Oral history interview with Herman Talmadge, December 18, 1975

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 and running 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.