Georgias Redemption Years The Redemptive Era The control

Georgia’s Redemption Years

The Redemptive Era • The control of Southern states by the Democratic Party in the South not only signaled the end of Reconstruction, but also the end of most of the civil rights that African. Americans had gained during that period. This picture illustrates the future of African-Americans in the USA

The Bourbon Triumvirate • Time span: • 1870 s-1890 s • Democrats Goal: • reclaim the state from scalawags & carpetbaggers • Make Georgia self-sufficient • Lower Taxes • Diversify Georgia’s economy • Help with economic improvements… but they largely ignored the needs of poor whites and blacks

The Bourbon Triumvirate Joseph E. Brown Governor: 1857 promoted states’ rights and supported radical reconstruction Alfred Holt Colquitt Governor: 1876 Reduced state debt; new state constitution 1877 John B Gordon Governor: 1886 Reduced state debt; brought new industry to state

Decline of the Bourbon Triumvirate • “Independent Democrats” criticized the Bourbons for not attending to the needs of the poor or improve education and working conditions in factories. • Leaders William and Rebecca Felton worked to improve conditions for poor Georgians using newspapers to highlight problems in the state. • The convict lease system “rented” prisoners to companies to use as workers. It took many years for the poor conditions the prisoners endured to be brought to light and changed.

The Feltons • William Felton – – – Doctor Farmer Methodist Preacher Public Speaker Independent Democrats • Rebecca Latimer Felton – Supported her husband’s political causes – His Campaign leader – Independent Democrats

The Feltons • Used their newspaper, The Cartersville Courant to attack the Bourbons • Wanted to help… – Poor – Lower middle class – HATED the Convict Lease System They pushed for improvements in: - education - Prison reform - Limits on alcohol - They planted the roots of what would become the Populist Party.

Rebecca Latimer Felton • Leader in the… • Suffrage Movement: – Working to get women the right to vote – The 19 th Amendment granted women the right to vote (1920) • Temperance Movement: – Anti-Alcohol Movement – The 18 th Amendment banned the sale and manufacture of alcohol

The Convict Lease System – Prisoners were leased (hired out) to people who provided them with housing and food in exchange for labor – Housing was usually substandard; food not healthful and in meager amounts – Prisoners were treated very poorly and often denied basic necessities

The Convict Lease System How did this happen? Why did this happen? • Several key factors: • Arresting able-bodied blacks meant – Cheap labor was necessary to rebuild and then allow Southern agriculture to flourish – Many whites wanted to maintain the superiority of their race over blacks – Whites dominated all facets of power in the South and few whites chose to even try and challenge this ‘system’ – Immediate financial gain for the sheriff and local judge – Longer term revenue for county/state • Met need for cheap labor which allowed economy to grow • Met social desire to keep whites dominate

Practical Example • John Davis, African American, arrested in Goodwater Georgia, 1901 • Arrested by Robert Franklin, constable and owner of a dry-goods store • Accused of owing $40 to Franklin • $35 in fines added for a total of $75 • Wealthy land owner pays the $75 and ‘contracts’ Davis to work for 10 months. (p. 129 -132)

Financial Incentives Cost to the companies: • $6 per month per man (Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad, 1903) • Pay to a free laborer ($ 1 -3 per day) • No cost or fine if a convict died while in custody of the company • Bogus charges often added and paperwork simply lost • State income for could equate to 10% of total revenues Additional costs tacked on: • . 50 for sheriff to deliver a warrant • $1 for making an arrest • . 35 for the clerk who certified court documents • . 60 cent fees for judge and sheriff • . 50 cents for each white witness

How did it work? • Companies would deal with individual sheriffs or even with the state • Companies provided: – “prisons” – lock up space – Guards – who could chain, beat, shoot and torture – Clothing – Food – Medical care

The New South * Term given to the South because it showed a new economic growth and prosperity after the Reconstruction and Redemption periods. *

Henry Grady • Editor of the Atlanta Constitution newspaper from 1880 -1889 • Urged Georgians to forget the past and create a “NEW SOUTH” • He supported a new line of thinking between the “old South” which “rested everything on slavery and agriculture, unconscious that these could neither give nor maintain healthy growth, ” and a “new south” – thrilling with the consciousness of growing power and prosperity

Economic Plan of the New South He urged GA to: • Develop industry within the state • Promoted industrializing and modernizing the South. • In response, the North began to invest in Georgia In the late 1800 s, northerners invested in southern textile mills. Women provided much of the cheap labor.

Other notable Grady improvements: • Grady pushed for social equality • Grady promoted the creation in Atlanta of the Georgia Institute of Technology, a state vocational-education school.

Henry Grady’s Most Famous Speech • "Once I attended an unusually sad funeral in Pickens County…. They buried him in the midst of a marble quarry. They cut through solid marble to make his grave, and yet the little headstone they put above him came from Vermont. They buried him in the heart of a pine forest and yet the rude pine coffin was imported from Cincinnati. They buried him within touch of an iron mine, and yet the nails in the coffin and the shovel they used was imported from Pittsburgh. They buried him by the side of the best sheepgrazing country on earth, and yet the wool inside the coffin and the wool bands they used in lowering his body were brought from the North. The South furnished nothing for that funeral but the hole in the ground and the corpse. “ • Let’s look at this one! – What resources did the South possess according to the paragraph? – What resources did the South import for the funeral? – Why is this ironic?

The International Cotton Exposition • 1881 • One of the principle planners was Henry Grady. • Atlanta hosted the International Cotton Exposition to show off the South’s new industries • They spotlighted attention on GA’s cotton textile industry! Business grew up long the railroads which provided transportation for raw materials and finished goods.

The International Cotton Exposition • Equipment for making textiles was displayed • Southern agricultural products were shown – Ex) Sugar, rice & tobacco • New jobs were created & millions of dollars were invested in Atlanta • Atlanta became the “business hub” of the New South Why would a phoenix be a cool symbol of the International Cotton Exposition?

The Populist Party • Populism: political idea that supported the rights of the “common” people in their struggle with the wealthy people • Poor farmers and low wage workers were followers of the Populist Party • Tom Watson, famous Georgia Populist, worked for the passage of the Rural Free Delivery bill so that mail would be delivered to rural areas for free

The Populist Party in GA • Who was in charge? • Tom Watson: – Lawyer – Focused on GA’s poor and struggling farmers – He passed the Rural Free Delivery Bill – Elected to the GA General Assembly – Elected to the US Congress by Georgia – Concerned about poor African. American farmers – Wanted the races to work together to help farmers

The Populist Party & Rural Free Delivery • This Bill promised free mail delivery to country farmers (1893) • How might this change people’s lives? – Jobs in the Post office – Increased speed of mail delivery – MOST IMPORTANT: the construction of new roads and bridges

Neill Primary Act The Neill Primary Act Smaller counties had more county unit “votes” even though they had fewer voters …People could be elected to office without getting a majority of votes Allowed smaller, less populated white dominated counties in Georgia to have greater power and influence in the General Assembly than the larger, more populated counties Went against proportional representation Declared unconstitutional in 1962 Created the County Unit System Top 8 counties - 6 unit votes = 48 total votes Middle 30 counties – 4 unit votes = 120 total votes Small 121 counties – 2 units = 242 total votes

Atlanta Race Riots 1906 • Successful African Americans were taking jobs from whites • Feeling threatened, white mobs attacked black businesses and individuals in Atlanta • At least 25 people were killed in the riots • Led to the rise of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)