- Collection:
- Georgia Political Papers and Oral History Program
- Title:
- Oral history interview with Wyche Fowler, 2004 November 16
- Creator:
- Fowler, Wyche, 1940-
- Contributor to Resource:
- Steely, Mel
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:
- 2004-11-16
- Subject:
- Georgia--Politics and government--1865-1950
Georgia--Politics and government--1951-
Legislators--Georgia--Interviews
National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States
United States. Central Intelligence Agency
United States. Congress. Senate
Amtrak
Taxation--United States
Arab-Israeli conflict
Iran-Iraq War, 1980-1988
Fowler, Wyche, 1940---Interviews - People:
- Fowler, Wyche, 1940-
Barnard, Douglas
Barr, Bob, 1948-
Bush, George, 1924-2018
Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969
Gephardt, Richard A. (Richard Andrew), 1941-
Gingrich, Newt
Hussein, Saddam, 1937-2006
Levitas, Elliott H. (Elliott Harris), 1930-
Mitchell, George Sinclair, 1902-1962
Reagan, Ronald
West, John Carl, 1922-2004
Young, Andrew, 1932- - Location:
- United States, Georgia, 32.75042, -83.50018
- Medium:
- oral histories (literary works)
moving images - Type:
- Moving Image
- Format:
- video/mp4
- Description:
- Wyche Fowler, Jr. was born in Atlanta on October 6, 1940, attended public schools, and earned a law degree from Emory University in 1969. He served in the U.S. Army from 1963-1964 and worked as chief of staff for Representative Charles Weltner from 1965-1966. After leaving school, he worked as an attorney and served on Atlanta's city council from 1970-1977. In 1977, Fowler won a special election as a Democrat for the U.S. House of Representatives 5th District. He was re-elected four times in the majority African American district, beating civil rights leader John Lewis who would later win the seat. Fowler was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986, and became known as a liberal on social issues and a moderate on economic and security concerns. He lost re-election in a close runoff to Paul Coverdell in 1992. Fowler was appointed Ambassador to Saudi Arabia by President Bill Clinton in 1996 and served until 2001. He has since served on various corporate and academic boards including the Carter Center. Fowler currently practices law in Washington, D.C. and in late 2007 joined the University of Georgia's School of Law and began teaching in the 2008 spring semester.; Interviewed by Mel Steely on November 16, 2004 at the University of West Georgia.; The interview picks up where the first left off, beginning with a discussion on Fowler's election to Congress. Fowler then answers questions about his relationship with Newt Gingrich, as well as his decisions and issues he dealt with while in the House and as a Senator. He says he is most proud of the Tax Act of 1986. The interview also covers other political issues and decisions that Fowler had a part with, including the change in AMTRAK trains, et cetera. He says that he certainly failed a lot during his time, and the most disappointing one had to do with transportation tax and raising it to 1%; it lost by one vote. The interview then shifts gears to Fowler's time in the Senate, beginning in 1986, and spending the majority of the discussion on the Gulf War and the decisions surrounding it. He also takes about his time as a foreign ambassador. In regards to his time as ambassador, Fowler talks about the people he met and his relations with Saudi Arabia, where he was selected to go. The rest of the interview is devoted to problems in the Middle East.
- External Identifiers:
- Metadata URL:
- https://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/id:uwg_phc_fowler20041116
- Digital Object URL:
- https://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/uwg/phc/do:fowler20041116
- 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 148 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:
-
