 Thomas M. Hayes Collection of Georgia Republican Party Campaign Photographs
Collection DescriptionHistorical NoteThe Georgia Republican Party is one of the two major political parties in the state of Georgia. The Republican Party had a brief moment of power during the Reconstruction, from 1865 to 1872. The Republican Party in Georgia was from the beginning identified with the extremes of Radical Reconstruction. Georgia's only elected Republican governor, until the election of Sonny Perdue in 2002, had been Rufus Bullock, who served from 1868 to 1871. From the late nineteenth century until the 1960s, the state party's chief functions were to dispense the federal patronage when a Republican was in the White House and to aid in the nomination of a favored candidate at the Republican national conventions. The state Republican Party remained a grass roots effort until the 1960s, when white Southerners who were disturbed by the integrationist stance of the Democrats turned to the more conservative party. The party was actively involved with Barry Goldwater's presidential campaign of 1964, but Goldwater lost that year's election by an overwhelming landslide. In 1966, there was a split in the Georgia Democratic Party, with former Democrats declaring themselves Republicans. This same year, Howard "Bo" Calloway became the first Republican from Georgia to be elected to the United States House of Representatives. The state Republican Party almost split during the 1976 campaign over who would be the Republican presidential nominee, Gerald Ford or Ronald Reagan. By 1980, Republican Mack Mattingly defeated a long-standing Democrat, Herman Talmadge, for the office of United States Senator. Mattingly was the first Republican from Georgia elected to the U.S. Senate since the Reconstruction. That same year, Ronald Reagan defeated Democrat Jimmy Carter of Georgia in the Presidential election, though Georgia was one of seven states whose electoral votes went to Carter. Reagan's personal popularity with the voters secured his reelection in 1984. His vice president, George H. W. Bush, went on to win the presidency in 1988, maintaining the Republican hold on the allegiance of large numbers of centrist voters into the 1990s. By 1992, Congress came under control of the Republicans and a Republican from Georgia, Newt Gingrich, became Speaker of the House. Led by Newt Gingrich, the state of Georgia by 1994 was largely represented by a Republican delegation in the United States Congress including Senator Paul Coverdell and Representatives Jack Kingston, Mac Collins, John Linder, Bob Barr, Saxby Chambliss, and Charlie Norwood. Scope and ContentThe collection consists of 116 photographs and 8 audiovisual items collected by Thomas M. Hayes depicting Republican presidential candidate Richard Nixon and his campaign activities in Georgia in 1964. It includes photographs of Richard and Pat Nixon's speaking trip to Atlanta. Administrative InformationPreferred CitationThomas M. Hayes Collection of Georgia Republican Party Campaign Audiovisual Materials, Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Georgia, 30602-1641. User RestrictionsLibrary acts as "fair use" reproduction agent. Copyright InformationBefore material from collections at the Richard B. Russell Library may be quoted in print, or otherwise reproduced, in whole or in part, in any publication, permission must be obtained from (1) the owner of the physical property, and (2) the holder of the copyright. It is the particular responsibility of the researcher to obtain both sets of permission. Persons wishing to quote from materials in the Russell Library collection should consult the Director. Reproduction of any item must contain a complete citation to the original. Finding Aid PublicationFinding aid prepared on: 2008. Related Materials and SubjectsSubject TermsRelated Collections in this Repository
Georgia Republican Party Records Related Collections in Other RepositoriesJulian P. Kanter Political Commercial Archive, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma | ||||||||||||||||||||