- Collection:
- Georgia Political Papers and Oral History Program
- Title:
- Oral history interview with George T. Smith, 1988 April 15
- Creator:
- Smith, George T. (George Thornewell), 1916-
- Contributor to Resource:
- Steely, Mel
Wagner, Don
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:
- 1988-04-15
- Subject:
- Georgia--Politics and government--1865-1950
Georgia--Politics and government--1951-
Lieutenant governors--Georgia--Interviews
Legislators--Georgia--Interviews
University of Georgia--Alumni and alumnae
University of Georgia. School of Law--Alumni and alumnae
United States. Navy
United States. Supreme Court
Civil rights movements--United States--History--20th century
Grady County (Ga.)
Mitchell County (Ga.)
Depressions--1929
Nova Scotia
World War, 1939-1945
New Deal, 1933-1939
Smith, George T. (George Thornewell), 1916---Interviews - People:
- Smith, George T. (George Thornewell), 1916-
Arnall, Ellis Gibbs, 1907-1992
Byrd, Garland T. (Garland Turk), 1924-1997
Groover, Denmark, 1922-2001
Maddox, Lester, 1915-2003
Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945
Talmadge, Eugene, 1884-1946
Talmadge, Herman E. (Herman Eugene), 1913-2002
Twitty, Frank Starling, 1907-1981
Vandiver, S. Ernest (Samuel Ernest), 1918-2005 - Location:
- United States, Georgia, 32.75042, -83.50018
- Medium:
- oral histories (literary works)
moving images - Type:
- Moving Image
- Format:
- video/mp4
- Description:
- George T. Smith was born in Mitchell County, Georgia on October 15, 1916. After a stint in the U.S. Navy he earned a law degree from the University of Georgia in 1948. He practiced law in Cairo, Georgia and also served as City Attorney until being elected to represent Grady County in the Georgia legislature as a Democrat in 1958. He remained there until 1966, serving as Speaker from 1963-1966. Smith was elected Lieutenant Governor in 1966 and served from 1967-1971 under Governor Lester Maddox. He returned to private practice in Marietta and in 1976 was elected to the Georgia Court of Appeals. In 1980, Smith was elected to the state Supreme Court where he remained until 1991. He is the only person in Georgia history to win contested elections to all three branches of state government.; This interview takes place with Dr. Mel Steely and Don Wagner on April 15, 1988 at the office of George T. Smith.; The interview begins with a discussion of Smith's childhood in Mitchell county, Georgia, and anecdotes about his father. Smith spends a few minutes discussing his childhood education, and his entrance to Middle Georgia (which he states was out of his economic class). He discusses his time at the University of Georgia as well as his time in California. The majority of the interview focuses on Smith's political career, with emphasis on his relationships with other politicians in Georgia. One of the key themes of the interview involves Smith's political position as Speaker in the midst of the Civil Rights movement.
- External Identifiers:
- Metadata URL:
- https://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/id:uwg_phc_smith19880415
- Digital Object URL:
- https://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/uwg/phc/do:smith19880415
- 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 transcript; 2 interviews (circa 121 mins.; circa 22 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:
-
