (Alfalfa Bill)
Nestle, Carnation
Newnan, GA
New Orleans, LA
O'Daniel, Wilbert Lee (Pappy)
Paige, Leroy Robert (Satchel)
Peachtree Creek, GA
Rivers, Eurith Dickinson (Ed)
Roberts, Columbus
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano
Russell, Richard Brevard, Jr. (Dick)
Sargent, GA
Savannah, Georgia
Schmid, Smoot (sheriff)
Shepperson, Gay Bolling
Stevenson, Coke Robert
Spivey, Alfred
Spivey, Jack
Stevenson, Cope
Talmadge, Eugene
Thompson, Melvin Ernest
Truman, Harry S.
Union Springs, AL
University of Georgia, Athens, GA
University of the South, Sewanee, TN
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
Wallace, Henry Agard
Walton County, GA
Warm Springs, GA
Wilson, Charles Erwin
Woolman, Charlie - Location:
- United States, Georgia, 32.75042, -83.50018
- Medium:
- oral histories (literary works)
moving images - Type:
- Moving Image
- Format:
- video/mp4
- Description:
- Ellis Arnall (1907-1992) was born in Newnan, Georgia on March 20, 1907. After earning a degree in Greek from the University of the South, he served as president of his class and the student body at the University of Georgia where he got his law degree in 1931. He was elected to represent Coweta County, as a Democrat in the Georgia House of Representatives in 1932 at the age of 25, where he rose to the position of Speaker pro tempore. At the age of 31, he was appointed attorney general by Governor E.D. Rivers, and in 1942 he defeated Eugene Talmadge to become the nation's youngest governor. Arnall is considered one of the most progressive governors in Georgia history. Among his reforms was an end to the poll tax, lowering of the voting age, a revised state constitution, and paying off the state's debt. His popularity declined due to his support of court decisions allowing blacks to vote in the state's white only primaries. He was a successful lawyer and businessman and served for a short time in the Truman administration. He ran for governor again in 1966, but lost a runoff election to segregationist Lester Maddox. Arnall died of pneumonia at an Atlanta hospital in 1992.; Interviewed in Governor Arnall's Law Office at Arnall, Gold and Gregory on February 18, 1986, by Dr. Mel Steely and Ted Fitz-Simons.; Arnall begins the interview by talking about the early history of his family, known from family stories and history books. He mentions that his first taste of politics was as a pageboy for the Alabama State Legislature. He cites his father and uncle's role as merchants, and his early work in their general store, as having influenced his interactions with the food industry while governor. Arnall also discusses his education, mentioning the fact that he had not graduated from high school, listing his favorite teachers and the benefits that good educators provide. He goes into more detail about his years pursuing higher education, going through his time at Mercer and Vanderbilt Universities, as well as law school at the University of Georgia and providing anecdotes about interesting clients and co-workers from over the years. Arnall discusses his decision to run for the House of Representatives in 1932, during the Great Depression, winning the position of Speaker pro tempore. He goes on to discuss the roles of the Federal and State governments during that time, as well as his relationship with President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eugene Talmadge. Arnall speaks about his time as attorney general, giving anecdotes of some of the cases he was involved in and the campaigns he ran, going on to talk about the office of Lieutenant Governor of Georgia that had been established under his governorship and mentioning his wife, Mildred, who had once been encouraged by constituents to run for governor herself. Arnall speaks of his political views - arguing for the industrialization of Georgia and the promotion of the state's educational quality; he goes on to speak of his beliefs in human rights, racial equality and the right to pursue happiness.
- External Identifiers:
- Metadata URL:
- https://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/id:uwg_phc_arnall19860218
- Digital Object URL:
- https://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/uwg/phc/do:arnall19860218
- Language:
- eng
- Bibliographic Citation (Cite As):
- Cite as: [interview title], Georgia Political Papers and Oral History Program oral history interviews. Annie Belle Weaver Special Collections, Irvine Sullivan Ingram Library, University of West Georgia
- Extent:
- 1 interview (circa 152 mins.); 1 transcript
- Original Collection:
- Georgia Political Papers and Oral History Program oral history interviews. Annie Belle Weaver Special Collections, Irvine Sullivan Ingram Library, State University of West Georgia
- Holding Institution:
- University of West Georgia. Special Collections
- Rights:
-
