Northeast Georgia 1964

[old timey villain]

Any idea why the northeastern mountainous part of Georgia went so strongly for Johnson while the rest of the state had that dramatic swing towards Goldwater? Historically this was the most Republican area of the state even during the solid south era but in this election it was the most Democratic.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

Isn't it really more like part of Appalachia than the Deep South? Notice that West Virginia and eastern Kentucky were overpoweringly for LBJ.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Agricultural areas, even in much of the South, swung hard towards Johnson in 1964 due to Goldwater's opposition to farm subsidies. It's why Johnson swept the Plains, the Interior West, and held the South except for those regions most staunchly opposed to civil rights.

[old timey villain]

Agricultural areas, even in much of the South, swung hard towards Johnson in 1964 due to Goldwater's opposition to farm subsidies. It's why Johnson swept the Plains, the Interior West, and held the South except for those regions most staunchly opposed to civil rights.

Not sure if that's the best explanation. South Georgia is the most agrarian part of the state and it swung hard to Goldwater, probably over civil rights.

Historically, North Georgia was the only area in the state that didn't have large scale agriculture, because of the mountainous terrain. I always figured that North Georgia stayed loyal to Johnson that year because people there really didn't have much to fear from the civil rights bill. The area is Appalachian and didn't have very many black people, so integration was really a non issue. They might have been against it, but what is there to integrate when your community is over 95% white? The area was also very poor, so I'm guessing they liked Johnson's war on poverty much more than they disliked his stance on civil rights.

That was my explanation but I was looking for other people's opinions.

[Indy Texas 🇺🇦🇵🇸]

Agricultural areas, even in much of the South, swung hard towards Johnson in 1964 due to Goldwater's opposition to farm subsidies. It's why Johnson swept the Plains, the Interior West, and held the South except for those regions most staunchly opposed to civil rights.

Not sure if that's the best explanation. South Georgia is the most agrarian part of the state and it swung hard to Goldwater, probably over civil rights.

Historically, North Georgia was the only area in the state that didn't have large scale agriculture, because of the mountainous terrain. I always figured that North Georgia stayed loyal to Johnson that year because people there really didn't have much to fear from the civil rights bill. The area is Appalachian and didn't have very many black people, so integration was really a non issue. They might have been against it, but what is there to integrate when your community is over 95% white? The area was also very poor, so I'm guessing they liked Johnson's war on poverty much more than they disliked his stance on civil rights.

That was my explanation but I was looking for other people's opinions.

The area in dark green is that which is served by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which created a lot of jobs in the area and which Goldwater campaigned on privatizing. North Georgia is part of the TVA service zone. But that's just one example - it's part of the general Appalachian region that was benefiting from subsidies to run electricity and water to all those little shacks up in the hills and later from Medicaid and Medicare.

[Adam Griffin]

Agricultural areas, even in much of the South, swung hard towards Johnson in 1964 due to Goldwater's opposition to farm subsidies. It's why Johnson swept the Plains, the Interior West, and held the South except for those regions most staunchly opposed to civil rights.

Not sure if that's the best explanation. South Georgia is the most agrarian part of the state and it swung hard to Goldwater, probably over civil rights.

Historically, North Georgia was the only area in the state that didn't have large scale agriculture, because of the mountainous terrain. I always figured that North Georgia stayed loyal to Johnson that year because people there really didn't have much to fear from the civil rights bill. The area is Appalachian and didn't have very many black people, so integration was really a non issue. They might have been against it, but what is there to integrate when your community is over 95% white? The area was also very poor, so I'm guessing they liked Johnson's war on poverty much more than they disliked his stance on civil rights.

That was my explanation but I was looking for other people's opinions.

The area in dark green is that which is served by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which created a lot of jobs in the area and which Goldwater campaigned on privatizing. North Georgia is part of the TVA service zone. But that's just one example - it's part of the general Appalachian region that was benefiting from subsidies to run electricity and water to all those little shacks up in the hills and later from Medicaid and Medicare.

I'm not sure this is the reason either - most of the NE GA counties (except Rabun, Towns, Union and Lumpkin) fall outside of that area.

[minionofmidas]

The TVA extends into East Central Mississippi? Why!?

[Adam Griffin]

Gave this a bit more thought - is it possible that I-75/85 construction played a role in these counties' results? I know that I-75 construction in far NW GA was ongoing between 1960-1965 and lines up pretty well with the north-south line of counties in that part of the state, but I can't find the exact dates as to when the same happened for I-85 in NE GA. I also am not sure what other corridors may or may not have been under construction throughout the rest of the state during this time. 

[Bacon King]

The TVA extends into East Central Mississippi? Why!?

The TVA Act was sponsored in the House by John Rankin and he represented much of that area in Congress; I imagine that has a lot to do with it.

[minionofmidas]

The TVA extends into East Central Mississippi? Why!?

The TVA Act was sponsored in the House by John Rankin and he represented much of that area in Congress; I imagine that has a lot to do with it.