Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies

Packing the Court

2012-02-06T10:35:00.004-05:00

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal economic relief programs revolutionized the relationship of private markets to the state and dramatically expanded the scope of services American citizens would come to expect from their federal government. In its own time, the New Deal proved extraordinarily controversial. Though occurring amid a recession of

Medicare Proposed

2012-01-11T14:11:00.005-05:00

50 years ago today, on January 11, 1962, President John F. Kennedy formally endorsed the passage of Medicare, the government-funded health care program for seniors – which today enrolls approximately 48 million Americans. At the time of Kennedy’s State of the Union address, half of Americans aged 65 or older lacked health coverage, and nearly 30% lived below the federal poverty level. “Social

New Year, New Building

2012-01-09T09:30:00.010-05:00

Welcome to Spring Semester 2012 at UGA! As you've read in recent posts, the Russell Library is now settled in its new home -- the Special Collections Building (300 South Hull Street) -- and we're once again open for regular research hours (8:30am - 4:30pm).In August I blogged about our new exhibit galleries. Now, as we approach our grand opening on February 17th our exhibit fabricators are hard

The Bradley Effect

2012-01-05T09:17:00.005-05:00

After correctly projecting winners of gubernatorial, U.S. Senate, and presidential elections in California in 76 out of 80 statewide contests since 1948, the Field Poll is widely considered the state’s most accurate pollster. Indeed, the last Field Poll survey of a general election often tracks the actual election margin within one or two percentage points, and the last survey to predict the

Fond Farewell

2012-01-04T15:23:00.013-05:00

As we returned to work this week at the Russell Library, we were sad to learn of the passing of Ed Jenkins, who represented Georgia's 9th Congressional District in the U.S. Congress from 1977 until 1993. Our staff would like to extend heartfelt condolences to his friends and family.Edgar Lanier "Ed" Jenkins was born in Young Harris, Georgia on January 4, 1933. From 1952 to 1955, he served in the

We're Back

2012-01-04T15:17:00.003-05:00

The Russell Library is now open for research in its new space in the Special Collections Library Building at 300 South Hull Street. Hours for research access are Monday-Friday 8:30-4:30 p.m. For more information, please check out the "Visit" page on the Russell Library website, or contact Russell staff at russlib@uga.edu.The Russell exhibit galleries will open in mid-February after the

Work with Us!

2011-12-08T14:19:00.008-05:00

We're happy to announce we have two new openings for part-time student workers at the Russell Library, to begin in January 2012! A quick description of each position appears below; for more information on what we're looking for, or to apply, visit UGA's Dawglink website: https://uga-csm.symplicity.com/students/index.php TITLE: Digital Access Student AssistantJOB DESCRIPTIONThe Digital Access

The Fourth Estate

2011-11-29T10:34:00.004-05:00

The news media is sometimes referred to as the Fourth Estate of politics. Nineteenth century writers attributed this usage to British parliamentarian Edmund Burke, who used it in a 1787 debate over whether or not to allow press attendance at House of Commons proceedings. In Burke’s reckoning, the other three estates were members of Parliament—Lords Temporal, Lords Spiritual, and Commons—and this

Open by Appointment Only

2011-11-21T10:42:00.006-05:00

We've had a few confused patrons since making our re-opening announcement last week. To clear things up:- The Russell Library is now open for research by advance appointment only until January 2012.- To make a research appointment, request materials, and receive an orientation to using the collections in our new location, please submit an email to russlib@uga.edu, or call 706-542-5766.In

A is for Aardvarking

2011-11-21T10:16:00.002-05:00

Aardvarking is a little-known practice in electoral politics in which, the story goes, campaign consultants recruit candidates whose names start with “A” (or another letter early in the alphabet) to run in low-profile races in which neither candidate is likely to garner media attention or possess high name recognition. Purportedly in elections that voters are paying only minimal attention to,

November 17, 1961: The Albany Movement

2011-11-17T08:00:00.007-05:00

Fifty years ago today, civil rights activists in Albany, Georgia, aided by national groups like the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and NAACP, formed a coalition known as the Albany Movement to desegregate the city of about 50,000 people. Though voter registration drives and civil rights petitions had spread throughout Albany since at least the 1940s, the arrival of national SNCC

National Issues Forums Institute Announces Support for Communities to Deliberate

2011-11-15T08:30:00.000-05:00

Do you want to encourage dialogue and deliberation in your community or organization? The Russell Forum for Civic Life in Georgia is happy to announce that the National Issues Forums Institute is offering grants in support of deliberative forums work in honor of Taylor Willingham. Taylor Willingham was a pioneer in the public engagement field and in National Issues Forums (NIF) work, including

What's the Third One?

2011-11-11T14:47:00.002-05:00

In light of this election season’s widely covered Republican debates, including one just this week that has already achieved media notoriety, we thought it a good time to delve into a brief history of presidential debates. In recent decades, presidential debates have become an expected part of the electoral process, both during party primaries and the general election.Though not a single general

Russell Library Moving Alert Bulletin #3

2011-11-10T11:17:00.015-05:00

Beginning today, November 10, 2011, researchers may access Russell Library archival collections again by advanced appointment!The Russell Library is Going West!From November 10, 2011 through December 22, 2011, patrons may access Russell Library collections by advanced appointment in the new Special Collections Libraries Building located at 300 South Hull Street.To make an advance research

Iran-Contra

2011-11-04T14:28:00.008-04:00

Yesterday marked the 25th anniversary of the news media’s discovery of the Iran-Contra affair, first exposed by the Lebanese magazine Ash-Shiraa on November 3, 1986. The arms-for-hostages scandal nearly crippled the Reagan administration and catalyzed what may have been the greatest drop in a President’s approval rating in polling history. Over the course of that November, Reagan’s approval

Informal Forum (11/13/2011): The National Debt (Again)

2011-10-28T12:13:00.007-04:00

How Should We Deal with the National Debt? (a question so important, we're talking about it twice!)An Oconee Community Forum ConversationBrought to you by the Russell Forum for Civic Life in Georgia When: Sunday, November 13, 2011 -- 3:00-5:00 p.m.Where: Oconee Public Library Auditorium, 1080 Experiment Station Rd. Watkinsville, GeorgiaAccording to Congressional Budget Office, the federal

Informal Forum (11/15/2011): A Nation in Debt

2011-10-28T10:28:00.007-04:00

The $184,000 QuestionWhat: Russell Forum for Civic Life in Georgia and University Housing Host Campus Community Forum on the National DebtWhen: November 15, 2011 -- 6:30-8:30 p.m.Where: Multipurpose Room, Building 1516If you’ve got federal direct aid, you know how much you owe the government in student loans; and chances are you’ve heard talk about the national debt in the last few years. But

It's All About the Benjamins

2011-10-27T12:02:00.003-04:00

In our previous post on soft money, we discussed in brief the modern history of campaign finance law in the United States, with particular focus on legislation that regulates contributions. With the 2012 presidential election season already setting fundraising records, we consider today the recent history of presidential campaign spending.While it is difficult to find credible statistics on

Soft Money

2011-10-26T09:53:00.003-04:00

In campaign finance law, soft money is money donated to political parties rather than directly to candidates for public office. (Note: the latter kind of donation is, fittingly enough, dubbed hard money, and has traditionally faced far more numerous regulations than soft money.) In practice, campaign finance regulations were scarcely ever enforced until about 40 years ago, and since then the

Nutty Supporters

2011-10-19T10:55:00.006-04:00

We have already detailed the primary election procession through which “wild card” former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter clinched the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in 1976. But what allowed this under-funded, virtual unknown from the Deep South to place first in the crucial early states of Iowa and New Hampshire? A recent accession to the Russell Library’s collections

Favorite Son: Part II

2011-10-18T12:00:00.004-04:00

In the second installment of our two-part feature, we recount the campaign of the only Georgian ever elected President of the United States: Jimmy Carter. How did Carter successfully jujitsu his deep-fried Dixie image, turning it from a liability into his greatest strength in ’76? Let's see...Carter, governor of Georgia from 1970-74, emerged from relative obscurity among a fairly splintered

Favorite Son: Part I

2011-10-17T10:00:00.013-04:00

It is generally understood in political circles that the term favorite son refers to a presidential candidate whose electoral appeal is greatly linked to his home-state or regional popularity, or who uses said regional popularity as a springboard for national viability.Historically, presidential hopefuls from the South have been especially likely to use this strategy, with mixed success—a

Slinging Mud

2011-10-12T09:47:00.004-04:00

Every election cycle, voters, pundits, and candidates decry the practice of mudslinging – negative campaigning that seeks to promote one candidate only by tearing down the other. The term originates from the Latin phrase Fortiter caluniare, aliquid adhaerebit, which translates to “throw plenty of dirt and some of it will stick.” Sometime after the American Civil War, dirt was transformed into mud

Ready to Run?

2011-10-11T13:57:00.009-04:00

A politician is said to throw his/her hat into the ring when announcing a run for office. The idiom originates with boxing. As the British website “phrases.org” puts it, “Any Jack the lad who fancied his chances in a bout would throw in his hat—presumably this was a more reliable way of putting oneself forward than just shouting over the hubbub of the crowd.”Right: Hat worn (and created) by

County Unit System, eh?

2011-10-06T09:35:00.002-04:00

In several of our recent "political slang" posts we have referred to the County Unit System that operated in Georgia until the 1960s. But, what is the county unit system? A bit more explanation on that system and its impact on Georgia's politics...Formalized by the Neill Primary Act in 1917, the county-unit system had operated informally in Georgia since 1898 as the method for primary election of