World War II in Atlanta

By Paul Crater

Few historical events shaped the city of Atlanta more than World War II. A hub for the Civil Rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s, Atlanta is now home to over four million people and serves as national headquarters for a dozen Fortune 500 companies. It would never have developed to such prominence, however, without the Allied victory in the global conflict. From the social reforms of the New Deal to the economic impact of war industries, to the early gains of the Civil Rights movement, World War II in Atlanta illustrates the transformation of the city from a regional Southern town into a major industrial metropolis. Through images selected from the collections of the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center, this volume examines the war's role in creating today's vibrant, sprawling megalopolis with its diverse population. View photographs of wartime president Franklin D. Roosevelt during his visits to Atlanta and other Georgia cities. Pictures from the homefront include war bond advertisements, Bob Hope at a USO show, and victory garden promotions. The two warships named Atlanta as well as the Liberty ships named for famous Atlantans illustrate the symbolic connections between the city and the war. In addition, portraits and personal stories of some of Atlanta's sons and daughters who served in the war highlight the human side of the conflict.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Sep 18, 2012
• ISBN: 9781439629451

Paul Crater

Paul Crater is senior archivist at the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center. He is a graduate of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and of Georgia State University, where he received a master�s degree in history. He is also the author of Arcadia Publishing�s World War II in Atlanta.

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economy.

One

THE DEPRESSION AND THE NEW DEAL

During the 1920s, Atlanta was a city on the move, a thriving center of commerce and transportation sustained by phenomenal economic growth that sustained an ever-expanding middle class. But like the rest of the nation, the city was hit hard by the stock market crash of 1929. An era of prosperity and optimism gave way to a prolonged economic depression that affected virtually everyone.

Those at the bottom of Atlanta’s economic ladder suffered the most. Low wages and wretched living conditions persisted as the city absorbed refugees from Georgia’s rural areas, already reeling from a decade-long drop in agricultural prices. Despite its well-earned status as one of the South’s most progressive cities, Atlanta still faced a number of intractable problems. Among them were a crumbling infrastructure and a chronic shortage of hospitals, schools, and charities exacerbated by a separate but equal system that awarded the lion’s share of resources to whites and a pittance to blacks.

Into the breach stepped the federal government and the New Deal with a vast array of economic and social programs. Among the most significant were those offering temporary relief to the unemployed through public works projects largely administered through the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Thousands of men and women in Atlanta and throughout the state of Georgia were put to work building roads, bridges, sewer systems, buildings, and playgrounds. The New Deal went beyond providing jobs during the Great Depression. It was intended as a massive economic reformation that would bring higher living standards to all Americans, including those of African descent, a radical notion in the Deep South of the 1930s.

While innovative government programs put people back to work and alleviated some of the human suffering, they failed to end the Depression. Dismal economic conditions persisted throughout the decade, and many whites who administered federal programs in the South discriminated against African Americans. But the New Deal did offer hope, especially for blacks and poor whites. Federal programs challenged racial concepts in Atlanta and throughout the South by providing equal wage scales for blacks, and many white factory workers and farmers finally felt they had a powerful ally. Moreover, the public works programs left behind an improved infrastructure that better prepared the city for growth during and after World War II.

A billboard on Peachtree Street encourages economic activity. Atlanta, like the nation, experienced declining business activity and a stagnated economy. Everyone—from the rich to the poor—felt the impact of declines in construction and retail sales.

Migrant families dotted the landscape throughout the country, particularly around cities near major rail lines like Atlanta. Photographer Marion Post Wolcott of the Farm Security Administration (FSA) discovered this mother and her six children camped near Atlanta. Images like these from Wolcott and other FSA photographers captured the public’s attention and helped increase support for New Deal policies.

Gay Shepperson (center, white collar) is flanked by employees of the Georgia Civil Works Administration. When President Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office in 1933, the government initiated temporary relief programs under the Federal Emergency Relief Administration to alleviate the effects of the Depression. The Georgia Relief Commission, headed by Shepperson, initially administered federal relief funds.

Political battles over New Deal policies in Georgia erupted constantly. Gov. Eugene Talmadge opposed Shepperson’s efforts to administer relief funds, preferring to use federal funds to bolster his political machine. Talmadge lost the governorship in 1936, but regained it in 1940.

Atlanta city officials appealed to citizens to support the National Recovery Administration (NRA), a federal relief agency created to help revive industry and fight unemployment. The NRA established over 500 fair practice codes for industries relating to work hours, pay rates, and price-fixing. Also, employees gained the right to organize and bargain collectively. Businesses that voluntarily complied with the codes were entitled to display the Blue Eagle, the emblem signifying NRA participation.

Striking textile workers from the Newnan Cotton Mills are