Featured Collection

Many of Georgia's Political Heritage Program interviews are now available on the Digital Library of Georgia website at http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/?Welcome. These taped interviews document prominent current and former Georgia political figures, representing political history in the state since World War II. Begun in 1984 by Dr. Mel Steely, Professor Emeritus of the UWG History Department, GPHP has captured the memory of Georgia's political leaders as they relate their roles in the context of state and national politics. More than fifty interviews have been posted and more interviews will be available in the coming months.

Notable interviews include former governors Lester Maddox and Herman Talmadge, activist Hosea Williams, and House Speaker Tom Murphy. Interviews with all the former governors of Georgia since World War II are included with the exceptions of M. E. Thompson and Marvin Griffin, who died prior to the program's existence. Special Collections serves as repository for these interviews as well as for the political papers of a number of interview subjects. Presidential candidate and former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich has deposited his papers from his congressional years here. Bob Barr, the 2008 Libertarian presidential candidate and former U.S. representative, has given his papers to Special Collections. Other collections include a number of Congressmen representing Georgia in the House and Senate, as well as state legislators such as J. Ebb Duncan, Bill Hamrick, Wayne Garner, Tracy Stallings, and Charles Thomas.

 GPHP owns the papers and office contents of Speaker Murphy, who will be memorialized in Ingram Library with an exhibit re-creation of his Capitol office, scheduled to open in April 2012.