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[edit] Early life

Categories:

• 1943 births
• Living people
• Adoptees adopted by relations
• Alternate history writers
• American adoptees
• American Enterprise Institute
• American political writers
• American Roman Catholics
• Censured or reprimanded United States Representatives
• Converts to Roman Catholicism from Baptist denominations
• Emory University alumni
• Georgia (U.S. state) Republicans
• Kennesaw State University people
• Members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state)
• Military brats
• Newt Gingrich
• People from Columbus, Georgia
• People from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
• People from McLean, Virginia
• Speakers of the United States House of Representatives
• Tulane University alumni
• United States presidential candidates, 2012
• University of West Georgia faculty

• Georgia state government website
• Georgia state information and cities
• Georgia State Guide, from the Library of Congress
• Official Georgia Tourism Website
• Georgia Archives – Official archives of the State of Georgia.
• Summary of duties, powers and responsibilities of the branches of Georgia state government (Georgia Secretary of State website)
• Energy Profile for Georgia
• USGS real-time, geographic, and other scientific resources of Georgia
• U.S. Census Bureau
• The New Georgia Encyclopedia
• Georgia Guide
• Digital Library of Georgia
• Georgia (U.S. state) at the Open Directory Project
• Georgia State Databases – Annotated list of searchable databases produced by Georgia state agencies and compiled by the Government Documents Roundtable of the American Library Association.
• Georgia Constitution Web Page, Carl Vinson Institute of Government at The University of Georgia (includes historical Constitutions of Georgia)

Coordinates: 33°00′N 83°30′W / 33°N 83.5°W / 33; -83.5

Related information

Elections

Until recently, Georgia's state government had the longest unbroken record of single-party dominance, by the Democratic Party, of any state in the Union. This record was established partly by disfranchisement of most blacks and many poor whites in the early 20th century, lasting into the 1960s.

After Reconstruction, white Democrats regained power, especially by legal disfranchisement of most African Americans and many poor whites through erection of barriers to voter registration. In 1900, shortly before Georgia adopted a disfranchising constitutional amendment in 1908, blacks comprised 47% of the state's population.^[43] A "clean" franchise was linked by Progressives to electoral reform.^[44] White, one-party rule was solidified.

For over 130 years, from 1872 to 2003, Georgians only elected white Democratic governors, and white Democrats held the majority of seats in the General Assembly. Most of the Democrats elected throughout these years were Southern Democrats or Dixiecrats, who were very conservative by national standards. This continued after the segregationist period, which ended legally in the 1960s. According to the 1960 census, the proportion of Georgia's population that was African American had decreased to 28%.^[45] After a Democratic-controlled Congress passed civil rights legislation to secure voting and civil rights in the mid-1960s, most African Americans in the South joined the Democratic Party.

Progress in civil rights was demonstrated with the election of former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter in 1976 to the U.S. Presidency.

The political dominance of Democrats ended in 2003, when then-Governor Roy Barnes was defeated by Republican Sonny Perdue, a state legislator and former Democrat himself. While Democrats retained control of the State House, they lost their majority in the Senate when four Democrats switched parties. They lost the House in the 2004 election. Republicans now control all three partisan elements of the state government.

Even before 2003, the state had become increasingly supportive of Republicans in Presidential elections. It has supported a Democrat for president only three times since 1960. In 1976 and 1980, native son Jimmy Carter carried the state; in 1992, the former Arkansas governor Bill Clinton narrowly won the state. Generally, Republicans are strongest in the predominantly white suburban (especially the Atlanta suburbs) and rural portions of the state.^[46] Many of these areas were represented by conservative Democrats in the state legislature well into the 21st century. One of the most conservative of these was U.S. Congressman Larry McDonald, former head of the John Birch Society who was killed when the Soviet Union shot down KAL 007 near Sakhalin Island. Democratic candidates have tended to win a higher percentage of the vote in the areas where black voters are most numerous,^[46] as well as in the cities (especially Atlanta and Athens), and the rural Black Belt region that travels through the central and southwestern portion of the state.

As of the 2001^[update] reapportionment, the state has 13 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, which are currently held by 7 Republicans and 6 Democrats.

In recent events, Democrat Jim Martin ran against incumbent Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss. Chambliss failed to acquire the necessary 50 percent of votes, a Libertarian Party candidate receiving the remainder of votes. In the runoff election held on December 2, 2008, Chambliss became only the second Georgia Republican to be reelected to the U.S. Senate.

Politics

During the 1960s and 1970s, Georgia made significant changes in civil rights, governance, and economic growth focused on Atlanta. It was a bedrock of the emerging "New South".

In the 21st century, many conservative Democrats, including former U.S. Senator and governor Zell Miller, have decided to support Republicans. The state's socially conservative bent results in wide support for such measures as restrictions on abortion. Its voters passed a ban on same-sex marriage with 76% voting yes.^[47]

On April 1, 2009, Senate Resolution 632 passed by a vote of 43–1.^[48] It reads in part:^[49]

Any Act by the Congress of the United States, Executive Order of the President of the United States of America or Judicial Order by the Judicatories of the United States of America which assumes a power not delegated to the government of the United States of America by the Constitution for the United States of America and which serves to diminish the liberty of the any of the several States or their citizens shall constitute a nullification of the Constitution for the United States of America by the government of the United States of America.

On April 16, Jay Bookman of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote "It wasn’t quite the firing on Fort Sumter that launched the Civil War. But on April 1, your Georgia Senate did threaten by a vote of 43–1 to secede from and even disband the United States."^[50]

Cultural

Fine and performing arts

Georgia's major fine art museums include the High Museum of Art, the Michael C. Carlos Museum, the Telfair Museum of Art, and the Morris Museum of Art.^[51]

The Atlanta Opera is a full time company that brings opera to Georgia stages,^[52] while the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra is the most widely recognized orchestra and largest arts organization in the southeastern United States.^[53]

There are a number of performing arts venues in the state, among the largest are the Fox Theatre, and the Alliance Theatre at the Woodruff Arts Center, both on Peachtree Street in Midtown Atlanta. Duluth, Roswell, Norcross, and Marietta each have a fairly active theater community.

Literature

Dramas such as the play (on which a successful movie was also based) Driving Miss Daisy are one example of Georgia's literary culture. The most popular and famous novel has probably been Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind, also the basis of a wildly successful movie. Other authors who challenged popular ideas were Carson McCullers and Flannery O'Connor. Contemporary authors such as Alice Walker have also used Georgia's complex past as subjects for fiction, as in her The Color Purple.

Georgia's poets, such as James Dickey and Sidney Lanier, and nonfiction writers like humorist Lewis Grizzard also have a place in the state's literary life.^[54]

Film

The state film commission was established in 1973; the agency is now referred to as the Georgia Film, Music and Digital Entertainment Office.^[55] Since 1972, seven hundred film and television projects have been filmed on location in Georgia.^[56] In 2008–2009, Georgia's film and television industry created a $1.15 billion economic impact on the state's economy.^[57]

Health care

Georgians can find medical and dental care "via 151 general hospitals, more than 15,000 doctors and nearly 6,000 dentists."^[58] The state is ranked forty-first in the percentage of residents who engage in regular exercise.^[59]

Education

Georgia Tech's Tech Tower

Anderson Hall at Savannah College of Art and Design

Georgia high schools (grades nine through twelve) are required to administer a standardized, multiple choice End of Course Test, or EOCT, in each of eight core subjects including Algebra I, Geometry, U.S. History, Economics, Biology, Physical Science, Ninth Grade Literature and Composition, and American Literature and Composition. The official purpose of the tests is to assess "specific content knowledge and skills." Although a minimum test score is not required for the student to receive credit in the course, completion of the test is mandatory. The EOCT score comprises 15% of a student's grade in the course.^[60] The Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT) is taken in 1st–8th grade.

High school students must also receive passing scores on four Georgia High School Graduation Tests (GHSGT) and the Georgia High School Writing Assessment in order to receive a diploma. Subjects assessed include Mathematics, Science, Language Arts, and Social Studies. These tests are initially offered during students' eleventh-grade year, allowing for multiple opportunities to pass the tests before graduation at the end of twelfth grade.^[61]

Georgia has almost 70 public colleges, universities, and technical colleges in addition to over 45 private institutes of higher learning.

The HOPE Scholarship, funded by the state lottery, is available to all Georgia residents who have graduated from high school or earned a General Educational Development certificate. The student must maintain a 3.0 or higher grade point average and attend a public college or university in the state.

Transportation

Georgia state welcome sign.

Transportation in Georgia is overseen by the Georgia Department of Transportation, a part of the executive branch of the state government. Georgia's major Interstate Highways are I-75 and I-85. On March 18, 1998, the Georgia House of Representatives passed a resolution naming the portion of Interstate Highway 75, which runs from the Chattahoochee River northward to the Tennessee state line the Larry McDonald Memorial Highway. Larry McDonald, a Democratic member of the House of Representatives, had been on Korean Air Lines Flight 007 when it was shot down by the Soviets on September 1, 1983.

Other important interstate highways are I-95, I-20, I-16, I-59 and I-24. I-285 is Atlanta, Georgia's perimeter route and I-575 connects with counties in north Georgia on I-75.^[62] Major freight railroads in Georgia include CSX and Norfolk Southern Railway. Passenger service in Georgia is available on two Amtrak routes: the Crescent, which runs from New York to Washington, D.C., through north Georgia and Atlanta to New Orléans and the other runs from New York to the Georgia coast and from there to Florida.^[63]

Airports

Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport's 398-foot (121 m) tall control tower

Georgia's primary commercial airport is Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), and is the world's busiest passenger airport.^[64] In addition to Hartsfield-Jackson, there are eight other airports serving major commercial traffic in Georgia. Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport is the second-busiest airport in the state as measured by passengers served, and is the only additional international airport. Other commercial airports (ranked in order of passengers served) are located in Augusta, Columbus, Albany, Macon, Brunswick, Valdosta, and Athens.^[65]

Georgia has 98 public-use general aviation airports in addition to its primary commercial airports. The busiest of these airports in terms of daily takoff and landing traffic is DeKalb-Peachtree Airport in Chamblee, Georgia (known as "PDK" due to its DOT call letters). PDK has averaged more than 230,000 takeoffs and landings per year for over thirty years, and serves as a "general reliever airport" for the Atlanta area.^[65] Other general reliever airports in the metro Atlanta area include Charlie Brown Field in Atlanta, Briscoe Field in Lawrenceville, and McCollum Field in Kennesaw.

Media

Television

Georgia resident Ted Turner founded TBS, TNT, TCM, Cartoon Network, CNN and Headline News, among others. The CNN Center, which houses the news channel's world headquarters, is located in downtown Atlanta, facing Marietta Street, while the home offices of the Turner Entertainment networks are located in midtown, near the Georgia Tech campus, on Techwood Drive. A third Turner building is on Williams Street, directly across Interstate 75 and Interstate 85 from the Techwood Drive campus and Swim and Williams Street Studios.

The Weather Channel's headquarters are located in the Smyrna area of metropolitan Atlanta in Cobb County.

WSB-TV was the state's first television station, and the southeastern United States' second. WSB-TV signed on Channel 8 in 1948, and moved to its present day location on Channel 2 in 1952.

Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) operates nine major Non-commercial educational television stations across the state as Georgia Public Broadcasting Television.^[66]

SportSouth and Fox Sports South are the leaders in sports television in the southeast. The Television studio and offices are located in Atlanta, Georgia on Peachtree Street.

Radio

WSB-AM in Atlanta was the first licensed radio station in the southeastern United States, signing on in 1922. The station currently broadcasts a news/talk format. WMAZ (Watch Mercer Attain Zenith) in Macon first broadcast commencement exercises of Mercer University in June 1921 but was unlicensed and had a power of only 10 watts. It was licensed in February 1923 and today has a power of 50,000 watts daytime and uses the call sign WMAC AM 940.See http://www.antiqueradio.com/wmaz_03-98.html WSB-FM signed on in 1948 on 104.5 FM, and moved to 98.5 FM in 1952. The station broadcasts today, still with the WSB-FM callsign, but is known as "B98.5FM".

Georgia Public Radio has been in service since 1984 and, with the exception of Atlanta, it broadcasts daily on several FM (and one AM) stations across the state. 1984.^[67][68] Georgia Public Radio reaches nearly all of Georgia (with the exception of the Atlanta area, which is served by WABE), as well as portions of Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

Newspapers

There are several notable newspapers in Georgia. Among them are The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Augusta Chronicle, the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, The Telegraph (formerly The Macon Telegraph) and the Savannah Morning News.

Sports and recreation

Sports in Georgia include professional teams in all major sports, Olympic Games contenders and medalists, collegiate teams in major and small-school conferences and associations, and active amateur teams and individual sports. The State of Georgia has a team in seven major professional leagues (MLB, NFL, NBA, ABA, AFL, IL, and ECHL). Georgia has an abundance of outdoor recreational activities. Outdoor activities include, but are not limited to, hiking along the Appalachian Trail; Civil War Heritage Trails; rock climbing and whitewater paddling.^{[69][70][71][72]} Other outdoor activities include hunting and fishing. Less rustic activities are trips to Callaway Gardens; and Zoo Atlanta.^{[73][74][75][76]} NBA superstars Dwight Howard, Josh Smith,and Javaris Crittenton, Heavyweight champion boxer Evander Holyfield and wrestling superstar Hulk Hogan are also from Atlanta.

State facts and symbols

Georgia's nicknames include Peach State and Empire State of the South.^[77] The state song, "Georgia on My Mind" by Hoagy Carmichael, was originally written about a woman of that name. After Georgia native Ray Charles made it popular with his recording, the state legislature voted it the state song on April 24, 1979. Ray Charles sang it on the legislative floor when the bill was passed. The legislature's action was considered symbolic of the state's move away from racial segregation and racism.

The state commemorative quarter was released on July 19, 1999.^[78] The first houses in Georgia to be designated historic state landmarks are the Owens Thomas House and the Sorrel Weed House, in the Savannah historic district. The state animal, an opossum, is called "Pogo Possum".^[79]

See also

• Outline of Georgia (U.S. state)
• Index of Georgia (U.S. state)-related articles
  

• Atlantic Ocean
• List of National Register of Historic Places in Georgia
• List of people from Georgia (U.S. state)
• List of places in Georgia (U.S. state)
• U.S. state

References