Harold P. Henderson, Sr. Oral History Collection, Series II: S. Ernest Vandiver, Jr., 1986, 1993-1994
32 interviews

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S. Ernest Vandiver, Jr.

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Access Restrictions:

User Restrictions: Library acts as “fair use” reproduction agent.

Processing Notes: Not available at this time.

Copyright Information: Before material from collections at the Richard B. Russell Library may be quoted in print, or otherwise reproduced, in whole or in part, in any publication, permission must be obtained from (1) the owner of the physical property, and (2) the holder of the copyright. It is the particular responsibility of the researcher to obtain both sets of permission. Persons wishing to quote from materials in the Russell Library collection should consult the Director. Reproduction of any item must contain a complete citation to the original.

Preferred Citation: Harold P. Henderson, Sr. Oral History Collection, Series II: S. Ernest Vandiver, Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, The University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Georgia.

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SCOPE AND CONTENT:

The collection consists of 32 oral history interviews relating to the political and personal life of S. Ernest Vandiver, Jr. The majority of interviews were conducted by Harold (Hal) Paulk Henderson, Sr. during research in 1993 and 1994 for his monograph, Ernest Vandiver, Governor of Georgia (2000). Thirty interviewees, who include Ernest Vandiver, his family, friends, and political colleagues, provide their perspectives on topics including: the gubernatorial administrations of Vandiver (1959-1963) and S. Marvin Griffin (1955-1959); public school integration during Vandiver's administration, including discussion of his famous “No, not one” speech, the Sibley Commission, and the desegregation of the University of Georgia in 1961; the Rural Roads Authority and the Honesty in Government Act; the county unit system; life and career before and after his governorship, including Vandiver's political career as adjutant general under Governor Herman Talmadge (1948-1955) and lieutenant governor under Governor Marvin Griffin (1955-1959), as well as his brief service as adjutant general under Governor Jimmy Carter (1971). Particularly interesting is discussion about the political and familial intersection of the Russell and Vandiver families through the marriage of Ernest Vandiver and Betty (Sybil Elizabeth) Russell in 1947. This series also includes one interview conducted in 1986 by Mel Steeley and Ted Fitzsimmons of West Georgia College.

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RELATED COLLECTIONS IN THIS REPOSITORY:

S. Ernest Vandiver, Jr. Papers
Carl E. Sanders Papers
Richard B. Russell, Jr. Collection
Herman E. Talmadge Collection
Ed Friend Visual Materials
Roy V. Harris Papers
Robert G. Stephens Papers
Documentary Oral History Series
- Griffin Bell
- Carl Sanders

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RELATED COLLECTIONS IN OTHER REPOSITORIES:

Georgia Government Documentation Project, Series A: Georgia Governor's Oral History Collection, Special Collections Department, Georgia State University
S. Marvin Griffin Papers, Bainbridge College Library
Sam Nunn Papers, Emory University
Peter Zack Greer Papers, Georgia Southern University
Griffin Bell Papers, School of Law, Mercer University
Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers, Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center, Morehouse College
Governor of Georgia, Jimmy Carter Papers, Georgia Archives

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INTERVIEW DESCRIPTIONS:

VANDIVER, SAMUEL ERNEST interviewed by Mel Steeley and Ted Fitzsimmons of West Georgia College. June 25, 1986. Topics: His rural upbringing/family history; childhood, religious background/education; origins of political interest; being mayor of Lavonia (elected 1945); Herman and Gene Talmadge; military career; time at UGA; segregation; being aide to Herman Talmadge. OH VAN01A

VANDIVER, SAMUEL ERNEST interviewed by Mel Steeley and Ted Fitzsimmons of West Georgia College. June 25, 1986. Topics: Herman Talmadge as governor controversy; being aide to Herman Talmadge; salary and perks of being governor; how he ran/managed Talmadge's 1948 campaign for governor; integration; being governor and selecting administration/department heads; “no, not one” theme; integration of UGA. OH VAN01B

VANDIVER, SAMUEL ERNEST interviewed by Mel Steeley and Ted Fitzsimmons of West Georgia College. June 25, 1986. Topics: Sibley Commission; governor's power in 1960s; involvement with the completion of the archives building; President John F. Kennedy; Jimmy Carter as governor of Georgia; heart attack; disappointment in not being appointed to replace Senator Russell after his passing; wife's support; Senator Russell's presidential bid in 1952. OH VAN01C

VANDIVER, SAMUEL ERNEST interviewed by Mel Steeley and Ted Fitzsimmons of West Georgia College. June 25, 1986. Topics: Senator Russell's impact; his life post-governor; religion; unfulfilled political aspirations; evaluation of Georgia's governors since he left office. OH VAN01D

TALMADGE, HERMAN E. interviewed by Hal Henderson. August 26, 1993. Topics: Beginnings of friendship with Samuel Ernest Vandiver; Vandiver's involvement in Talmadge's faction in Georgia's politics; Sibley Committee; Vandiver as governor and his political philosophy; controversy of why Vandiver wasn't appointed to replace Senator Russell after his death; Vandiver's failed 1972 run for the U.S. Senate. OH VAN02

SANDERS, CARL interviewed by Hal Henderson. September 3, 1993. Topics: Failures and accomplishments of Vandiver's administrations; the “no, not one” speech; Vandiver's persuasiveness as governor; integration; Sibley Commission; Rural Roads Authority issue; battle of budget. OH VAN03

VANDIVER, SAMUEL ERNEST interviewed by Hal Henderson. September 14, 1993. Topics: Influence his parents had on him; ancestry; upbringing; military service; wife; involvement in campaigns of 1936 and 1938. OH VAN04A

VANDIVER, SAMUEL ERNEST interviewed by Hal Henderson. September 14, 1993. Topics: Involvement in gubernatorial and Senate races; Herman Talmadge's Senate run in 1980; role as aide to Herman Talmadge during 1948 (for 67 days); Roy Harris; being adjutant general; running for lieutenant governor in 1954. OH VAN04B

VANDIVER, SAMUEL ERNEST interviewed by Hal Henderson. September 14, 1993. Topics: involvement in Georgia's legislature in the 1950s; Governor Samuel Marvin Griffin; Rural Road Issue; run for governor of Georgia in 1957; opponent William Bodenhamer; “no, not one” statement; integration statement; Herman Talmadge and the black vote; reasons for his victory; reasons for wanting to be governor. OH VAN04C

VANDIVER, SAMUEL ERNEST interviewed by Hal Henderson. September 14, 1993. Topics: Segregation issue; Carl Sanders pseudo-run for Senate against Russell; Roy Harris (bad appointments); supporting Kennedy/Johnson ticket; Martin Luther King, Jr. in jail and Vandiver's involvement in getting him released; heart attack in 1960; being governor during the desegregation of schools; Sibley Commission. OH VAN04D

VANDIVER, SAMUEL ERNEST interviewed by Hal Henderson. September 15, 1993. Topics: His appointees; the county unit system; proposed run for governor in 1966; Bo Callaway and Lester Maddox's 1966 fight for governor; mental health program reform (Milledgeville); industrial recruitment; county unit system versus popular vote basis; accomplishments and failures as governor; education under Vandiver. OH VAN04E

VANDIVER, SAMUEL ERNEST interviewed by Hal Henderson. September 15, 1993. Topics: Enjoyment and negative aspects of being governor; work schedule as governor; relationship with press; post-governor Vandiver; Committee of One Hundred (rapid transit in Atlanta); business interests since being governor; Russell Senate seat disappointment; adjutant general 1970; run for Gambrell's Senate seat in 1972; Sam Nunn; Jimmy Carter as governor. OH VAN04F

VANDIVER, SAMUEL ERNEST interviewed by Hal Henderson. September 15, 1993. Topics: Leisure activities as governor; his children and their families; wife's role in political career; his place in Georgia's history; ancestry; his mom and dad meeting and childhood. OH VAN04G

VANDIVER, SAMUEL ERNEST interviewed by Hal Henderson. September 15, 1993. Topics: His high school activities; friends from high school, college, and law school; members of his administration when governor. OH VAN04H

GEER, PETER ZACK interviewed by Hal Henderson. November 3, 1993. Topics: Relationship with Vandiver before being executive secretary; 1954 run of Vandiver for lieutenant governor; Governor Talmadge's role in Vandiver's run in 1954; opinion of Vandiver as lieutenant governor; Vandiver's relationship with Governor Samuel Marvin Griffin and deterioration of that relationship; Vandiver and rural roads issue; Vandiver's run for governor in 1958; “no, not one” statement; county unit system; T.V. and Vandiver; Vandiver's stewardship as governor; desegregation of UGA; Sibley Commission; Martin Luther King, Jr.'s jail release (John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy); Vandiver's 1966 aborted governor campaign; Vandiver's failed 1972 run for Senate. OH VAN05A

GEER, PETER ZACK interviewed by Hal Henderson. November 3, 1993. Topics: Vandiver as politician and his place in Georgia's history. OH VAN05B

GRIFFIN, ROBERT A. “CHENEY” interviewed by Hal Henderson. October 8, 1993. Topics: Role as aide to brother Governor Samuel Griffin; Vandiver's and Governor Griffin's relationship before he was governor (1955-1959); rural roads issue; Vandiver's criticism of Griffin's tenure as governor; his brother's 1962 run for governor; Vandiver as governor. OH VAN06

BELL, GRIFFIN interviewed by Hal Henderson. December 8, 1993. Topics: His relationship with Vandiver before he became governor; “no, not one” speech; role as chief of staff in Governor Vandiver's administration; Vandiver's role in presidential campaign (John F. Kennedy); Sibley Commission; county unit system; Vandiver as governor. OH VAN07

LEVERETT, FREEMAN interviewed by Hal Henderson. December 3, 1993. Topics: Position in Vandiver's administration and his relationship with Vandiver; opinion of “no, not one” speech; Honesty in Government Act; Sibley Commission; county unit system; Vandiver's accomplishments and failures as governor. OH VAN08

NEAL, HENRY interviewed by Hal Henderson. November 26, 1993. Topics: Relationship with Vandiver before he became governor; “no, not one” statement; role in Vandiver's administration; Sibley Commission; desegregation of UGA in 1961; Vandiver as governor; Vandiver's run in 1966 for governor and 1972 run for U.S. Senate. OH VAN09

NEAL, HENRY (follow-up) interviewed by Hal Henderson. January 7, 1994. Topics: Lobbying style of Vandiver; Vandiver's relationship with members of his administration. OH VAN10

BYRD, GARLAND interviewed by Hal Henderson. December 6, 1993. Topics: Opinion of Vandiver's overwhelming victory in governor's race in 1958; interest groups Vandiver had to deal with; Honesty in Government Bill; 1960 presidential election (Kennedy); Sibley Commission; Vandiver's speech of intending to keep schools open; Vandiver's accomplishments and failures as governor. OH VAN11

RANKIN, HOMER interviewed by Hal Henderson. January 13, 1994. Topics: William Bodenhamer; Roy Harris; committee hearings; Sibley Committee; accomplishments of Vandiver's tenure as governor. OH VAN12

VANDIVER, BETTY interviewed by Hal Henderson. January 22, 1994. Topics: Her parents and siblings; being a Russell; education; meeting Ernest Vandiver; 1954 campaign for lieutenant governor by her husband. OH VAN13A

VANDIVER, BETTY interviewed by Hal Henderson. January 22, 1994. Topics: “No, not one” speech; Russell support for Vandiver; Robert Russell and Ernest Vandiver; Marvin Griffin and Ernest Vandiver; role in 1958 campaign. OH VAN13B

VANDIVER, BETTY interviewed by Hal Henderson. January 22, 1994. Topics: Milledgeville State Hospital; desegregation and Ernest Vandiver; people in Vandiver's administration; husband's health; 1966 governor run and 1972 Senate run. OH VAN13C

KIDD, JANE VANDIVER interviewed by Hal Henderson. February 27, 1994. Topics: Parents; living in governor's mansion; Ernest Vandiver as parent. OH VAN14

VANDIVER, ELIZABETH interviewed by Hal Henderson. February 27, 1994. Topics: Her parents; interest in father's campaign. OH VAN15

VANDIVER, CHIP interviewed by Hal Henderson. February 27, 1994. Topics: Parents/father's influence; working on father's campaigns; 1972 problems (Senate race); growing up in governor's mansion. OH VAN16A

VANDIVER, CHIP interviewed by Hal Henderson. February 27, 1994. Topics: Being part of Russell family. OH VAN16B

DUNLAP, JAMES interviewed by Hal Henderson. March 18, 1994. Topics: UGA life with Vandiver; role in Vandiver's 1954 run for Lieutenant Governor; “no, not one” speech; Griffin and Vandiver and the rural road issue; role in 1958 campaign; Sibley Commission; role in 1966 and 1972 campaigns of Vandiver. OH VAN17

BOWDOIN, WILLIAM interviewed by Hal Henderson. March 22, 1994. Topics: Relationship between Griffin and Vandiver; “no, not one” statement; role in Vandiver's administration; reforms in bidding process; Mrs. Betty Vandiver's influence on her husband. OH VAN18

EMBRY, DOUGLAS interviewed by Hal Henderson. March 16, 1994. Topics: Relationship with Vandiver when he was adjutant general; Vandiver's accomplishments as adjutant general. OH VAN19

BONNER, WILLIAM interviewed by Hal Henderson. March 19, 1994. Topics: Growing up in Lavonia with Vandiver; Vandiver as a student; Vandiver's upbringing and childhood. OH VAN20

OWEN, JAMES interviewed by Hal Henderson. March 16, 1994. Topics: UGA with Vandiver; Vandiver's run for lieutenant governor in 1954; Vandiver's run for governor in 1958; Marvin Griffin; Sibley Committee. OH VAN21A

OWEN, JAMES interviewed by Hal Henderson. March 16, 1994. Topics: Vandiver's accomplishments; desegregation of University of Georgia; Vandiver's style and personality. OH VAN21B

SMITH, GEORGE interviewed by Hal Henderson. March 23, 1994. Topics: Marvin Griffin's administration; beginnings of friendship with Vandiver; Vandiver and the legislature; Honesty in Government Act; Sibley Commission; Vandiver's handling of the desegregation of UGA; Vandiver's accomplishments and failures as governor of Georgia; Vandiver as steward, governor, and politician. OH VAN22

BUSBEE, GEORGE interviewed by Hal Henderson. March 17, 1994. Topics: His impression of Marvin Griffin's administration; relationship of Griffin and Vandiver; Sibley Commission. OH VAN23

STAFFORD, DENEAN interviewed by Hal Henderson. June 15, 1994. Topics: Meeting Vandiver at UGA; political help in Tifton County for Vandiver in his 1954 lieutenant governor campaign; Vandiver as lieutenant governor; Marvin Griffin; corruption in Griffin's administration; desegregation of UGA; Vandiver as governor. OH VAN24

NORMAN, ROBERT C. interviewed by Hal Henderson. June 09, 1994. Topics: First meeting Vandiver; UGA and law school with Vandiver; actively supporting Vandiver in 1954; Griffin/Vandiver relationship; Sibley Commission/John Sibley; accomplishments of Vandiver as governor; Carl Sanders; Roy Harris. OH VAN25

LANIER, WILLIAM L. interviewed by Hal Henderson. July 21, 1994. Topics: Meeting Vandiver in 1948; other candidates who ran against Vandiver in 1954 lieutenant governor race; Griffin administration's integrity; 1958 governor's race; “no, not one” statement; Honesty in Government Act; various members of Vandiver's administration; Sibley Committee; desegregation. OH VAN26A

LANIER, WILLIAM L. interviewed by Hal Henderson. July 21, 1994. Topics: Failures of Vandiver's administration; Vandiver as governor; Vandiver as speaker, steward, and politician. OH VAN26B

JONES, DAVID C. interviewed by Hal Henderson. July 22, 1994. Topics: First acquaintances with Vandiver; John Greer; people in Griffin's administration; Griffin and Vandiver relationship; rural road issue; “no, not one”; people in Vandiver's administration; Sibley Commission; desegregation of UGA; failures and accomplishments of Vandiver as governor; Vandiver's 1972 run for the Senate. OH VAN27

HALL, ROBERT H. interviewed by Hal Henderson. July 28, 1994. Topics: Introduction to Vandiver; relationship of Marvin Griffin and Vandiver; “no, not one”; various people in Vandiver's administration; corruption on Griffin administration; Sibley Committee; damage to Vandiver because of “no, not one” statement; accomplishments of Vandiver as governor. OH VAN28

ELLARD, GLENN W. interviewed by Hal Henderson. Topics: Experience in state legislature; impression of various people in Griffin administration; Griffin and Vandiver's fight over the budget; members of Vandiver's administration; Sibley Commission; Vandiver's accomplishments. OH VAN29

BALLARD, WILLAM D. interviewed by Hal Henderson. July 28, 1994. Topics: Meeting Vandiver; Griffin administration; “no, not one”; Vandiver's administration and legislature; Sibley/desegregation of UGA; county unit system. OH VAN30A

BALLARD, WILLAM D. interviewed by Hal Henderson. July 28, 1994. Topics: county unit system; accomplishments of Vandiver's administration; Vandiver as politician and speaker; personality of Vandiver; 1966 Vandiver pullout; 1972 Senate run. OH VAN30B

STEPHENS, ROBERT G. interviewed by Hal Henderson. July 29, 1994. Topics: Law school with Vandiver; Vandiver's political rise; members of Griffin's administration; Vandiver as politician; Vandiver's political philosophy; Vandiver's failure in his 1972 Senate bid. OH VAN31

AIKEN, LOUISE KING interviewed by Hal Henderson. September 15, 1994. Topics: Teaching Vandiver in 4th grade at Lavonia Grammar School. OH VAN32

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ACCESS POINTS

Vandiver, S. Ernest (Samuel Ernest), 1918- --Interviews.
Georgia. Governor (1959-1963 : Vandiver )
Georgia. Governor (1955-1959 : Girffin)
Georgia --Politics and government --1951-
Oral histories.

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