- Collection:
- Georgia Political Papers and Oral History Program
- Title:
- Oral history interview with Ellis Arnall, 1986 April 2
- 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:
- 1986-04-02
- 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
Georgia--Governors--Elections
Agricultural and Industrial Development Board of Georgia
Anti-Defamation League
Anti-Talmadge Faction
Atlanta Constitution
Atlanta Journal
Civil War
Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO)
Contras
Gilbert & Sullivan
Governor Cox
I Am a Fugitive from a Georgia Chain Gang
Integration
Interstate Commerce Commission
Journey Through My Years
Ku Klux Klan
Motion Picture Industry Council
New Deal
Political action committees (PACs)
Piedmont Driving Club
Poll tax
Power Structure
Talmadge Faction
Talmadge Family
University of Georgia
University System of Georgia (USG)
White primaries
American Federation of Labor, the (AFL)
Arnall, Mildred
Arnall, Ruby
Atlanta Georgian, the
Atkinson, William Yates, Sr.
Atkinson, William Yates, Jr.
Bank of the South, the
Bartley, Numan V.
Beaver, Sandy
Belle of Ashby Street: Helen Douglas Mankin and Georgia Politics, the
Biggers, George C.
Board of Regents, University System of GA
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
Burns, Robert Elliot
Busbee, George Dekle
Callaway, Howard Hollis (Bo)
Carmichael, James V.
Cox, James Middleton
Coweta County, GA
Creation of Modern Georgia, the
Dobbs, Talmadge
Dorsey, Hugh
Douglas, Helen
Douglas, William Orville
Flynt, Jack
Frank, Leo Max
Frankfurter, Felix
Georgia v. Pennsylvania Railroad Co., 324 U. S. 439 (1945)
Griffin, Samuel Marvin
Harris, Roy Vincent
Harris, Rufus Carrollton
Howell, Clark
Inland Steel Company, the
Jackson, Robert Houghwout
Jackson, Maynard Holbrook, Jr.
Jackson, Samuel Dillon
Jones, Jesse Holman
Kennedy, John B.
Little White House, Warm Springs, GA
Maddox, Lester
Mankin, Helen Douglas
McGill, Ralph Emerson
Newnan, GA
Phagan, Mary
Pittman, Marvin
Reagan, Ronald Wilson
Rivers, Eurith Dickinson (Ed)
Roberts, Columbus
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano
Russell, Richard Brevard, Jr.
Sanders, Carl Edward, Sr.
Slaton, John M.
Smith, Marion
Spivey, Alfred
Spivey, Jack
Steely, Mel
Talmadge, Eugene
Talmadge, Herman E.
Thompson, Melvin Ernest
Truman, Harry S.
Turner, Forrest
United States Steel, the
University of the South, Sewanee, Georgia
Vandiver, Samuel Ernest, Jr.
Wallace, Henry Agard
Warm Springs, GA
Wilson, Charles Edward (Charlie)
Woodruff, Robert Winship (Bob) - People:
- Young, Andrew, 1932-
Arnall, Ellis Gibbs, 1907-1992
Allen, Ivan, 1911-2003 - 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 the boardroom of Governor Arnall's Law Office at Arnall, Gold and Gregory on April 2, 1986, by Dr. Mel Steely and Ted Fitz-Simons.; Arnall begins the interview by discussing his relationship with presidential nominee Governor Cox and the 1942 gubernatorial election in Georgia, going on to speak of his relationships with Ed Rivers and Roy Harris. He then goes into his political influence in Coweta County - Dr. Steely refers to him as the "Godfather" of its politics. He also discusses the issue of education, the integration of University System of Georgia, the "race issue" and his relationship with Eugene and Herman Talmadge, who had been avid segregationists. Arnall also comments on his close relationship with President F. D. Roosevelt, the vice-presidential candidate for 1945 and his weekends spent at Warm Springs. Arnall also talks about the Leo Frank case and his acquaintances involved, like Governor Slaton and his decision to pardon Leo Frank. Arnall devotes most of this interview to discussing his views on economics, such as discriminatory freight rates and the case of Georgia v. Pennsylvania Railroad Co., as well as the performance of other Georgia politicians, both during and after his time in office. He speaks of the prison reform, poll reform and educational reform that had occurred under his governorship. Arnall comments on Andy Young's tenure as mayor of Atlanta, as well as his views on segregationist organizations. He speaks of his support of equal rights for African Americans and states that one thing that confuses him is that after all the bloodshed and trouble gone to in order to secure integrated education, many people still classify universities as "white colleges" and "black colleges." He speaks at length on the agricultural and industrial development, with emphasis on small rural communities, and these small communities' importance in relation to urban communities; he goes on to speak specifically about suburban communities. Arnall speaks of his relationship with several key individuals such as Helen Douglas Mankin, Ralph McGill, as well as Eugene and Herman Talmadge.
- External Identifiers:
- Metadata URL:
- https://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/id:uwg_phc_arnall19860402
- Digital Object URL:
- https://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/uwg/phc/do:arnall19860402
- 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 164 mins.)
- 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:
-
