- Collection:
- Georgia Political Papers and Oral History Program
- Title:
- Oral history interview with Former Governor George Busbee, 2002 August 29
- Creator:
- Busbee, George, 1927-2004
- Contributor to Resource:
- Blalock, Rebecca
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:
- 2002-08-29
- Subject:
- Georgia--Politics and government--1865-1950
Georgia--Politics and government--1951-
Governors--Georgia
Legislators--Georgia
Abraham Baldwin College--Alumni and alumnae
Department of Trade and Industry
Georgia Board of Education
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Miller Brewing Company
Rockwell International
United Technologies (UTC)
University of Georgia
YKK Group
Busbee, George, 1927-2004
Arnall, Ellis Gibbs
Blanchard, Jimmy
Chateau Elan
Columbus, GA
Emory University
Franklin, H. Allen
Georgia Power
Southern Company
Georgia State University
Georgia Institute of Technology
Gray, Harry J.
Hasegawa, Norishige
Japan-US Southeast Association
Masters Tournament
Melton, Buckner F. (Buck)
Red Carpet Tour of Georgia, the
Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.
Walker, Herschel - People:
- Carter, Jimmy, 1924-
- Location:
- Belgium, Brussels Capital, Arrondissement, Brussel-Hoofdstad, City of Brussels, Brussels, 50.85045, 4.34878
Ireland, 53.0, -8.0
Japan, 35.68536, 139.75309
Japan, Tokyo, 35.709026, 139.731992
United States, Florida, Leon County, Tallahassee, 30.43826, -84.28073
United States, Georgia, 32.75042, -83.50018
United States, Georgia, Bibb County, Macon, 32.84069, -83.6324
United States, Georgia, Chatham County, Savannah, 32.08354, -81.09983
United States, Georgia, DeKalb County, 33.77153, -84.22641
United States, Georgia, Dougherty County, Albany, 31.57851, -84.15574
United States, Georgia, Glynn County, Brunswick, 31.14995, -81.49149
United States, Georgia, Gwinnett County, 33.96173, -84.02363
United States, Georgia, Richmond County, Augusta, 33.47097, -81.97484
United States, Georgia, Wheeler County, Ocmulgee River, 31.95908, -82.54374 - Medium:
- oral histories (literary works)
moving images - Type:
- Moving Image
- Format:
- video/mp4
- Description:
- George Busbee (1927-2004) was born in Vienna, Georgia on August 7, 1927 and attended both Georgia Military College and Abraham Baldwin College before interrupting his education to join the U.S. Navy. After leaving the Navy, he earned a law degree from the University of Georgia in 1952. Busbee moved to Albany, Georgia where he started a private practice and entered politics. In 1956 he was elected as a Democrat to represent Dougherty County in the state House of Representatives, and served there until 1974. During his time in the legislature he acted as floor leader for Governor Carl Sanders and served as majority leader for eight years. In 1974, Busbee ran for and won the governorship using the campaign slogan, "a workhorse, not a show horse." His top priorities were education, economic development, and prison reform. He used his legislative experience and skill to pass a constitutional amendment allowing governors to serve two consecutive terms, and was the first to take advantage of it, serving from 1975-1983. After his term ended, Busbee moved to Duluth, Georgia and joined a prestigious law firm and served on several corporate boards. He died suddenly of a heart attack in Savannah on July 16, 2004.; Interviewed by Rebecca Blalock on August 29, 2002 for Georgia Power Company's 75th Anniversary at an unknown location.; Busbee begins by addressing the poor state of Georgia economy when he first became governor in 1975, and speaking about why he decided to pursue international companies, particularly Japanese, in order to help with the economic development of the state, mentioning that economic development was the primary platform of his governorship. He talks about the infrastructures and the partnerships in the business leaders that enabled him to make economic advancements for the state, including those with Georgia Power Company. He cites his limited job options in his youth as the driving force for expanding Georgia's economic opportunities and goes on to discuss what he considers two important eras in Georgia economic advancement, citing Governor Ellis Arnall's fight against discriminatory freight rates as the first, and his contributions during his governorship as the second. Busbee stresses education with regard to locating industries, voicing his concerns over the need to enhance the education and technical training of Georgia in order to better court industry. He then discusses the discrepancies between the economies in the metro-Atlanta area versus those the rural areas of the state. He speaks of particular communities around Georgia, especially Columbus, which helped to build infrastructure and contribute to society.
- External Identifiers:
- Metadata URL:
- https://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/id:uwg_phc_busbee20020829
- Digital Object URL:
- https://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/uwg/phc/do:busbee20020829
- 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 34 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:
-
