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Oral History Interview with Herman Talmadge, December 18, 1975. Interview A-0331-3. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007).
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  • Abstract
    This is the third interview in a three-part series with Senator Herman Talmadge of Georgia. In this interview, Talmadge offers his reaction to issues in America during the 1970s. He offers his thoughts on the then recent disclosures regarding J. Edgar Hoover's abuse of power and those of the CIA and the FBI. Other topics include President Gerald Ford's pardoning of Richard Nixon, lessons to be learned from the failures of the Vietnam War, and the issue of race in American politics. The remainder of the interview is devoted to looking back on his and his father's political legacies in Georgia. In particular, he discusses why he considered leaving the Senate to run for governor in 1966, the building of a political coalition from former political rivals and Georgia businessmen, his publication on segregation, You and Segregation, and the lack of personal and professional papers for both him and his father. He concludes the interview with some brief remarks regarding the importance of objectivity in historical analysis.
    Excerpts
  • Reaction to abuses of power by J. Edgar Hoover, the CIA, and the FBI
  • Addressing the place of race in national politics in the mid-1970s
  • Near-decision to leave the Senate and return to the governorship in Georgia
  • Assessing the Talmadge political legacy
  • Thoughts on objectivity and retrospective view of segregation
  • Learn More
  • Finding aid to the Southern Oral History Program Collection
  • Database of all Southern Oral History Program Collection interviews
  • Subjects
  • Georgia--Politics and government
  • Georgia--Race relations
  • Hoover, J. Edgar (John Edgar), 1895-1972.
  • The Southern Oral History Program transcripts presented here on Documenting the American South undergo an editorial process to remove transcription errors. Texts may differ from the original transcripts held by the Southern Historical Collection.

    Funding from the Institute for Museum and Library Services supported the electronic publication of this title.