Eurith D. Rivers

Eurith Dickenson (ED) Rivers (December 5, 1895– June 11, 1967) was an American politician from Lanier County, Georgia. He was Democratic Governor of Georgia from 1937 to 1941.

Rivers' 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. 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. During his second term, dissatisfaction with the taxes required by these programs led to difficulty and retrenchment in the state's budget, and in the 1940 elections Talmadge was returned to office.

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

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