Some of the People Who Ate My Barbecue Didn't Vote for Me

Scott E. Buchanan

Description

Marvin Griffin was Georgia's seventy-second governor. Apart from that simple fact, virtually everything else about his career is the subject of controversy. Griffin governed at a point in the late 1950s when the state was undergoing a profound political transition from a rural-dominated, segregationist culture to a more urban landscape. As he attempted to guide Georgia through years of tumultuous change and upheaval throughout the South, Griffin developed a reputation for being inflammatory on racial issues and merciless to his political enemies

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In "Some of the People Who Ate My Barbecue Didn't Vote for Me," Scott Buchanan portrays Marvin Griffin as a Yellow Dog Democrat struggling against inevitable change. Griffin was viewed by many as a charismatic voice of resistance in the Georgia and the South in the wake of Brown v. Board of Education. He combined a staunch segregationist approach with economically progressive policies, assisting in Georgia's transformation from an agrarian economy to a more industrialized one.

Ironically, it was these efforts and the larger shift in politics that doomed Griffin's career, ensuring his administration would last only one term. In many ways, Griffin stands as a clear dividing line between the Old South and the New.

Sujets

• Civil Rights
• Political
• Lettres et linguistique
• Biography
• History of the United States
• Civil and political rights
• Politics
• Autobiography
• History

Informations

• Publié par: Vanderbilt University Press
• Date de parution: 06 mai 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780826517616
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

“Some of the People Who Ate My Barbecue Didn’t Vote for Me”

“Some of the People Who Ate My Barbecue Didn’t Vote for Me”

The LIfe of GeorgIa Governor MarvIn GrIfin

Scott E. Buchanan

Vanderbilt University Press★ Nashville

© 2011 by Vanderbilt University Press Nasville, Tennessee 37235 All rigts reserved First printing 2011

his book is printed on acid-free paper made from 30% post-consumer recycled content. Manufactured in te United States of America

Frontispiece: Griffin’s gubernatorial inauguration, January 1955. (Joe McTyre Potograp Collection, Kenan Researc Center at te Atlanta History Center.)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bucanan, Scott E. Some of te people wo ate my barbecue didn’t vote for me : te life of Georgia governor Marvin Griffin / Scott E. Bucanan. p. cm. Includes bibliograpical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8265-1759-3 (clot edition : alk. paper) 1. Griffin, Marvin, 1907–1982. 2. Governors—Georgia— Biograpy. 3. Georgia—Politics and government—1951– I. Title. F291.3.G75B83 2011 975.8'043092—dc22 [B] 2010036851

To Kelea, Genie Grace, and Mary Claire

In memory of Marie Ammons Bucanan (1941–2008)

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Contents

Preface

 ix

Introduction  1

The Beginning  7

From Dan to Beersheba

 15

From Private to Adjutant General

The Switch Is On

 43

Carpetbaggers, Scalawags, Tragedy, and Controversy  53

The LeftHanded Pitcher

 71

From Rabun Gap to Tybee Light

 33

 87

Taking Care of Friends and Enemies

Courting Armageddon

Null and Void

 155

 145

Turpentine Those Timid Souls

 167

 121

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The Liquor Gets a Little Thin

Buggers in the Woodpile

The Jorees

 199

Second Helpings, Anyone?

Sick and Tired

Notes

 255

Bibliography

Index

 283

 243

 275

 181

 191

 221

Preface

“Hold still, little catfis; all I’m gonna do is gut you.” his line from Mar- vin Griffin summarizes ow I feel about te journey of writing tis book. My initial interest in Governor Griffin stems from my master’s tesis, wic examined te 1962 Georgia gubernatorial primary, Griffin’s last po- litical urra. My initial exposure to Griffin came from anecdotes told to me by my fater, Edward Bucanan. From tose stories, I found myself drawn to Griffin’s umor. hus, my interest was sparked to write a biog- rapy of te man wo served as governor of Georgia during a turbulent time in te state’s istory. Along te way, I ave found tat muc of wat I tougt about Griffin was correct and some incorrect. I am reminded of a line once used to introduce im to a crowd: “te man wo as ad more lies told about im tan anyone else in Georgia.”  My primary purpose in tis book is to cronicle Marvin Griffin’s po- litical career and sow ow dramatically Georgia politics as canged over te past alf century. To accomplis tat goal, I relied on bot primary and secondary sources. Governor Griffin’s papers, suc as tey are, reside in te Marvin Griffin Collection at Bainbridge College. Unfortunately, te governor did not keep te most compreensive records, and I arbor strong suspicions tat te Griffin papers were igly sanitized as well. On one visit, I found a folder labeled “Illegal Liquor Fund.” Wen I opened te folder, noting was tere. Wat records I did find were quite elpful in gaining insigts into te more personal side of Griffin. Oter sources of primary documents included te Georgia Arcives, te Georgia Govern- ment Documentation Project at Georgia State University, Georgia’s Po- litical Heritage at te University of West Georgia, te Georgia National Guard Arcives, and te Fred Hand Collection at te Troup County Ar- cives in LaGrange.

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