Eurith D. Rivers

Eurith D. Rivers
Rivers visiting the White House as the Georgian governor-elect on December 22, 1936.

68th Governor of Georgia
In office January 12, 1937 – January 14, 1941
Preceded by	Eugene Talmadge
Succeeded by	Eugene Talmadge
Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives
In office 1933–1937
Member of the Georgia House of Representatives
In office 1924
Member of the Georgia Senate
In office 1926
Personal details
Born	Eurith Dickinson Rivers (1895-12-01)December 1, 1895 Center Point, Arkansas, U.S.
Died	June 11, 1967(1967-06-11) (aged 71) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic

Eurith Dickinson "Ed" Rivers (December 1, 1895 – June 11, 1967) was an American politician from Lanier County, Georgia. A Democrat, he was the 68th Governor of Georgia from 1937 to 1941.

Early life and education

Eurith Dickinson Rivers was born on December 1, 1895 in Center Point, Arkansas. He attended Young Harris College, and settled in Cairo. Rivers also obtained a law degree through La Salle Extension University.^[1] A Democrat, Rivers served as a Justice of the Peace, Cairo City Attorney, and Grady County Attorney. He later moved to Milltown (now called Lakeland) to become editor of the Lanier County News.

Career

Rivers was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1924 and to the Georgia State Senate in 1926. In 1928 and 1930 Rivers was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for Governor. In 1932 he ran for the Georgia House of Representatives. He was elected Speaker, serving from 1933 to 1937.

His election as governor came after a stormy Democratic primary in 1936 in which the race served as a surrogate referendum on President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. Since Georgia didn't allow three consecutive terms, Governor Eugene Talmadge was not eligible for re-election.^[2] Talmadge, who strongly opposed the New Deal and had delayed its implementation in Georgia, ran for the U.S. Senate and backed Charles D. Redwine for governor. Rivers, who as Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives had strongly supported the New Deal, was his opponent, and won with about 60 percent of the vote (the same margin by which Talmadge lost his Senate race).

Rivers' first two-year term as governor saw Georgia pass the legislation required to bring New Deal programs into the state, and was widely acclaimed. Rivers created the 7-month school year. Under Rivers' leadership, electrical services were expanded to rural areas of the state. Georgia moved from the lowest-ranked state to the top of the list in the number of rural electrification associations. When he was in office, the State Bureau of Unemployment Compensation was created, allowing Georgians to receive unemployment benefits.

After Rivers' re-election in 1938, he ran into problems financing many of his improvement programs. Although the budget was reduced by 25 percent, he was able to convince the legislature to create the Georgia Housing Authority and obtain federal funds to build public housing. During Rivers' second term, there were political scandals and charges of corruption. Many of Rivers' appointees and staff members were charged with corrupt practices, and the charges reflected poorly on the governor.

In 1939, Rivers proclaimed a state holiday for the December premiere of the film Gone With the Wind.^[3]

Later life and death

Rivers died at Atlanta, Georgia in 1967 and is buried in the City Cemetery in Lakeland, Georgia.

References

↑ Georgia Dept. of Archives and History (1925). Georgia's official register. Longino and Porter
↑ "Eugene Talmadge, and newly-elected Governor R.D. Rivers shaking hands at inauguration, Atlanta, Georgia, January 12, 1937". Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library. Digital Library of Georgia. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
↑ "Arrival for Gone With the Wind Movie Premiere Festivities, Dec. 15, 1939". Atlanta History Photograph Collection, Atlanta History Center. Digital Library of Georgia. Retrieved 21 June 2016.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Georgia (U.S. state)

Eurith D. Rivers at Find a Grave

Political offices
Preceded by Eugene Talmadge	Governor of the State of Georgia January 12, 1937 – January 14, 1941	Succeeded by Eugene Talmadge

Governors of Georgia

Council Presidents (1775–76)	Ewen Walton Ewen

Presidents (1776–77)	Bulloch Gwinnett

Governors (since 1777)	Treutlen Houstoun Glascock Cuthbert Wereat Walton Howly Wells Heard Davies Brownson Martin Hall Houstoun Elbert Telfair Mathews Handley Walton Telfair Mathews Irwin Jackson Emanuel Tattnall Milledge Irwin Mitchell Early Mitchell Rabun Talbot Clark Troup Forsyth Gilmer Lumpkin Schley Gilmer McDonald Crawford Towns Cobb H. Johnson J. E. Brown J. Johnson Jenkins Ruger Bullock Conley J. Smith Colquitt Stephens Boynton McDaniel Gordon Northen Atkinson Candler Terrell H. Smith J. M. Brown H. Smith Slaton J.M. Brown Slaton N. Harris Dorsey Hardwick Walker Hardman Russell E. Talmadge Rivers E. Talmadge Arnall Thompson H. Talmadge Griffin Vandiver Sanders Maddox Carter Busbee J. F. Harris Miller Barnes Perdue Deal

Authority control	WorldCat Identities VIAF: 73013400 LCCN: n90643392

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/27/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.