November 12, 1701

1701 The Carolina Assembly passed a Vestry Act making the Church of England the official religion of the colony of Carolina, which at that time--according to the Carolina Charter--included all of present-day Georgia. Strong opposition by Quakers and members of some other religions led the colony’s proprietors to revoke the legislation two years later.

November 12, 1864

1864 Gen. Sherman prepared for his March to the Sea by ordering that railroads and telegraph lines connecting Atlanta with Northwest Georgia be destroyed. The Western & Atlantic Railroad’s bridge over the Chattahoochee River was burned. The Army of the Tennessee was now cut off from supplies in Chattanooga and would be on its own during its march to Savannah.

November 12, 1889

1889 Gov. John B. Gordon signed legislation opening all branch colleges of the University of Georgia to white female students.

November 12, 1889

Georgia cities and towns created by acts approved on Nov. 12:

1889 Willacoochee (Coffee County)

November 12, 1918

1918 Atlanta held its greatest parade to date to celebrate Germany’s surrender to the allies. Three hundred veterans had fought in Europe headed the parade, followed by 10,000 soldiers from Camp Gordon and other military facilities, and thousands of relatives of veterans, police, fire fighters, and civilians. Other Georgia cities also held victory parades as the entire state rejoiced over the end of World War I.

November 12, 1944

1944 The day before the Constitutional Revision Commission was scheduled to reconvene, the Atlanta Constitution reported on a poll it had conducted of Georgia legislators on the question of home rule -- allowing Georgia cities and counties to govern themselves on purely local matters. This was an issue the commission was considering in drafting a new state constitution for Georgia. The poll revealed that 87 percent of Georgia senators and 77 percent of Georgia representatives favored increasing home rule.

November 12, 1946

1946 Walt Disney’s Song of the South had its world premier at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre. Created with a combination of live action and animation, the movie was based on Joel Chandler Harris’ "Uncle Remus" stories--which featured animal characters Br’er Rabbit, Br’er Fox, and Br’er Bear in humorous stories (some of which were based on African folklore brought to this country by slaves). The film won one Academy Award--that for best song "Zippity-Do-Dah." Additionally, actor James Baskett, the first black actor to be hired by Disney Studios, won an Honorary Academy Award for screen characterization of Uncle Remus. Even though Harris’ stories took place in post-Civil War Georgia, the movie version has been criticized for its portrayal of contented blacks living in slave quarters on a plantation and singing while they march to work.

Not generally known is the fact that "Song of the South" came about as a result of the Atlanta Junior League, which in 1944 suggested that a Walt Disney film based on Uncle Remus stories could become an effective fund-raising event for the League. Mrs.Ivan Allen, Jr., president of the Atlanta Junior League, initially wrote to Disney about the idea. Her successor, Mrs. James Fraser, was successful in convincing Disney to make the movie a reality. [Although some sources cite Nov. 2 as the date of the movie’s release, its world premier occurred in Atlanta on Nov. 12.]