Mr. Brown's Georgia History Class: SS8H12 Modern Georgia/ New Changes

The End of the County Unit System and the Reapportionment of GA Districts

The county unit system in Georgia ended in 1962, this was a method of representation used by the Georgia government that granted more voting power to districts of lesser population and more heavily populated areas less voting power. After this ended, GA's districts were rearranged or reapportioned to meet with the new system. Power shifted from rural country areas to urban and city areas. This change gave African Americans a larger political vote in GA elections.

County Unit System: a system of voting in a primary election in Georgia whereby each county is allotted a certain number of unit votes so that the candidate winning the highest popular vote in the county receives all that county's unit votes and the one who receives a majority of the state's unit votes is nominated (Miriam Webster Dictionary)

Georgia's Two Party System

In the 1980's and 1990's, the one-party, Solid Democratic South, was shattered and made into a new two party south. As the Republican Party began gaining control of the General Assembly, it was clearly evident that Georgia's politics were changing. Next, as Sonny Purdue became governor in 2002, it was proven that Georgia had now a two party system, Democratic and Republican.

Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter was born October 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia as James Earl Carter Jr.. Jimmy Carter is an American politician, devoted Christian, and has held numerous offices in the United States government as well as State governments. He was president from 1977-1981, however, many did not particularly favor Carter as president.

Carter was elected into the GA Senate in 1962, and later chosen governor of GA in 1970. Later in 1976, he was elected president of the United States. Then in 1979, peace was brought between Israel and Egypt thanks to the Camp David Accords, probably the highlight of Carter's Presidency. However, the hostage crisis in 1979 was not handled well by Carter. He was not able to negotiate release of the hostages in Iran, but they were finally freed in 1981. Despite his slightly unsuccessful term as president, Carter accomplished huge goals after his presidency. For example, in 1982 he opened the Carter Center which works at monitoring international elections, fighting third world diseases, and seeking international peace. Along with other awards, Carter receives a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his amazing charitable works. In all, Carter held numerous positions in this nation's government, however he accomplished huge goals outside of government, such as volunteering in charitable organizations, establishing charitable centers, and striving for peace.

1996 Summer Olympics

The 1996 Summer Olympics were held in Atlanta, GA, greatly benefiting the city's economy by creating jobs, generating publicity, and such. This enormous event brought over 5 billion dollars into the state of Georgia! Not only that, but numerous individuals were able to get jobs and earn their own profit working in the stadium or airport. The Olympics also brought international recognition to Georgia, specifically Atlanta as a large productive city, encouraging trade and business. In addition, this greatly impacted the airport with all the flights from all around the world. This also gave entrepreneurs a stupendous opportunity to advertise and sell their products. In all, the 1996 Summer Olympics vastly contributed to Atlanta's and Georgia's economy, as well as giving international publicity to Atlanta.

Although this was an exciting time for Atlanta, disaster struck as a terrorist attack took place on July 27 during the Games. It claimed 111 lives and killed 1, while another died of a heart attack, saddening the hearts of America and all who attended the Games, as well as the whole international population watching. This was the first of four bombings by Eric Robert Rudolph, who was later arrested and tried in 2003. In the midst of this sad story however, is a heroic action by Richard Jewel. Jewel, a security guard present at the bombing, found the bomb before detonation and saved many lives. Next, Jewel was considered a suspect of this crime despite his heroic actions but was later cleared of all charges. In all, the bombing of Atlanta was indeed a disaster but thanks to the heroic action from a citizen, many lives were spared.