Political History

The Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution laid the foundation for the United States. Georgia’s founding fathers, Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton, Abraham Baldwin, and William Few, played crucial roles in supporting and ratifying these documents, impacting both national and state history. Their contributions to independence, public education and governance in Georgia remain significant as the nation celebrates 248 years of democracy.

Maynard Jackson made history 50 years ago as Atlanta’s first Black mayor, bringing transformative change at just 35. His passion for civil rights and economic fairness opened doors for minorities in city contracts. Jackson’s leadership helped create a more inclusive Atlanta, a legacy that lives on today.

The trial of Leo Frank began in Fulton County and was one of the longest trials in state history. Yet still, few know about the significance of Frank’s trial, the violence, antisemitism, and sensational press coverage. Fewer people know of his wife Lucille and her role in the defense and support of her husband throughout his trial, the appeals process, his imprisonment, and beyond.

How did the world’s largest Confederate monument end up outside of Atlanta? What should be done, if anything, with it? With these questions in mind, Atlanta History Center explores the controversial history through online resources and an upcoming documentary.

“One Hundred Years of Georgia Women Legislators” is a Historical Series that will not only tell the story of Georgia’s first women state and federal legislative representatives and highlight other notable Georgia “firsts” that have held legislative positions over the course of the last century to now, but it also highlights the effect these women have had on Georgia, the South, and the United States of America.

Atlanta History Center is using our resources to explore the history of the components that make a healthy democratic system, including methods of civic engagement, widespread and informed voter participation, civil rights, and community leadership.

Atlanta History Center online exhibition: American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith

Congressman Andrew Young and his son Bo run down the hallway of the Rayburn House of Representatives Building in Washington in June, 1975.

Atlanta Mayor-elect Maynard Jackson makes a speech on election night on October 3, 1973 at the Sheraton-Biltmore Hotel in Midtown.

Governor Jimmy Carter spends time making art with an orangutan in 1971.

For a brief and tumultuous few weeks in 1946 and 1947, Georgia had three governors. What followed is the stuff of political legend.

When the citizens of Georgia elected Andrew Young to the US House of Representatives in 1972, there had not been a Black congressperson elected from Georgia since Jefferson Franklin Long in 1871.