Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal was an attempt to bring the United States back to its feet from the social and economic devastation caused by 1929 stock market crash. FDR knew he needed to save his country from the Great Depression, but what he might not have known was the impact of his success. His New Deal would create the Work Project Administration (WPA) and from that would stem other smaller projects. Together they would employ millions of Americans. Within the WPA, a separate project called the Federal Writers Project (FWP) was created. Grace McCune, a FWP writer from Athens, Georgia, would never realize the impact her work would have on history. Like other FWP writers, Grace took on a project called “Life Histories,” which collected interviews from people from all walks of life, from rural and urban to black and white. The greatest impact she would have on history was the time she spent interviewing ex-slaves in Athens and the surrounding area. Much can be learned about race relations, religion, education, and development in and around Athens, Georgia during the latter years of the Great Depression from the slave narratives as well as from Grace McCune herself.1

In 1929, the United States was hurled into the greatest depression in the nation’s history. Over the next five years, hundreds of banks closed, 32,000 businesses went bankrupt and millions of Americans were without jobs. In 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected President of the United States. Within the first ninety days of his presidency, FDR presented to the country an economic plan known as the New Deal to get the country back on its feet from the devastation caused by the Great Depression. As a part of the New Deal, a project known as the WPA or Works Projects Administration was created. The WPA provided over two million Americans with jobs. The majority of WPA workers were tasked with building public highways, buildings, bridges and airports throughout the country. Nearly 700,000 “white collard” workers received jobs with the WPA doing other projects. One of these was the Federal Writers Project (FWP). In 1935, the FWP’s initial job was to produce The American Guide series, which produced guide books detailing specific states tourist industry, cultural, and historic features. From the FWP stemmed smaller projects, which included the “Life Histories” project. This project was intended to collect life stories on the lives of everyday people throughout the United States. In the South, a specific project was created to collect the thoughts, memories and stories from ex-slaves. While nearly 2,000 of these interviews were collected, they constituted only two percent of former slaves living in the 1930’s. These narratives would be some of the last documented accounts of the horrors of slavery in the American South.2

Grace (Gracie) H. McCune was born in Athens, Georgia on June, 1894. Her life as well as some of the ex-slaves she interviewed paints a picture of how life was like for a lower middle class family in Athens in the late antebellum years in Georgia. Grace’s parents were both born in Georgia. Her father Daniel (Dan, Danny) John (Jonny) McCune, the son of a Confederate Civil War Veteran, was born in March, 1865. Grace’s mother, born Gertrude Richardson, was born around the time when Jefferson Davis was captured in Georgia in May of 1865. The two were married on October 19, 1887. Grace had an older brother, John (Johnnie) Milton McCune who was born June 22, 1890. The family seemed to live a lower middle class lifestyle. Dan held a few remedial wage jobs as a cotton weaver, restaurant worker, painter, clerk, and hackman or carriage driver up until around 1912. Dan was not an educated man, according to the 1910 census, he was able to read, but unable to write, which might explain his lower class occupations. The family was very dependent of Dan because there is no evidence of Grace’s mother ever working. In 1910 at the age of fourteen, Grace started working at a cotton mill. The census also shows that she had not attended school since September 1, 1909. At the same time her brother John had also left school and was working for D.W. Bailey plumber shop as a plumber. In 1912 John left home to join the United Stated Army, where he served as a private in the infantry for four years. In 1913 the McCunes moved to 128 Pine where they lived until 1920. On June 5, 1917, John filled out a WWI draft card that gave a brief description of how he looked in his early twenties. He was tall, stout, had light blue eyes, and black hair. He was discharged from the military and upon his return, rented an apartment of his own at 90 College Ave and started a new job as a plumber with Bruce Plumbing Company. Grace’s mother passed away some time before 1919. No exact date could be identified because Georgia death records date back only as far as 1919. The family owned a house at 286 Rock Row right up until the 1920’s when Grace and her father moved again and started renting a home at 890 College Avenue, which was right down the road from John. In 1921 Dan secured a job as a Patrolman with the Athens Police Department where he became one of only fifteen officers in the town. Also by this time, John married a lady by the name of Susie, who was also a Georgian. They had moved to Macon, Georgia where John worked as a blacksmith on a plantation. 3

By 1931, Grace was still living with her father and had moved to 881 ½ College Ave where they rented their home. Grace had found a job in 1937 as a clerk at the South Department Store and in 1938 became a research worker with the US Federal Writers Project. On July 5, 1938, Dan McCune passed away at the age of seventy-one. Shortly after, Grace moved to another rental apartment on 675 Cobb. From 1940 until 1952 Grace lived in Athens at various address and held a few small jobs. In 1940, Grace was unemployed and lived at 356 Hill St. Grace had found a job in 1942 as a clerk for the Clarke County Public Library and had moved into the Gilbert Hotel. In 1949 Grace moved to 175 Cobb and had left her job at the library to work at Davis Tailor shop doing alterations. In 1952, she worked as a sales woman at and unknown store and moved back into her old home at 675 Cobb, which was the last known record of her living in Athens. There was never any death record found for Grace, her mother or her older brother.4

From Grace McCune’s biographical history, one can conclude that she lived a lower middle class lifestyle. One reason for her low class would be her educational background. She obviously learned to read and write, but dropped out of school at the age of fourteen. Her family might have tried to live above their means, which could explain why Grace and her brother had jobs at such young ages. The family owned property for only a short period of time. It is assumed they could not afford to keep their land because they moved often and rented property. One reason for Grace’s absence from work after the early part of the century could be that her mother became ill and Grace was needed to take care of her while her father and brother worked to support the family. Evidence points to the idea that something happened to Gertrude. If she were to have died in 1818 she would have only been forty-eight years old. John McCune seemed to have faired better. At the age of twenty-five he was already skilled in the trade of plumbing and had enlisted in the military. This could prove that John was ambitious and was working for a better quality of life. Unlike Grace, her brother did marry, but there is no record if John had or has any children.

To understand the circumstances surrounding the slave narratives, one must be reminded that the interviews occurred during the worst economic crisis in the nation’s history. Many people, no matter what race, were starving and without work and relied heavily on the government to survive. Likewise, many of the ex-slaves interviewed were elderly. Two thirds of all interviewees were age eighty or older when interviewed. Many could only recall what they remembered from their childhood or what their parents had told them when they had grown older. Georgia Johnson, ex-slave age 74, tells Grace, “I hopes you laks what I recollected, but sometimes I can’t call dem old times back to mind since I done got so old.” In many interviews, the interviewee would mention how times in the past were better. Julia Larkin, ex-slave 76, exclaims, “Well, jus’ let me tell you, dem days back yonder ‘fore de war was de happiest time in my whole life.” From quotes such as these, it is assumed most ex-slaves were old and unable to collect or work to get food; that they relied heavily on giving and other aid for food. This is not to mean that during slavery, slaves were fed well, it could be suggested that since many have been going hungry for so long that they are quick to recall memories of food more vividly. This, however, is not true for all the narratives. Some of the ex-slaves stilled farmed their own land and were able to provide food regularly for themselves and for their family during the depression. Also during this period, most WPA jobs consisted of hard manual labor, building roads, bridges, dams, ect, which many poor black did on a regular bases for minimal pay before the depression. The majority of the time these jobs were given exclusively to white men and were well paid. Some ex-slaves tried to rely on their own children for support by moving in with them or receiving rations. Many of the freed slaves interviewed, gave the notion that they were much happier in the past. This is primarily because they were recalling better times with their families; when many people had work and plenty of food to share.5

One of the repeated questions Grace McCune asks her interviewees is about religion. Most every interviewee responds with delight, telling her that they had attended church as slaves, but never an all black church. All slaves went to white churches, either Baptist or Methodist, with their master and his family and all the slaves. Nicey Kinney, ex-slave 86, recalls, “Us went to church wid our white folks ‘cause dere warn’t no colored churches dem days.” Each of the interviewees seem to get excited when the question of religion was asked. Many talk of large feasts and no work on Sundays, as well as, funerals and weddings. It was not until after emancipation until the first black church was established in the Athens Area. Nicey Kinney explains, “Soon atter de sot free Niggers start up churches of de own and it was some sight to see and hear’em on meetin’ days.” Most of the churches attended were Baptist and Methodist because of their willingness to permit individual interpretations of the bible. By 1926, the number of Negro churches in Georgia swelled to 5,201; 618 of the black churches were urban with 236,145 members, while 4,583 were rural with 401,948 members. Baptism and funerals were very common memories around the area. Most every slave was given a proper burial and funeral with a white pastor giving the ceremony. Weddings also seemed widespread and common with many of the interviewees. Many slaves wed slaves from other plantations, as well as slaves on their own plantations. Weddings were also presided over by a white pastor and in many cases, the master would have a large meal and sometimes let them celebrate with song and dance.6

Another common question brought up by McCune was the issue of education. Many of the interviewees had no educational background at all, although some slaves were educated by their master and some times with their master’s children. Alice Hutchenson, ex-slave age 76, recalls, “Dere warn’t no Nigger school den, but Miss Jane larnt us ‘long wid de white chillum, and us sho’ had to mind dem lessons or she’d tear us up.” Sometimes, as in the case of Emma Virgel, whose duty it was to take the white children to school everyday was taught a few lessons by them. Virgel explains, “I never got a chanct to go to school none, but de white chilluns larnt me some.” The reason so many slave children never attended school or learned to read or write was because in 1770 a law was passed in Georgia forbidding the education of all Negros. After the war, many former slaves insisted that their children be educated. In a letter written in 1865 by A.S. Shevenell, an Athens schoolteacher, states, “there is a general disposition among colored people to educate their children, but few were able to pay their tuition, and spare them from work to attend school.” Two years later, the Congressionalist American Missionary Association started construction on the Knox Institute in a predominantly black neighborhood in Athens. The Knox Institute was a “college preparatory” school that offered grammar, primary, industrial, and music training. It was not until 1868 when blacks first were permitted a public education in Georgia. The first black public school in Athens open in 1886 on Baxter Street. By 1929, Georgia had established nine universities, a graduate school, and social service training institute, even though serious deficiencies existed within them. Georgia was the largest center for Negro education in the country during the New Deal. In a 1938 study, done by Chancellor Walter Cocking of the University of Georgia, found that many of the professors at the state universities lack degrees and did not have majors in the fields they were teaching. One project the WPA took on was building schools throughout Georgia and forty seven percent of the teachers trained were African American. Many of the interviewees point out the fact that schools were nothing like they were in the old days and how the children around town have been misbehaving and not going to school.7

Even though the issue of race relations was not of great concern in the interviews of the ex-slaves, it was very present in many interviews. Most of the interviewers chose people that they had known for years to interview. This fact could explain the friendliness and openness that many of the interviews express to their interviewer upon their arrival. Some of the interviewees, such as Bill Heard age 73, even knew members of their interviewers family and had good things to say about them. Upon Grace’s departure, Bill Heard exclaims, “I’se mighty glad you hunted me up, for I ‘members dem old days, playin’ wid your Daddy, down on de Pittner place. Atter us had all moved to Athens, he was still my friend.” One interviewee welcomes Grace because she regarded Grace’s father, a police officer, was a fair man. There were rarely any direct questions asked about race relations, but many of the interviewees told of their masters not being to hard on them. Some even tell that after their master had died, they stayed to work the land. Many of the interviewees were very open with their interviewer, more so because they knew their interviewee personally and were not afraid of local whites hearing what they had said.8

Many slaves were able to recall how Athens had grown from the antebellum years to the time of the Great Depression. Many tell of Athens being a wooded area with very few good roads. Some interviewees recall the town market and how slaves were bought and sold just like cattle was sold in the 1930’s. Through some of the interviews, it can be assumed that the pre-1929 Athens was a small prosperous town. Bill Heard explaines:

“Athens was a heap diffunt den to what it is now; it was mostley roads and de roads was awful. Dere warn’t no paved streets, no street lights, and street cars. I ‘members dem fust street-lights. Lawssy missy, folk was sho proud of dem lights, and when dey got dem little street cars what was pulled by little mules, Athens folks felt like dey lived in a real city. . . . and soon paved streets was laid, and den filln’ stations, other stores, and de lak, sprung up in a hurry ‘long here.”9

The city directories also give a good sense of how much Athens had grown during this period. Population growth in Athens was not tremendous, but consistently on the rise. Small textile mills and factories were all along the Oconee River and by 1931 there were nine attorneys listed within the city directory.10

When comparing Grace McCune’s biography with the recollections of the ex-slaves she interviewed throughout the Athens area, some distinct conclusions can be made. Like many of the people she interviewed, Grace McCune was not well educated. Even though Grace did not receive much education, she still was able to attended school, unlike many of the people she interviewed. The WPA was not strict on rules regarding education. If a candidate were even mildly able to read and write, they could be hired for the FWP. Graces education level might explain the class of people she was associated with throughout her life. This also could explain her rapport and unbiased descriptions with all her interviewees. Grace’s father, being a policeman, probably put him in contact with many poor African Americans in the area. He could have explained some of the hardship that he encountered with some of the African Americans and shared his thoughts and feelings with his daughter whom he lived with his entire adult life. The narratives also show that Athens was a segregate town during the 1930’s. Many of the people she interviewed either lived out in the country or on the South East part of town, while Grace, with other whites, lived mainly on the North side.11

FDR might have never known the tremendous impact his New Deal would have on the history of the United States. The writers of the WPA dutifully fulfilled their job by preserving the unique memories, thoughts, and emotions of thousands of ex-slaves in the South and have permanently embedded their stories into in our nation’s history forever. Not only have the narratives told stories of slavery, but also given a perspective of slavery that was relatively unknown. The importance of this might not be known for many years, but by understanding Grace McCune’s life as well as the ex-slaves she interviewed, as history of race relations, education, and religion can be told about Athens, Georgia during the years of the Great Depression.

1. Phinzy Spalding, Georgia: The WPA Guide to Its Towns and Countryside. (Columbia:University of South Carolina Press, 1940), v-x.

2. Al Hester, Athens Memories: The WPA Federal Writers' Project Interviews. (Athens, Georgia: Athens-Clarke County Bicentennial Publication, 2001), xv-xvii.

Phinzy Spalding. vi-vii.

3. Manuscript 1900 United States Census, 1900, Georgia, Clarke County, M-250 vol. 13 ed. 3 sht 13 In. 82.

1904 Athens City Directory. The Athens Banner Publishing Company. 62.

1909 Directory of Athens Georgia. Athens Directory Company. 165.

Manuscript 1910 United States Census, 1910, Georgia, Clarke County, M-250 vol. 21 ed. 2 sht. 1

1912-1913 Athens, Georgia City Directory. Piedmont Directory Publishing, Asheville, NC. 177

1917 United States Military Draft Records, www.ancestry.com.

Manuscript 1920 United States Census, 1920, Georgia, Clarke County, M-250 vol. 22 ed. 5 sht. 10 ln. 53.

Athens City Directory 1920-1921. The Athens Directory Company, Athens Georgia. 139.

Manuscript 1930 United States Census, 1930, Georgia, Clarke County, M-250

4. Athens, Georgia City Directory 1931. Baldwin Directory Company Inc, Charleston, SC. 163.

Athens, Georgia City Directory 1937. Baldwin Directory Company Inc, Charleston, SC. 179.

Athens, Georgia City Directory 1938. Baldwin Directory Company Inc, Charleston, SC. 163.

Athens, Georgia City Directory 1940. Baldwin Directory Company Inc, Charleston, SC. 214.

Athens, Georgia City Directory 1942. Baldwin Directory Company Inc, Charleston, SC. 241

Athens, Georgia City Directory 1947. Baldwin Directory Company Inc, Charleston, SC. 257.

Athens, Georgia City Directory 1949. Baldwin Directory Company Inc, Charleston, SC. 264.

Athens, Georgia City Directory 1952. Baldwin Directory Company Inc, Charleston, SC. 209.

5.Stephanie J. Shaw, "Using the WPA Ex-Slave Narratives to Study the Impact of the Great Depression," Journal of Southern History, Vol. 69 No. 3 (Aug 2003), 623-659.

Norman R. Yetman, "The Background of the Slave Narrative Collection," American Quarterly, Vol. 19 No. 3 (Autumn, 1967), 534-553.

Norman R. Yetman, "Ex-Slave Interviews and the Historiography of Slavery," American Quarterly, Vol. 36 No. 2 (Summer, 1984), 181-210.

Georgia Johnson, “Georgia Johnson. Ex-slave - age 74,” Grace McCune, May 28, 1983. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?mesnbib:7/temp/~ammem_FnSv

Julia Larkin, “Julia Larken. Ex-slave - age 76,” Grace McCune, http://memory.loc.gov/cgi- bin/query/D?mesnbib:8:./temp/~ammem_FnSv

6.Ann Short Chirhart, “Gardens of Education: Beulah Rucker and African-American Culture in the

Twentieth-Century Georgia Upcountry, 1998,” Georgia Historical Quarterly,, Vol. 32, No. 4 (Winter 1998), 828-842.

Alice Hutcheson, “Alice Hutcheson. Ex-slave - age 76,” Grace McCune, May 13, 1938, http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?mesnbib:1:./temp/~ammem_dQgw::

7.Phinzy Spalding

Emma Virgel, “Plantation life as viewed by ex-slave Emma Virgel,” Grace McCune, May 13, 1938, http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?mesnbib:14:./temp/~ammem_dQgw::

James F. Cook, “The Eugene Talmadage-Walkter Cocking Controversy, 1960,” Phylon, Vol. 35 No. 2 (1974), 181-192.

J. Michael Gelfand, "Chronicling An African-American Life In Athens: James W. Davis And His Georgia Writers' Project Interview, 1939," Georgia Historical Quarterly, Vol. 81 No. 3 (1997), 713-734.

8.Hirsch, Jerrold, and Tom E. Terrill, “Conceptualization and Implementation: Some Thoughts on Reading the Federal Writers Project Southern Life Histories,” Southern Studies, Vol. 18 No. 3 (1979), 351-362.

Phinzy Spalding

9.Bill Heard, “Bill Heard. Ex-slave - age 73,” Grace McCune, September 23, 1938, http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?mesnbib:2:./temp/~ammem_dQgw::

10.Athens, Georgia City Directory 1931

11.Stephanie J. Shaw