General William Tecumseh Sherman gained the upper hand in the Battle of Atlanta on July 22, 1864. Estimated casualties were 12,140 (3,641 Union, 8,499 Confederate).
On July 22, 1964, a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia released their opinion in the case Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States. The court held that the Commerce Clause gave the federal government the ability to order private businesses to comply with the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
From the New Georgia Encyclopedia:
Notwithstanding such states’ rights–based challenges, the Court in the Heart of Atlanta Motel and McClung cases unanimously held that the sweeping antidiscrimination provisions of the 1964 Civil Rights Act were a proper exercise of Congress’s power to regulate interstate commerce under Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution. In effect, the Court reasoned that race discrimination by even very localized businesses, when viewed in the aggregate, had such far-reaching negative effects on the interstate movement of people and products that Congress could remove these impediments to commerce whether or not its true motives centered on a moral condemnation of racism.
Ensuing enforcement of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 led to the dismantling of many of the most overt forms of racial discrimination, which in turn contributed to the emergence of the “New South” and the explosion of economic activity that spread throughout the region in ensuing decades.
The Heart of Atlanta Motel case would later be heard by the United States Supreme Court.
On July 22, 1975, the United States House of Representatives voted to restore U.S. Citizenship to General Robert E. Lee posthumously.
Though President Andrew Johnson issued a proclamation of amnesty and pardon to the Southern rebels in 1865, it required Lee to apply separately. On Oct. 2, 1865, the same day that Lee was inaugurated as president of Washington College in Lexington, Va., he signed the required amnesty oath and filed an application through Gen. Ulysses S. Grant.
Nonetheless, neither was Lee pardoned, nor was his citizenship restored. After receiving it, Secretary of State William Seward gave Lee’s application to a friend as a souvenir. Meanwhile, State Department officials, apparently with Seward’s approval, pigeonholed the oath.
In 1970, an archivist, examining State Department records at the National Archives, found Lee’s lost oath. That discovery helped set in motion a five-year congressional effort to restore citizenship to the general, who had died stateless in 1870.
President Gerald Ford signed the congressional resolution on July 24, 1975, correcting what he said was a 110-year oversight. The signing ceremony took place at Arlington House in Virginia, the former Lee family home. Several Lee descendants, including Robert E. Lee V, his great-great-grandson, attended.
On July 22, 1977, Elvis Costello released his first album, My Aim is True.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
Stacey Abrams and other Democratic leaders are rallying behind Vice President Kamala Harris, who is now the party’s candidate for President, according to the Savannah Morning News.
Stacey Abrams, the former gubernatorial candidate whose nonprofit organization Fair Fight mobilized more than 800,000 new voters ahead of the 2020 election, was one of the first figures to publicly react to Biden’s announcement that he was stepping down from the race. Though she declined to name a specific candidate, Abrams urged Democratic voters to rally behind Biden’s replacement — whoever that replacement may be.
“Now, more than ever, we must not only unite to ensure that Donald Trump does not return to the White House — we must champion a vibrant vision for our next American chapter,” Abrams said in a statement on X. “It is our responsibility to lift every voice and pick up the mantle and fight for justice, equality and democracy.”
Lauren Groh-Wargo, the CEO of Fair Fight, also issued a statement responding to Biden/s announcement.
This a high-stakes, unprecedented (and) chaotic time,” she said in a statement. “While our Party works things out with President Biden’s decision not to run, what’s certain is we’re fighting a massive threat to our democracy, each of our futures, and to our freedoms.”
Gloria Butler, the Georgia Senate minority leader who announced her retirement earlier this year, issued a statement on behalf of the Georgia Senate Democrats declaring their support for Harris’ candidacy.
“Following Joe’s example, we too will persevere,” she said. “We will elect Kamala Harris this November.”
From another story in the Savannah Morning News:
As recently as Thursday, top Savannah-area Democrats took to Johnson Square to stump for the Biden-Harris 2024 ticket. By Sunday afternoon, Savannah Mayor Van Johnson, State Representative Anne Allen Westbrook, and Chatham County District 6 Commissioner Aaron “Adot” Whitely were reacting to the news that President Joseph Biden would step away from his campaign for a second term in the White House and had endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the top of the ticket.
On Saturday, Johnson was re-elected as one of seven delegates to represent Georgia at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Aug. 19-22. Although some in attendance were discussing the “what-ifs,” said Johnson, “But I will tell you that the energy there was electric, and they were energized.”
Johnson called Biden a “transformational leader,” and expressed compassion for the “gut-wrenching” decision to step away at the urging of congressional leadership and party operatives. “You know, I’m a little disappointed in how all of this has turned out. On the other hand, he has nothing to be ashamed of. I mean, he has literally changed the game, insofar as presidential politics is concerned.”
Like Biden, Johnson is fully supportive of Harris. “I’m planning to stick with what works… so I think that Vice President Harris is the natural successor. You pick your vice president with the knowledge that he or she can step in and serve as president. I think in this case, I’m sure she’ll be prepared and she’d be ready to step up. The President has every confidence in her. I do. too.”
He is acutely aware of the weight Georgia, as a swing state, carries in this election. “All roads to the White House go through Georgia ― and Savannah.”
Westbrook (GA-163) was working around her Ardsley Park home when her phone started “blowing up” and she learned that Biden announced he was ending his re-election campaign and endorsing Harris. Although it was both a shock and expected at the same time, Westbrook quickly began preparing an official statement (posted below) and took a few moments to talk via phone about the outlook toward Nov. 5.
“I could definitely see a lot of pressure mounting for this,” she said. “I just want to be clear, I very much retained every full confidence in the President… but politics is politics… the media has obviously been relentless. Really. I mean, you could hardly remember that we had an assassination attempt a week ago.”
“Whether it’s fair or not, the pressure was there, and it was mounting.
Although she felt some sadness about Biden’s stepping down, Westbrook believes Harris is “absolutely the right choice” in light of the circumstances and that Georgians are excited about her chances. “She’s been an integral part of his team from the beginning. I think she’s been a fantastic surrogate on abortion, reproductive freedom, in particular, for the administration, and we know that voters are watching that closely. Women are watching that closely. You know, every time that’s on a ballot, we see how much people care about that issue.”
Georgia’s Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones said Democrats “can replace their nominee, but can’t change the damage they’ve done to this border and economy.”
“Republicans have never been more united and the Democrats are a mess. See you in November!” [wrote LG Jones on X.]
Another Democratic state senator, Elena Parent, wrote: “The contrast President Biden and the Democrats have just drawn with former president Trump and the GOP could not be more clear. Here is a man who puts the country ahead of himself. The GOP has a delusional megalomaniac on their hands, who would never do such a thing. #gapol”
Erick Allen, the former chair of the Cobb County Democratic Committee and a former state representative, said on X, “Now this time to move on and rally around @KamalaHarris. I was the first elected official in Georgia to endorse her in 2020 and once again I will work tirelessly to get her elected in November. #gapol”
∏As I have said, If he is not mentally or physically fit to run for reelection why should the American people believe he is fit to continue as President?” former congressional Rep. Doug Collins wrote.
The chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, Josh McKoon, argued Biden “must resign from office immediately. If he is not fit to run, he is not fit to serve,” McKoon wrote.
“I thank President Biden for his leadership and service to our nation, and I pledge my support to Vice President Kamala Harris,” Georgia Congressman Hank Johnson said in a statement.
WTVM News Leader 9 spoke with two Georgia officials, Congressman Sanford Bishop and State Representative Teddy Reese, who say they respect Biden’s decision.
“Biden has done a tremendous job,” said Congressman Bishop. “He has been probably the most productive president since LBJ.”
“He has done a phenomenal job and he will go down as one of the greatest presidents we’ve had” said Rep. Reese.
“I think that he’s making decisions that he believes are in the best interest of the American people, our country, our national security and humankind,” said Bishop.
“It was his decision and I respect his decision…and a lot of American, we’ve got to accept his decision,” Reese said.
Both officials say they support Biden endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris.
“At this point in time, she is fully capable of stepping in and being president of the United States, absolutely. And I think that we have great respect for the job that President Biden has done,” Bishop added.
“So, we are glad to get behind VP Harris, soon-to-be President Harris, with President Biden,” said Reese. “We’ve followed him these four years. He’s done great work and there’s no reason not to listen to him now. What’s hard for me?… I was ready to fight for Joe Biden to the end for this election. And I knew we were gonna be successful because the alternative is very clear…whether we wanted a president who had done so many great things for America or did we want a president who’s been convicted of 34 felonies.”
From Atlanta News First via WTVM:
Biden also ended his reelection bid despite a recent letter from several state Democratic party chairs, including U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, urging him to stay in the race.
After Biden’s announcement, Williams endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.
“We are grateful to President @JoeBiden for everything he has done and will continue to do for our Country. Remember, defeating Donald Trump was always the goal. Sending @KamalaHarris to the Oval Office is how we get there. Eyes on the prize!” [wrote Williams on X.]
Jason Carter, one of former President Jimmy Carter’s grandchildren, also endorsed Harris.
“I have known @KamalaHarris for almost 15 years. She is ready and our nation is ready. We should all be honored to join President Biden in supporting her as our nominee! I’m in and ready to work! LFG!!!” [wrote Carter on X.]
Democratic Georgia state Rep. Phil Olaleye says President Biden’s decision to withdraw came as a complete surprise, but he said Democrats have a strong candidate in Harris.
“I have the utmost confidence in Vice President Kamala Harris,” he said.
U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, the longtime Democratic congressman from metro Atlanta’s fourth district, said, “I have been ride-or-die loyal to President Biden, who has led our nation out of the dark days of the COVID pandemic, the January 6th Insurrection, and the worst economy since the Great Recession.
“Under his leadership, America has reclaimed her position as leader of the free world, our economy is the strongest in the world, and our nation is poised for future growth and prosperity,” Johnson said. “I thank President Biden for his leadership and service to our nation, and I pledge my support to Vice President Kamala Harris. Together, we will defeat Donald Trump and his Project 2025 agenda, and elect Kamala Harris to finish the job that Biden/Harris started.”
Georgia’s two U.S. senators, Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, both endorsed Harris following Biden’s announcement. Warnock is seen as a possible vice presidential pick for Harris.
From Atlanta News First via WALB:
For someone who has only been in elective politics for four years, U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock from Georgia has won a lot of elections.
Maybe that’s why speculation is including Warnock as a possible running mate for Vice President Kamala Harris if she gets the Democratic nomination. Or even if someone else does.
Warnock released a statement on X in support of Harris, saying he was “proud to endorse her candidacy to be the next President of the United States.”
Ossoff said in a statement on X that Harris is “absolutely the right candidate to defeat Donald Trump and unite our country,” and is “prepared, ready to win, & has my full support.”
Several political leaders tell WALB President Biden’s withdrawal from the president’s race may impact the local minority vote and this year’s voter turnout.
“I know President Biden, he meant well, he did well but he understands when you come to a point you just can’t go any further,” Lee County Democratic Chair Trish Batten said.
Here in South Georgia, the primary elections saw a low voter turnout with counties like Dougherty seeing just over 6,000 out of 50,000 voters head to the polls. But now, local Democratic leaders believe a switch in the Democratic ticket could cause an increase in voter turnout.
“I think this will ignite the Black community even more,” Batten said.
Despite former President Donald Trump losing Geogia’s vote last presidential election, local Republican leaders are even more confident because of Biden’s announcement. They say more minority voters will support Trump’s fight for the presidency.
“I believe that there is a significant number of Black voters and Hispanic voters that will vote for Trump this time,” Thomas County Republican Chairman Bruce Fykes said. “Here locally, we have seen an increase of interest among Hispanics to come listen to what we have to offer in the Republican Party.”
Columbia County Democratic Party Chairman Parin Amin said via Messenger “We thank President Joe Biden for his decades of service….There is more work to be done and our eyes are on the prize. We must defeat the twice impeached, failed, 34-time convicted felon Donald Trump….We stand firmly behind Vice President Harris to make it happen.”
Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson said he hopes that no matter who the nominees are or who wins the presidency the work being done around Augusta as a hub city (a major initiative by the Biden-Harris Administration) will continue.
Rep. Rick Allen, R-Augusta, posted the following message on Facebook: “Joe Biden knew he would be fired in November and finally accepted that the American people are fed up with his radical policies and glaring weakness on the world stage. The Democratic party is in total disarray, but rather than allow Joe Biden to face his all but certain defeat, Washington Democrats forced him out. Rest assured, no matter who the Democrats put on the ballot, I will continue working to grow the House Republican majority, win the Senate, and secure four more years of Donald J. Trump as President of the United States. Together, we can make America great once again!”
From the Athens Banner Herald:
In Athens-Clarke County, where the elections for mayor and the county commission are nonpartisan, but candidates and officeholders nonetheless stake out clearly partisan positions, Mayor Kelly Girtz, a Democrat, called Biden’s move out of the presidential race “a wise decision.”
“I’m immensely proud of what this administration has been able to do,” Girtz added, citing the American Rescue Plan Act, the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act.
“The policy components (discussed by Biden during the call) were strong,” Girtz said, “but it was evident that this work (as president) had taken a lot out of him.”
“This work takes a lot out of you,” he said, commiserating with Biden and noting that his comment was in no way an attempt to cast any aspersions on the president.
[Athens-Clarke County Democratic Committee Chair Tim] Denson said he expects to see Vice President Kamala Harris, endorsed Sunday by Biden as the Democratic presidential candidate, at the top of the party’s ticket in November. He went on to pitch the Rev. Raphael Warnock, one of Georgia’s two Democratic U.S. senators, as an exciting possibility for a Democratic vice-presidential candidate.
And regardless of Biden’s Sunday announcement, Denson sees the president continuing to play an important role in the campaign. “I expect Biden to be very much on the campaign trail this year,” he said.
Denson predicts a “wild three months” as the clock winds down to the November general election. In the end, Denson said, this year’s presidential election could see “a new generation” of Democrats moving into high elective office.
Potential Democratic presidential candidates mentioned by Girtz in Sunday afternoon interview were Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, along with any number of sitting Democratic U.S. senators representing what Girtz called “significant experience” in national politics.
“I just feel the field is enormously strong,” Girtz said, adding that the Democratic Party continues to offer a real alternative to the “grievance culture” on the other side of the aisle.
U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., whose largely conservative district includes Athens-Clarke County, wrote in a X post on an account separate from the account identifying him as a House member, “It’s official. They kneecapped Joe Biden. He’s out.”
On the same X account, Collins wrote, “If you pulled a ballot for the Democratic Presidential Primary in your state this year and thought your vote mattered, guess what – it didn’t!”
Vice President Kamala Harris moved with lightning speed Sunday to lock up support from Georgia delegates, establishment leaders and party officials after President Joe Biden finally succumbed to mounting pressure to quit the 2024 presidential campaign.
Harris lit up the phone lines, calling congressional leaders and party officials to seal their support. When she reached Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia, he was unequivocal.
“I’m all in,” Warnock told her. “And I’m ready to help in any way that I can.”
Harris hasn’t yet secured the party’s nomination, but some Georgia Democrats treated Harris’ bid as a foregone conclusion. And they looked ahead to the race to be Harris’ No. 2.
State Rep. Scott Holcomb, D-Atlanta, gave an early endorsement to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, saying he’s “ready and would be compelling.”
State Rep. Billy Mitchell, D-Stone Mountain, said he believes Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is the early front-runner. Others mentioned North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore as potential favorites.
“Democrat party bosses lied to 14 million voters that President Biden was fit to serve another term,” U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-St. Simons Island, said in a statement. Carter went on to criticize Vice President Kamala Harris, saying she failed to secure the nation against illegal immigration and crime as the appointed “border czar.”
“This is the least democratic nomination process in American history,” Carter continued. “Washington Democrats will be held accountable for steamrolling and misleading the American people come November.”
A new AJC poll shows former President Donald Trump leading VP Harris, according to the AJC.
The poll of likely Georgia voters, which was conducted before Biden dropped out of the contest and endorsed his vice president, shows Trump leading Harris 51% to 46% in a head-to-head matchup, just outside the margin of error of 3.1 percentage points. One percent of voters surveyed said they’d opt for other presidential candidates, while an additional 2% said they were undecided.
The survey of 1,000 likely voters was conducted by the University of Georgia’s School of Public and International Affairs between July 9 and 18 — a volatile time in the presidential contest. It came as some senior Democrats intensified their push to drive the 81-year-old Biden from the race and also encompassed parts of the Republican National Convention and the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump at a Pennsylvania rally.
Polling numbers could shift now that Biden has stepped aside — and some leading Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and influential South Carolina U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn have already endorsed Harris.
Trey Hood, the UGA political scientist who oversaw the survey, noted that when he polled the Trump v. Harris question it was a hypothetical. Sunday’s news, he said, “certainly resets things.”
Still, the poll suggests that Harris has ground to make up in Georgia, a crucial political battleground state that Biden narrowly carried four years ago, delivering the state to the Democrats for the first time in nearly three decades. As vice president, she has paid multiple visits to the state this year, shoring up support among Black voters.
The AJC poll found that independents, a crucial voting bloc in Georgia, sided with Trump by 11 percentage points. And a majority of respondents, nearly 53%, said they viewed Harris unfavorably, compared with 42% who said they had a favorable impression of her. Only 5% of those surveyed said they didn’t have an opinion. (More than 57% of respondents viewed Biden unfavorably, compared with 41% who saw him favorably.)
On the other hand, Harris polled higher than Biden among Democrats and Black voters, who represent the party’s base. (Nearly 92% of Democrats polled said they backed Harris over Trump, compared with Biden’s 86%. Almost 91% of Black respondents said they’d pick Harris rather than Trump, compared with Biden’s 82% share of the vote.)
The AJC poll found that the race between Trump and Biden was closer than it was with Harris. In a head-to-head matchup against the current president, 48% of Georgia voters polled said they’d back Trump, compared with 45% who would vote for Biden and 3% for another candidate. When the pollsters included independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Libertarian Chase Oliver by name, the race moved into a statistical tie between Trump and Biden, with 45% of respondents picking Trump and 42% Biden.
A group called American Oversight filed a lawsuit alleging the State Election Board met outside the requirements of the Open Meetings Act, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Dalton Daily Citizen News.
A nonprofit nonpartisan watchdog group filed a lawsuit Friday charging the State Election Board with violating Georgia’s Open Meetings Act after meeting last week without legally required public notice or a quorum.
The three Republicans on the five-member board gave preliminary approval during a special meeting last Friday to rules changes that would require local election officials to post daily updates on their websites and inside polling places during early voting and give poll watchers greater access on election nights while votes are being processed.
According to the lawsuit, filed in Fulton County Superior Court by the group American Oversight, notice of the special meeting wasn’t posted until late the day before the meeting took place. Even then, the notice was posted outside the meeting room rather than on the board’s website, where meeting notices are usually posted.
“Three members of the State Election Board rammed through a last-minute meeting to consider controversial rule changes without notifying the public,” said Chioma Chukwu, American Oversight’s executive director.
“Georgia’s Open Meetings Act and others like it are vital to a functioning democracy by helping ensure official actions are conducted in full view of the public. Attempts to maneuver around it to advance changes to Georgia’s election rules are a clear violation of this law.”
The lawsuit seeks to have the rules changes voted on during the meeting declared null and void and the meeting itself declared invalid.
McIntosh County lawyers say the petition for a referendum to rezone part of Sapelo Island is unconstitutional, according to The Brunswick News.
Lawyers for the county, Cumming-based Jarrard & Davis, argued in a letter sent to McIntosh County Probate Court Judge Harold Webster on Monday that the state constitution’s Home Rule petition language, which the petitioners are using to call for the special election, does not apply to zoning ordinances. Local zoning powers cannot be preempted by the General Assembly, Ken Jarrard wrote in the letter.
“The General Assembly may establish procedural rules regarding how the zoning power is exercised — but the General Assembly has no substantive zoning power,” he wrote.
That is a fundamental difference between this situation and the other time the Home Rule petition rule has been used in Georgia, which happened in Camden County when a petition successfully led to a countywide vote that killed plans for a land purchase to build a spaceport, Jarrard wrote.
The Georgia Supreme Court in 2023 upheld the validity of the 2022 referendum vote on the purchase.
In the McIntosh County case, zoning powers are provided to counties by the state’s constitution and cannot be reversed using the Home Rule provisions, Jarrard said.
The McIntosh County petition was signed by more than 2,300 registered county voters and seeks a special election to allow voters to decide whether to repeal a 2023 zoning ordinance that allows homes built in Hog Hammock, also called Hogg Hummuck, to be as large as 3,000 square feet of interior space. That is more than twice the size of the previous ordinance, which allowed homes as large as 1,400 square feet of heated and cooled space, a rule the county commission said last year was unenforceable.
The ordinance angered Hog Hammock residents who are descendants of West African freed slaves and who live in the last intact Gullah-Geechee community in Georgia. They say larger homes in Hog Hammock will raise property taxes and push out longtime descendant families, ultimately killing the Gullah-Geechee culture there.
Dana Braun, a Savannah lawyer representing the petitioners, said the county has no standing to object to the petition. The paragraph in the state constitution referring to Home Rule petitions makes no provision authorizing any party to file opposition to a petition filed by electors, he said.
“One, we don’t think the county has standing to object to this petition,” Braun said. “Two, we don’t think the law is as the county is representing it.”
He called the claims by the county baseless and a misreading of the Georgia Constitution in a letter sent to Webster on Friday. He called the county’s efforts to push back against the petition an attack on the rights of the electors. The Home Rule language in the constitution says that elections called by the probate judge “shall be held under the same laws and rules and regulations as govern special elections.”
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