Recasting Conservatism: Georgia Republicans and The
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RECASTING CONSERVATISM: GEORGIA REPUBLICANS AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF SOUTHERN POLITICS SINCE WORLD WAR II by ASHTON G. ELLETT (Under the Direction of James C. Cobb) ABSTRACT Emerging from the ashes of the Civil War South, the Republican Party of Georgia languished in political ignominy for almost a century. Generations of ineffectual leaders and a general antipathy toward the “Party of Lincoln” in the region rendered the Georgia Republican Party a distinct, powerless minority in the state. Examining the period between 1940 and the election of the state’s first Republican governor since Reconstruction in 2002, this dissertation analyzes the internal politics and party-building initiatives that transformed the Republican Party of Georgia into the state’s majority political organization. This study highlights the roles political party building and intraparty competition played in that consequential process. Patronage-obsessed leaders controlled the party until the 1940s when Republicans aligned with the national party’s “Eastern Establishment” triumphed. Rooted in metropolitan Atlanta, these Republicans constructed a moderate alternative to the state’s rural- dominated Democratic Party. Supporters of Senator Barry Goldwater’s presidential campaign captured the party in 1964 and set it on a more conservative trajectory. Nevertheless, the state party remained structurally weak and unable to compete reliably against politically savvy Democrats and their biracial coalition of voters. Reeling from Watergate and Governor Jimmy Carter’s meteoric rise in the mid-1970s, Georgia Republicans embraced a forward-looking party- building program that laid the foundations for future political success. Organizational improvements in fundraising, recruitment, campaign support, and voter outreach enabled the party to capitalize on long-term demographic shifts in the state and the influx of social conservatives into the GOP during the 1990s. The Georgia Republican Party has continued to expand its political power since 2002. Utilizing private correspondence, internal party documents, voting data, oral history transcripts, and contemporary newspaper records, this dissertation explores the complex, incremental party-building and political realignment processes in Georgia. The Republican Party of Georgia has evolved from a politically isolated nonentity into a modern political party. Ultimately, this dissertation underscores the importance of party organizations, campaigns, and electoral strategy in the protracted, uneven political realignment process that has transformed southern politics since World War II. INDEX WORDS: Georgia, Republican Party, Conservatism, South, Southern Politics, GOP RECASTING CONSERVATISM: GEORGIA REPUBLICANS AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF SOUTHERN POLITICS SINCE WORLD WAR II by ASHTON G. ELLETT BA, Westminster College, 2008 MA, University of Georgia, 2010 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2017 © 2017 Ashton G. Ellett All Rights Reserved RECASTING CONSERVATISM: GEORGIA REPUBLICANS AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF SOUTHERN POLITICS SINCE WORLD WAR II by ASHTON G. ELLETT Major Professor: James C. Cobb Committee: Shane Hamilton John C. Inscoe Charles S. Bullock III Electronic Version Approved: Suzanne Barbour Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia August 2017 iv DEDICATION For Jessica and Margo v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation represents the culmination of almost ten years of work. As with any project spanning nearly a decade, a person accumulates some debts in the process. Completing this journey would have been impossible without the kindness, generosity, assistance, wisdom, guidance, and good cheer of the following individuals. It has been a privilege to work and learn in the Department of History at the University of Georgia since 2008. I had no idea what a welcoming and enriching environment awaited me when I first applied as a college senior. Sheila Barnett, Sharon Cabe, Cilla Cartwright, Laurie Kane, and Vici Payne have answered more questions and solved more problems over the years than I can possibly count. Bob Pratt, John Morrow, and Claudio Saunt were always willing to help in their capacity as Department Chair. The same can be said for Karl Friday, Paul Sutter, Ben Ehlers, and Reinaldo Román. They were all extremely accommodating graduate coordinators. It is a critically important and largely thankless job. My deepest appreciation also goes to Brian Drake, Shane Hamilton, Bill Stueck, and Michael Winship for being model teachers and cooperating instructors. Lastly, Mrs. Barbara Christopher deserves special mention. More often than not, hers was the first face I saw when I arrived at LeConte Hall in the morning. Unfailingly upbeat and always willing to chat, Miss Barbara never failed to raise my spirits or brighten my day when I needed it most. Her help adjusting thermostats also eased the writing process considerably! She is a pillar of the History Department, and one of the best people I know. vi Sadly, two individuals who were here at the beginning of this project did not live to see its completion. I had the immense privilege of taking Professor Thomas G. Dyer’s final graduate class in 2011. A couple native Midwesterners, we bonded immediately, and we remained close until his untimely passing. Tom Dyer was a scholar and gentleman. He helped me hone my craft, and, in a round-about way, led my family and me to Emanuel Episcopal Church. I am eternally grateful for both. Second, Jason Manthorne was a first-rate historian, teacher, and friend who left us far too soon. Although he has been gone for almost four years, his life and memory lives on through his many wonderful friends. I miss his humor, and I miss our debates. I also had the pleasure of working at the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies during my time at UGA. Mat Darby, Adriane Hanson, Jan Hebbard, Callie Holmes, Christian Lopez, Jill Severn, and Sheryl Vogt were excellent colleagues. I am proud to call them my friends. Although I never technically worked at the Hargrett Library Rare Book and Manuscript Library, I did spend enough time passing through and chatting up the many wonderful people who staff that fine institution. Chuck Barber, Kat Stein, Mazie Bowen, Jean Cleveland, Jason Hasty, Gilbert Head, Skip Hulett, and Vivian Lovern were always welcoming, and they made this Russell intern feel like part of the team. I would also like to thank the individual members of the Richard B. Russell Foundation for their ongoing support of my scholarship. The Georgia Association of Historians has proven as welcoming and collegial a group as any young scholar could ask for. David Parker, Ken Wheeler, Bronson Long, David Connolly, Glenn Robins, LeeAnn Caldwell, Kay Reeve, and Laura McCarty have all offered constant encouragement and support during several conferences. They have also cheered me along during the final stages of the dissertation process. Tom Scott deserves special mention. Dr. Scott has vii probably read more of my written work than anyone save my major professor. Always willing to share his time and insight, I am proud to number him among my mentors. The costs involved in attaining a graduate education are many. The following individuals and groups helped ease that financial burden. Vince and Barbara Dooley funded two generous graduate research awards that allowed me to reach into a number of far-flung archives. Amanda and Greg Gregory provided travel and research funds over the course of several years. Their ongoing support of graduate students and the UGA History Department is greatly appreciated. The late Carl Vipperman has provided an endowed award recognizing excellent teaching assistants in the department. I was honored to be among this distinguished group. I would also like to thank the Association of Centers for the Study of Congress for a generous grant facilitating research at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. Finally, I would like to thank Jay and Sherry Manthorne, the Manthorne family, and everyone who helped endow the Jason Manthorne Memorial Scholarship. I cannot possibly quantify the amount of time I spent combing archival finding aids, document boxes, and folders during the research portion of this project. Thankfully, I had able assistance from numerous men and women across the country. First and foremost, the Richard B. Russell Library deserves yet another mention. This project began thanks to the richness of its holdings, and I could never have completed it without the help of the men and women who work there. Grace Grande conducted many hours of research into the Thomas Dewey Papers at the University of Rochester. Sydney Soderberg lent considerable assistance at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library. Beth Pearson help accessing the Citizens for Reagan collection at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Scott Russell provided a helping hand with various collections at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda, California. Amy viii Fitch lent a hand at the Rockefeller Archive Center in Sleepy Hollow, New York. Stephen Frug provided a much-needed assist at Cornell University. My friend and former colleague Sean Vanatta delivered while visiting the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. Sean’s dad, Lee, provided an introduction to former Georgia Senate Minority Leader Eric Johnson. Senator Johnson provided his brief history of the Georgia Republican Party. I thank them both. My appreciation also goes to Milton Leathers for sharing his intimate knowledge of old Athens families. The same must be said for Mr. Ed Benson. I also owe a debt of appreciation to the staffs at the other research institutions I visited, called, and badgered for photocopies and digital scans over the years. Their assistance made this dissertation possible. Finally, I would like to thank John Dickerson, host of CBS’s Face the Nation, for lending his wit, wisdom, and support to this project. Even before I made the fateful decision to attend graduate school, I had the support and encouragement of numerous teachers at both John A.