Moving Through Georgia

We've done something like this before- this week it's as many place names as I can explain in ten minutes.    Find the Moving through Georgia book on Amazon!

A quick story about the first few mayors of Atlanta.  The Free and Rowdy Party gets the city started, then the Moral Party moves in.

Georgia Harsh had money, friends, and a taste for liquor.  He and some fellow wealthy college students pulled off seven armed robberies for the fun of it- leaving two dead in their wake.  Harsh would be arrested, and then the second act of his life would start.  His life would actually go through a few acts.  This week, the fascinating life of a criminal from the turn of the century through World...

I spent some time playing with 'Chat GPT', an online artificial intelligence.  I asked it some questions, and it gave vague, fairly simply worded answers.  Chat GPT is causing a lot of controversy in schools, and making a lot of people's work easier.  This week we let a computer tell us about Northeast Georgia, the Civil War in Athens, and why this is a good podcast!

The South had a plan to press England and France into recognizing their nation; those countries needed cotton, and they had it.  Although the basic idea that Europe's first steps into industrialization would depend on Southern cotton, a few factors ruined the plan.  It might sound a little like a high school history lecture, but the Trent affair and Cotton Diplomacy were key to the South's path to...

Jane Anderson went from a troubled upbringing in Atlanta to live in Demorest and attend Piedmont College for a time.  She lived an exciting life as a war correspondent in Europe, wrote some short stories, and was romanced by authors, composers and aristocrats.  She also broadcast propaganda for the Nazis at the start of World War Two.     Digitize Habersham- PDF's of newspaper pages from and about...

In honor of Abraham Lincoln's birthday, a short story from his early career.  Lincoln is challenged to a duel which he accepts- and they do it with swords.

Once a year a tent would go up and the town would have a week of lectures, classes, concerts and events.  This was the Chautauqua, and it was a major event in the life of a rural community.  This week I describe a Chautauqua in Demorest thanks to a newspaper article I found through Digitize Habersham.  This is a local project that digitizes newspapers and other publications- it's searchable and a...

Joseph Standing and another Mormon missionary were abducted from Northeast Georgia, and Standing was shot.  This week the murder of a religious missionary in the mountains near Rome, Georgia.

When I first started looking into Crawford Long I thought it would be too boring for a podcast episode- I was wrong.   Think you wasted your time partying in college?  This week a doctor from Georgia performs surgery on a sleeping patient using what was previously a recreational drug.   The Moving through Georgia book is out- find it at Amazon here

This is an episode I did for a podcast called 'Civil War Sketches', that I don't do anymore.  It's the tale of Jefferson Davis' odyssey from Richmond to Georgia, ending with his arrest and the end of the Confederacy.

Eugene Talmadge dies before taking the oath of office, and three men step in with a claim to the chair.  Do you think politics are overly contentious, too partisan, and out of control right now? Have a look how elections were contested in the forties.   Find the Moving Through Georgia book at Amazon

This week we discuss the origins of Wilkes and Elbert County, the Battle of Kettle Creek, and who the city of Clarkesville was named for; but the podcast isn't about them.  It's about Old Dan Tucker.   Find the Moving Through Georgia book on Amazon

This week one of Georgia's more controversial governors, Eugene Talmadge.  He believed in the Bible, a thrifty government, and segregation.  We'll also digress into the County Unit system of voting and set up for next week- the year that Georgia had three governors.   Find the Moving through Georgia book at Amazon

From James Mooney's 1902 book 'Myths of the Cherokee'.  What stars really look like, and why the possum's tail is bare.

As we prepare for the championship game, here's a few stories from the first two centuries or so of the University of Georgia.  

In this extra episode we discuss the shape note singing tradition.  Get ready to sing along!  Square...triangle...circle...   Find the Moving through Georgia book at Amazon

One of the major points of contention between the North and South during the 1800's was over nullification.  Two particular states chose to ignore, or nullify, a federal law.  Was this an expression of states' rights, or an unlawful act?  This week we discuss one of the major events in the runup to the Civil War.   Find the Moving through Georgia book at Amazon

A tour of the large cemetery in Gainesville and some of it's notable residents.   More episodes are coming- if you are subscribed please stay subscribed.

Georgia has struggled with alcohol since it's inception.  From James Oglethorpe to Wayne B. Wheeler, we discuss early attempts to prohibit strong drink.

After the Civil War the Spiritualist movement swept the country.  People were using ouija boards, automatic writing, and seances to contact the dead.  Add to that a relatively new technology- photography.  This week, taking pictures of the dead.   Looking for something fun and local during Spooky Season? Come to a History, Mystery, Murder and Mayhem tour of downtown Clarkesville! We'll take a shor...

As we approach Halloween, a short description of burial and mourning practices during the Civil War.   Please join us on a Haunted Habersham History, Mystery, Murder and Mayhem walking tour of downtown Clarkesville, from Sept 18 until Halloween.  $10 per person, meet at the theater downtown.  7:00 on Friday and Saturday, 5:00 on Sunday. https://sites.google.com/view/clarkesvilletour   Also visit m...

An interview with Lynne and Glenn Smith- Authors of the book Wash.  Wash was a Banks County resident who was convicted of murder in 1928.  The book presents his story and an argument that he actually acted in self-defense. The book is available on Amazon, click the link.

The controversial governor of Georgia during the Civil War, Joe Brown was often at odds with Jefferson Davis' government in Richmond.  Who was really fighting the war- was it a unified Confederate States of America army, or a group of individual states' armies?  In this episode Governor Brown explores the limits and difficulties of state's rights.

A visit to a mill in Banks County and a little bit about how mills work.   Ragsdale Mill:  https://millpictures.com/mills.php?millid=693