Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2020/Spring/Section33/Charles H. Greer
Charles H. Greer
[edit | edit source]Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2020/Spring/Section33/Charles H. Greer | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1860 in Troupe County |
| Died | Unknown |
| Occupation | Newspaperman |
| Spouse(s) | Unknown |
| Children | Roe P. Greer |
Overview
[edit | edit source]Since the age of 11, Charles H. Greer worked in every department of small-town weeklies and large city papers, granting Greer the title as ‘Veteran Newspaper Man’. He was interviewed for the Federal Writers’ Project in 1938 by Noma Dobson. [1]
Biography
[edit | edit source]Early Life
[edit | edit source]Charles Greer was born in Troupe County, Georgia in 1860.[1] At the age of 11, he became self-supporting through writing letters, particularly love letters, and continued his money-making endeavors throughout college.[1] Greer attended North Georgia Agricultural and Mechanical College at Dahlonega and made most of his money writing love letters for boys.[1] With the money he made from his love letter business, he was able to rent himself a room, cook for himself, and have $4.50 to live on each month.[1] Greer first came to Alabama around the age of 16 to work on the old Montgomery Morning News.[1] At 17, he was the publisher of a paper in Randolph County, Alabama.[1]
Career
[edit | edit source]Throughout the majority of his career, Greer owned his own papers like the Birmingham Daily State and the Marion Standard.[1] But, he spent the majority of his time and effort on one paper: the Sylacauga News.[1] Greer came to Sylacauga to run the Sylacauga News for Victory May who was serving in World War I at the time.[1] Two weeks after Greer arrived in Sylacauga, May was killed and Greer decided to buy the Sylacauga News, which would later become his utmost pride and joy.[1] At the time Greer bought the News, it had a circulation of 500.[1] Under ownership and operation of Greer and his son, the News’ circulation reached 2,400.[1]
Social Context
[edit | edit source]Political Involvement
[edit | edit source]
One of Greer’s first memories, when he came to Alabama, was the inauguration of George S. Houston as governor.[1] Houston was the first Democrat elected governor since the Civil War, drawing a large crowd to Alabama to witness speeches and celebrate.[1] Houston and the Democrats contemplated replacing the constitution adopted in Alabama during the Republican rule in 1868.[2] In 1875, they drew up a new constitution declaring that no state could secede and discussed matters regarding federal and state elections, as well as educational and property qualifications for voting.[2]
The 1875 Constitution of Alabama was later revised in 1901 and Charles H. Greer was a proud member of the Constitutional Convention.[1] Alabama’s Constitutional Convention of 1901 fascinated the press worldwide because of their in-depth discussion of the disenfranchisement movement.[3] As a result, black activists began to mobilize for test cases resulting in the Constitutional Convention and its discussions becoming the main story for that summer.[3]
Even after Greer’s work on the Constitution of Alabama in 1901, he continued to work closely with leading political figures in Alabama as a newspaper publisher. The greatest man he worked with, in his opinion, was Oscar W. Underwood.[1] Underwood served Alabama in the US House of Representatives and the US Senate[4]. He is best known for his authorship of the Underwood Tariff Act and his role as a Democratic candidate for president in 1912 and 1924.[4]
Impact of the Great Depression on the Newspaper Industry
[edit | edit source]During the Great Depression, industries were forced to scale back on production due to declines in consumption, forcing them to fire workers.[5] As a result, the unemployment rate spiked, especially in Alabama which experienced an unemployment rate of 25% in 1932. [5] Without a steady income, citizens were unable to purchase common goods, like newspapers, and contribute back to the American economy.
Two-thirds to three-fourths of a newspaper’s revenue comes from advertising, meaning other industries pay the newspaper company to print an article or ad in the upcoming paper.[6] Since many industries were negatively impacted by the Great Depression resulting in long periods of low business activity, fewer advertisements in the newspaper were bought.[6] With little to no revenue coming in for advertisements, newspaper industries suffered greatly. The industry saw periods of fluctuating wages, working hours, aggregate circulation, and prices.[6] Overall, newspaper circulation and sales during the depression were highly sensitive to cyclical movements of business activity.[6] As depression conditions became more prosperous, an upward trend in per capita consumption of newspapers was seen.[6]
Notes
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 Dobson, Veteran Newspaper Man
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Webb and Armbrester, Alabama Governors: A Political History of the State, 123
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Riser, Disfranchisement, the U.S. Constitution, and the Federal Courts: Alabama's 1901 Constitutional Convention Debates the Grandfather Clause, 242
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Watson, Oscar Underwood
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Downs, Great Depression in Alabama
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Kinter, The Changing Pattern of the Newspaper Publishing Industry, 46-51
References
[edit | edit source]Dobson, Noma. Interview with Charles H. Geer. Veteran Newspaper Man, 19 Dec 1938, Folder 20, Collection 03709, Federal Writers' Project Papers 1936-1940, Wilson Library, Chapel Hill, NC.
Downs, Matthew L. Great Depression in Alabama.. The Encyclopedia of Alabama, October 1, 2019. http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-3608.
Kinter, Charles V. The Changing Pattern of the Newspaper Publishing Industry. The American Journal of Economics and Sociology 5, no. 1 (1945): 43-63. Accessed April 9, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/3483854.
Riser, R. Volney. "Disfranchisement, the U.S. Constitution, and the Federal Courts: Alabama's 1901 Constitutional Convention Debates the Grandfather Clause." The American Journal of Legal History 48, no. 3 (2006): 237-79. Accessed April 16, 2020. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25434804.
Webb, Samuel L. and Margaret E. Armbrester, eds. Alabama Governors : A Political History of the State. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press, 2014.
Watson, L. Elbert. Oscar Underwood. The Encyclopedia of Alabama. February 16, 2017. http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-2961.