Customer Reviews

The Politics of Change in Georgia: A Political Biography of Ellis Arnall

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Henderson, a college professor at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, has done a great service by writing this scholarly and readable chronicle of the late Georgia Governor Ellis Arnall's political career. Arnall was Governor of Georgia from 1943-47, a time which saw various political controversies and accomplishments. Henderson arranges the various events of Arnall's term in a thematic manner, dealing with Arnall's fight to obtain fairer freight rates for the south, the "three governor's controversy of 1947", and Arnall's refusal to fight against the Supreme Court decision that overturned Georgia's "whites-only" primary.

While stressing that Arnall was much more progressive and liberal than his political opponents, Henderson doesn't shy away from exposing Arnall's flaws and his support for much of the segregationist stance of the time. Of course, no Georgia politician in the time period could have been elected state-wide who didn't support segregation, and Arnall's failure to be as much of a rabid race baiter as Talmadge and others effectively killed off his political career after 1947. All of this is presented effectively in the book, along with Arnall's support of education, his friendship with Henry Wallace, and his post gubernatorial career as a businessman, attorney, author, speaker, and his failed 1966 campaign for governor.

I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in southern history, and Georgia history in particular. As I stated earlier, Professor Henderson has penned a well written and informative biography of this important Georgia politician.

Hal Henderson has done an outstanding job documenting the political history of mid-20th century Georgia. This well written book is thoroughly researched and very readable. I have read his other books and can without hesitation suggest them to anyone with an interest in political history in the deep south and Georgia in particular.