Friday, July 30, 2010

Zell Miller Papers Open

The Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies is pleased to announce that the Zell Miller Papers are now open for research. Miller acted as Georgia’s longest-serving Lieutenant Governor from 1974 to 1990 before becoming Governor in 1990. After two terms as the state's chief executive, Miller served as a U.S. Senator from 2000 to 2004.

Zell Miller was born in Young Harris, Georgia on February 24, 1932 to Birdie Bryan and Stephen Grady Miller. He graduated from Young Harris College in 1951 and joined the United States Marine Corps from 1953 to 1956. After completion of his military service, he entered the University of Georgia where he earned a bachelor’s (1957) and master’s (1958) degree in history. In the fall of 1959, he accepted a position at Young Harris College teaching history and
political science.

Miller’s political career began in 1958 when he became mayor of Young Harris. In 1960 he was elected to the Georgia Senate. In 1964, he challenged incumbent Phil Landrum to represent Georgia’s Ninth Congressional District but was defeated. From 1964 to 1974 Miller held numerous appointed positions in state government which included work with the State Board for Children and Youth, the State Board of Probation, the Board of Corrections, the Board of Pardons and Paroles, and the Georgia Democratic Party. He also served as an aide to Governor Lester Maddox and later became his executive secretary.

Above: Both Tommy Irvin (center) and Zell Miller (left) were sworn in by Governor Lester Maddox (right) on the same day in 1969. Irwin was assigned the post of Commissioner of Agriculture and Miller was Maddox’s Executive Secretary.

In 1974, Miller was elected lieutenant governor and served four terms total. During his time in office he supported initiatives to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, to establish state-wide kindergarten programs, as well as efforts for campaign finance reform. He also worked to open previously closed senate committee meetings to the press and public. As lieutenant governor Miller and other top state officials engaged in trade missions to countries such as Germany and Japan to generate interest in capital investments in the state. In 1980, he ran for the democratic nomination for United States Senate and lost to incumbent Herman Talmadge.

Below: Miller holds a newspaper in front of the Georgia Legislature that heralds Georgia schools as 4th in the nation, 1997.

In 1990, Miller ran a successful campaign for the office of governor, defeating Andrew Young in the democratic primary and Johnny Isakson in the general election. Perhaps the most important reform of the Miller administration was the adoption of the state lottery. By law all lottery revenue had to be spent on education and Miller directed the funds generated to three main programs: the creation of the HOPE (Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally) Scholarship, the establishment of a voluntary pre-Kindergarten program, and improvements in technology in the state's secondary schools and colleges.

In June of 2000, Republican United State Senator Paul Coverdell died in office and Governor Roy Barnes appointed Miller to the vacant seat in July. He won a special election in November of 2000 to remain in Washington, D.C. to finish Coverdell’s original term, promising to fulfill the late Senator’s conservative objectives. It is widely noted that Miller did this in his service in the Senate through his increased support of the Republican Party, which culminated in his keynote address at the 2004 Republican National Convention in support of President George W. Bush.

The Zell Miller Papers consist of office files and personal papers including correspondence, speeches, press releases, clippings, subject files, position papers, memoranda, photographs, publications, memorabilia and scrapbooks from Miller’s career, through his term as Governor.
Topics of particular interest include: changes in education in Georgia through the creation of the HOPE scholarship and a state-side kindergarten program, the creation of a lottery, trade missions to market Georgia overseas, advocacy for musicians and cultural heritage initiatives, promoting ethics in lobbying, changing the state flag, promoting land and water conservation, and abolishing tax on groceries.

The Russell Library is open for research from 8:30 am – 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday, with the exception of University holidays. For further information on the Zell Miller Papers please contact russlib@uga.edu or call (706) 542-5788.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Historical Deliberation on Slavery

On Friday, June 18th, just one day shy of the 145 anniversary of the day in 1865 that slaves in Galveston, Texas learned they were free, a small group of people from the Athens community and the UGA campus gathered to reflect on the historical questions of slavery and to consider how the values that animated 19th century Americans continue to do so today.

Using the deliberative issue guide developed by Franklin Pierce University's New England Center for Civic Life in conjunction with Douglas Ley, professor of history at Franklin Pierce, moderators Chase Hagood, a doctoral student in the history program at the University of Georgia, and Jill Severn, the director of the Russell Forum for Civic Life in Georgia (RFCLG), guided the group through a robust, candid, and passionate threshing of the ways in which the past and the present continue to intersect and shape the future.

Hagood, whose research centers on the 19th century South, provided the group with a brief overview of the time period and the ideas and individuals who were at the center of the debates over slavery in the period before the Civil War erupted. This background was most welcome contextual information for the group and helped people unfamiliar with the specifics of the debates to connect with the issue.

The issue guide for the forum looks specifically at the Kansas-Nebraska proposal that repealed the Missouri Compromise and gave local settlers the right to determine whether or not slavery would be permitted. The guide raises three approaches considered by people in 1854 for contending with the problem of slavery and its future in the United States:

Approach One: Remember Our Ideals
Slavery is a labor system involving the most fundamental rights of human beings. Therefore, all questions involving slavery are inherently moral questions. Maintain the Missouri Compromise restriction at all costs so as to prevent any expansion of evil and immoral slavery.

Approach Two: Affirm Individual Choice

Questions concerning slavery are political in nature. Slavery is a divisive issue and threatens to split the national political parties and even divide the nation itself. Give the local settlers the right to decide and remove the issue of slavery from the national arena.

Approach Three: Protect Our Prosperity
Decisions regarding slavery should be based on economic considerations, since they affect everyone’s access to new lands and to economic resources. We need to focus on the nation’s economic well-being and ensure the development of a strong and prosperous society.

To read the full report from this forum event, click HERE or visit http://www.libs.uga.edu/russell/rfclg/reports/forum%20report_6-18-10.pdf. More reports on forums regarding civil rights topics can be found at http://www.libs.uga.edu/russell/rfclg/civil_rights.html.

The Russell Forum for Civic Life in Georgia hosts monthly informal forums at the Richard B. Russell Library, located on the lower level of the Main Library building on UGA's North Campus. For more information on upcoming forums, visit http://www.libs.uga.edu/russell or call (706) 542-5788. Our next public forum will take place on August 27, 2010 from 3-5PM; the topic, "A Nice Place to Live: Creating Communities, Fighting Sprawl"

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Informal Forum (8/27/10): Creating Communities, Fighting Sprawl

Russell Forum for Civic Life in Georgia, a civic engagement program of the Russell Library hosts public forums on a monthly basis to explore challenging public issues in a deliberative, civil way.

This month’s informal forum discussion takes up the challenging issue of sprawl in American communities. (Sprawl is the term used to describe dispersed development outside of compact urban and village centers along highways and in rural countryside.) Across the country, American communities are under enormous stress. Cities are struggling to survive with fewer middle-class residents, older suburbs suffer from traffic congestion and creeping blight, and rural communities are often overwhelmed with explosive growth of new homes and malls. How can we strengthen our local communities facing such severe problems?

A Different Kind of Talk…
In this community forum we will explore this complex issue by working together to understand the issue better. With help from trained neutral moderators we will look at multiple approaches to the problem and consider both the benefits and consequences of each approach, as well as possible trade-offs. Finally, we will explore possible actions that might make a positive difference in our community. Throughout the forum we may find some areas of agreement among us, just as we will likely clarify areas where our beliefs and perspectives differ greatly. This robust and civil threshing of the tough public issues that we face is the foundation for vibrant and resilient community.
About the Issue Guide…
This forum will use the deliberative issue guide developed by Public Agenda and the Kettering Foundation. If you are interested in reading more about the issue, you can download the moderator’s guide fro free at http://store.nifi.org/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=5_38

How to Find the Russell Library (parking, bus access, walking)
The Russell Library is located in the University of Georgia Main Library Building just off South Jackson Street in Athens, GA. Parking is available in the North Campus Parking Deck also on South Jackson St. Athens Transit and UGA Bus Service both serve the main library via the bus boarding zone on South Jackson Street.

The Russell Library maintains its own entrance on the West side of the Main Library building. Follow the path/steps down the right side of the main library building (the west facing side) and down the stairs to access our door. If you need handicapped access, please go to the main entrance of the Library and check in at the security desk.

More information:
For more information about this forum, please contact Jill Severn at 706-542-5766 or jsevern@uga.edu. For more information about Russell Forum for Civic Life in Georgia, visit www.libs.uga.edu/russell/rfclg

Intrepid Archivist

Renna Tuten, Processing Archivist, wages war with mold as she vacuums and accessions one of our newest collections.

Her outfit is completed by the stylish PAPR (Powered Air Purifying Respirator) which filters the contaminated air. I caught her during a break - so this particular photo was staged; normally Renna is also wearing gloves.

You are a brave soul Renna!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Muppets?

Kat Stein, Head of Arrangement and Description, posed with a new addition to the archives - a hand puppet supporting Lyndon Johnson for President! The homemade puppet looks to be made from a recycled sweatshirt. And while we can't say for sure that its LBJ he's showing support for, the accompanying bumper sticker and other campaign memorabilia make a strong case.

Just a fun moment on a regular Tuesday!

Friday, July 09, 2010

Informal Forum (7/16/10): The Rising Cost of Food

Russell Forum for Civic Life in Georgia, a civic engagement program of the Russell Library hosts public forums on a monthly basis to explore challenging public issues in a deliberative, civil way.

This month's deliberative forum takes up the challenging problem of the rising cost of food. According to the USDA in 2007 food prices in the U.S. rose 4.8. %. The impact of this sharp rise in prices during a time of significant economic turmoil is putting tremendous strain on individuals, families, and communities. Walk into any small neighborhood grocery store or big box supermarket and you will see people taking a second look at the price of food, checking with the store clerk to verify that a favorite item has not been mislabeled, or steering an under-stocked shopping cart into the checkout aisle. At the same time, visit local community food banks to see long lines of people hoping to get basic staples to simply sustain themselves. What has caused this rise in the price of food? What, if anything, can and should we as individuals, families, and communities do in response?

A Different Kind of Talk…

In this community forum we will explore this complex issue by working together to understand the issue better. With help from trained neutral moderators we will look at multiple approaches to the problem and consider both the benefits and consequences of each approach, as well as possible trade-offs. Finally, we will explore possible actions that might make a positive difference in our community. Throughout the forum we may find some areas of agreement among us, just as we will likely clarify areas where our beliefs and perspectives differ greatly. This robust and civil threshing of the tough public issues that we face is the foundation for vibrant and resilient community.

About the issue guide…
This forum will use the deliberative issue guide developed by Michigan State University Extension’s Public Deliberation Initiative. If you are interested in reading more about the issue, you can download the issue guide at http://web5.msue.msu.edu/publicdeliberation/resources.htm

How to Find the Russell Library (Parking, Bus access, walking)
The Russell Library is located in the University of Georgia Main Library Building just off South Jackson Street in Athens, GA. Parking is available in the North Campus Parking Deck also on South Jackson St. Athens Transit and UGA Bus Service both serve the main library via the bus boarding zone on South Jackson Street.

The Russell Library maintains its own entrance on the West side of the Main Library building. Follow the path/steps down the right side of the main library building (the west facing side) and down the stairs to access our door. If you need handicapped access, please go to the main entrance of the Library and check in at the security desk.

More information:
For more information about this forum, please contact Jill Severn at 706-542-5766 or jsevern@uga.edu. For more information about Russell Forum for Civic Life in Georgia, visit www.libs.uga.edu/russell/rfclg

Thursday, July 01, 2010

Everyday Experiences

The Russell Library is proud to announce the opening of An Artist in South Vietnam: Works by Jon Nielsen, a new exhibit showcasing the original sketches and photography of the Christopher Fleming Collection of Jon Nielsen Visual Materials.

Jon Nielsen (1912-1986) was a Danish-American portraitist and illustrator of children’s books, whose career spanned over thirty-five years and four continents. In the mid-1960s, the U.S. government asked Nielsen to travel to Vietnam and sketch portraits of American soldiers, as part of a larger effort to provide entertainment and boost troop morale. While there, he spent leisure time documenting the everyday lives of both the soldiers and Vietnamese citizens through photographs and sketches. In contrast to the sensational and often brutal news coverage of events in Vietnam, Nielsen's work shows the domestic side of a country torn by war. The exhibit features a selection of photographs, as well as original ink and watercolor drawings used in the finished book Artist in South Vietnam, published in 1969.

The exhibit will remain on display in the Russell Library’s main gallery through September 15, 2010. The Library is open from 8:30am-4:30pm, Monday through Friday, with the exception of University holidays. For further information on the Christopher Fleming Collection of Jon Nielsen Visual Materials, please contact russlib@uga.edu or call (706) 542-5788.

Post by Heather Highfield, Summer Intern, Russell Library