Georgia Southwestern State University
Sam Nunn: Senator from Perry, Georgia
A PAPER SUBMITTED TO:
Dr. James Bagwell
FOR THE CLASS OF
HIST 3810: History of Georgia
BY
Americus, GA 31709
September 1, 2000
Introduction
President Gerald Ford said, "Truth is the glue that holds government together. Compromise is the oil
that makes governments go." (1)
Sam Nunn has helped this great state by being our United States Senator.
Sam Nunn is very wise on matter of defense and foreign policy issues. First, Sam Nunn and his life before
politics. Second, Sam Nunn and his life during and after politics. Third, Sam Nunn and his opinions on
foreign policy. Fourth, Sam Nunn and his opinions on defense. Sam Nunn is a traditional conservative
Democrat before Southerners started leaving the Democratic party to join the Republican party. He is
conservative but does not take extreme positions. Sam Nunn and His Life Before Politics First, Sam Nunn and his life in Perry, Georgia. Nunn's full name is Samuel Augustus Nunn, Jr.
He was born in my hometown of Perry, Georgia. He was born on September 8, 1938. (2) He got his high
school diploma from the old Perry High School that is located on Main Street in downtown Perry. Perry is
a small town where you know everyone and everyone knows you. Perry is in Houston County. Perry is
also the county seat of Houston County. When Nunn was born, there was no Warner Robins or air force
base in Warner Robins. Houston County has changed greatly during his lifetime. "Although Nunn's
forebears were Democrats, he is probably best understood as a New South Whig. He was raised in Perry,
a small town south of Atlanta made prosperous in the '50s by the arrival of the Warner Robins Air Force
base. Nunn's ancestors were public officials and small town farmers rather than plantation owners. His
father served as mayor of Perry, and his great-uncle, Carl Vinson, was chairman of the House Armed
Services Committee. After graduating from law school, Nunn returned to Perry where he became a pillar
of the Methodist church and president of the Chamber of Commerce, serving on the biracial committee that
achieved integration without suffering the tumult of other Southern towns." (3)
Sam Nunn is conservative but
not extreme as the conservatives in the Republican party. He is conservative but he still uses wisdom when
speaking instead of rhetoric or passion. Second, Sam Nunn's background before elected office. Nunn went to the Georgia Tech from 1956
until 1959. He graduated from Emory University in 1960. He received a law degree from Emory
University in 1962. All of these schools are in the city of Atlanta. He was in the Coast Guard from 1959
until 1960. He was in the reserves of Coast Guard from 1960 until 1968. (4)
He was "admitted to the
Georgia bar in 1962 and commenced practice in Perry." (5)
Sam Nunn and His Life During and After Politics First, Nunn has many similarities and differences with current and past senators for this state.
Like Senator Zell Miller, Nunn first became a senator by the death of a senator. In Sam Nunn's case, he
came to the senate by the death of the great Senator Richard B. Russell. (6)
Richard Russell died on January
21, 1971. (7) Nunn, Miller, and Russell were all Democrats. All three were also born in this state. Nunn
was also like Russell because they both had the title of chairman of the Committee on Armed Services.
Both Nunn and Russell are lawyers and were also admitted to the bar in this state. Nunn however was not
a governor of the state. Both Miller and Russell were governor of this state. Both Nunn and Russell did
not hold the office of lieutenant governor but Miller was the lieutenant governor. (8)
"Nunn, like his other
great influence, Georgia Senator Richard Russell, favored a strong defense as a means of preventing rather
than waging war." (9)
The current president is using the troops to much to wage war. He is should only use
troops when it is in our national interest. We are going from the extreme of isolationism to the other
spectrum of using United States military as a United Nations police force. The United States's foreign
policy should not be at ether extreme positions but in the middle. "Russell and Vinson also influenced
Nunn's view of Congress. Nunn jealously guarded Congress's prerogatives, defying Democratic as well as
Republican presidents." (10)
Our representives in Congress in the Senate should look after the interest of this
great state and not be patsies of the president or other party leaders. They should however also look after
the good of the nation as a whole even when it goes against the good of this state. Second, other information about Sam Nunn's political offices. Nunn was a member of the state
house of representives from 1968 until 1972. (11)
He was "elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate,
November 7, 1972, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Richard B. Russell for the term ending
January 3, 1973, and at the same time elected for the six-year term ending January 3, 1979; reelected in
1978, 1984, and again in 1990 and served from November 8, 1972 to January 3, 1997." (12)
He decided not
to run in 1996. "He began campaigning for other Democrats in the South, and in 1988 seriously
considered running for president." (13)
He would of been a good candidate for president in 1992 or 2000 he
could not of been worse than Bill Clinton or Al Gore. Even I, a Republican, would of voted for him for he
is the type Democrat that I like. "After the Gulf war, however, Nunn abandoned hope of becoming
president and returned to his earlier bipartisan approach." (14)
It is a good thing he gave up hopes of
becoming president for the office have ruined the reputation of a good Georgian name Jimmy Carter.
Jimmy Carter has helped the country out of public office and it looks like the same will happen for Sam
Nunn. Third, Sam Nunn and his announcement not to seek reelection as Senator for the state of Georgia.
On October 9, 1995, Sam Nunn announced that he would not be running for reelection to the Senate in
1996. Sam Nunn became the eighth Democrat to announce that they would be retiring from the office of
Senator of the United States of America after their term end in 1997. (15) "Well before the Republicans
captured Congress last November, Nunn had begun to lose interest in the Armed Services Committee and
was devoting his speeches to sex and violence on television and the breakdown of the family-areas in which
he has neither particular expertise nor congressional authority. He told me eighteen months ago that he was
seriously considering retirement." (16)
Sam Nunn did the right thing by retiring for this state needs a senator
whose main concern is defense and foreign policy. "In his retirement speech, Nunn criticized the power
wielded by 'the extremes in both parties' and the substitution of partisan bickering and cynical
campaigning for substantive debate.'" (17)
Hopefully, after the Presidential and Congressional election of the
year two-thousand the parties will move to the center. The Republicans majority will be so small that they
will have to compromise in order to pass bills. Fourth, Sam Nunn and his life after retiring from the United States Senate. "Sam Nunn is a senior
partner in the Atlanta law firm of King & Spalding, where he focuses his practice on international and
corporate matters." (18)
He is a part-time professor at the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at
Georgia Tech since 1997. He is not paid for his service at Georgia Tech. He is also the co-chairman of the
Concord Coalition. (19)
Sam Nunn and His Opinions on Foreign Policy First, the opinion of Sam Nunn on nonintervention and self-determination. Nunn was speaking on
the topic of nonintervention when he said, "frankly world resources are not sufficient to deal with those
problems; the United Nations is not sufficient. I think we're going to have to be much more active in
diplomacy, and not use the military in areas that do not lend themselves to military solutions." (20)
Sam Nunn
is saying that the he thinks that we are currently using the military before we fully use the State
Department. He was speaking on the topic of self-determination when he said, "Frankly, I think there was
too quick a recognition of the former republics of Yugoslavia before we had set down any criteria. That
wasn't the cause perhaps of the breakup and the war, but it certainly was a contributing factor. So I think
we have to use what I would call a common-sense judgment of when a group of people band together and
claim to be a nation, whether that really is something the international [community] wants to recognize." (21)
He was saying that the world recognized countries before they could write the standard for recognizing the
countries. The world should think before they recognize a country. He then said, "We've got to have
nations where ethnic groups work together. The United States faces that; we've got to work together with
ethnic groups. We're probably one of the most diverse countries in the world, [and] Russia is a very diverse
country. But all of us have to use basic courtesy, common sense, and sensitivity in dealing with ethnic
differences. I think the world is going to be more diverse, countries are going to be more diverse, and
solutions are going to be more complex." (22)
He was saying the world should be like the United States and
Russia where ethnic groups get along. Second, the opinion of Sam Nunn on United States's foreign policy towards the Peoples Republic
of China. "The growing importance of China in world affairs demands a purposeful, coherent and
consistent American policy. History is littered with the uninformed and ineffective responses of an
established power towards a rising power, and vice versa." (23)
Sam Nunn realizes that our country should
improve our relationship with China. Our relationship with China was badly damaged last year when we
hit their embassy in Yugoslavia during our air war against Serbia. We improved our relationship this year
by improving our economic relationship with China. "We are now watching the rise of China against the
backdrop of Asia's rapid industrialization. China is a nuclear power with the world's largest army and a
permanent member of the United Nation Security Council. China also is a nation with 1.2 billion people,
an economy growing at nearly 10 percent a year over the last decade, and as we too often forget, a
distinctive civilization of great antiquity." (24)
Our country is over-confident since we won the cold war. The
president is over extending the military. China will either be our next enemy or our next ally. Americans
should realize that we can not beat China like we did during the Korea War because China is becoming
industrialized. "We must engage China and its current leaders now rather than remain aloof from this
vast, complex, and proud civilization until it becomes to our liking." (25)
The United States should stop
harassing China on the issue of human rights. We execute mentally handicapped people. We forced the
Indians to leave their lands and go to unhabitable areas that the white Americans did not want. We have no
moral grounds to criticize China on its treatment of its own citizens. "Its role is critical. China's attitude
toward various arms control measure has certainly improved in the past decade." (26) The United States must
find diplomatic solutions for history has showed that other solutions by our country have failed. Cuba is
still communist and our policy towards Cuba has failed. Other countries are starting to trade with Cuba.
We can not block China from trading. We could not afford to out spend China on defense like we did with
the former Soviet Union. The United States should recognize that there is one China and the Peoples
Republic of China is the one China. We should stop military aid and alliances with Taiwan. "And we are
adjusting our treaties with Japan and Korea. These changes must be undertaken in ways that do not raise
new and deep security concerns in Russia about its western flank or in China about its eastern flank, lest
we inadvertently stimulate the two to begin a strategic relationship that neither prefers and which threatens
stability." (27)
The United States should thank very carefully and long term when it make it foreign policy
with China. China has great potential to become a world power again. "No region is more important to the
United States than the Asia-Pacific region, where America has fought three costly wars in this century and
where rapidly growing economies offer the United States our greatest expanding markets." (28)
We have
fought the Japanese during the second world war, the North Koreans and Chinese during the Korean war,
and the North Vietnam during the Vietnam war all in the twentieth century that is about to close. "With
one of the world's largest economies, its rapid increase in foreign trade, its substantial foreign currency
reserves, (nearly $100 billion) and its external indebtedness, (over $100 billion) China's economic
performance clearly affects American interests. China has created a better institutional and legal
environment to welcome foreign direct investment than most other countries in East Asia. It has taken
measures to facilitate repatriation of profits. Its sovereign offerings are deemed credit worthy by
international rating agencies." (29)
Most communist countries are slowly becoming more capitalistic. The
United States should use trading to push all the remaining Communist countries into becoming more
democratic. Third, Sam Nunn's opinion on foreign policy in general. John Judis describes the background
information on Sam Nunn's views on foreign policy by writing the following: Nunn's foreign policy -supportive of a strong military but cautious about it use-also
represents a Whig strand of Southern conservatism. As Nunn explained to me in an interview last
year, his hesitancy about committing America's military to battle was shaped initially by his
understanding of the Civil War. Nunn was not raised to romanticize the "lost cause" of the South.
Instead, he grew up believing that the "fire-eaters" who insisted on war and secession had doomed
the region to a century of backwardness. Nunn explained, "It is lot easier to start something in an
emotional period than it is to think through the implications of it. When you read Confederate
history, you find that most of the real leaders that emerged after the hothead stage were people
who, had it been up to them, would have been much more cautious about splitting the union in the
beginning." (30)
Examples of "fire-eaters" would be Gerald O'Hara of the book Gone with the Wind. Examples of people
who would not of split the Union is Rhett Butler, Ashley Wilkes of Gone with the Wind, and Jefferson
Davis who resigned from the Congress only after his state left the union. Sam Nunn and His Opinions on Defense First, Sam Nunn and his defense strategy. Nunn wants a military that is smaller. He thinks we can
deter with less nuclear weapons. He thinks we should reduce the men we have oversees. He thinks we
should use the National Guard and Reserves more often. He thinks that we should have different levels of
readiness. Keeping the most important at the full level of readiness. He thinks that we should get rid of
inefficient weapons and replace them with more efficient weapons. (31)
"This strategy, Senator Nunn
believes, would provide an adequate defense and might also save up to $225 billion in budget authority
($190 billion in outlays) over the next five years." (32) Second, Sam Nunn and his views on the B-2 Bomber. "Potential enemies have learned several
valuable lessons from Iraq's experience during Operation Desert Storm don't give the U.S. time to deploy
forces and their support to the theater, do focus on disrupting U.S. air operations, do target strategic
objectives that allies will be reluctant to counterattack (Seoul, Saudi oil field, etc.) and plan to seize them
rapidly, before U.S. power can be brought to bear." (33)
The B-2 is a stealth bomber. The military expects to
have two weeks of warning before military action takes place. What the military plans on and what
actually happens have a very high difference. (34)
"We cannot count on having stationed forces in the right
place at the right time, all the time. This suggests the importance of long-range assets, to provide the
flexibility to respond rapidly from CONUS to trouble spots around the globe. The B-2 can reach any point
on the globe from just three bases-Guam, Diego Garcia, and the U.S." (35)
The F-117A Stealth Fighter was
used during Operation Desert Storm very effectively. However, the F-117A can only be used at night and
also when the weather is clear. The B-2 Stealth Bomber can be used in all weather and can hold much
more bombs. The U.S. only has 20-21 B-2 and this is not enough to stop enemy foreign powers from
invading the U.S. or our allies. (36)
"The cost of additional B-2's is high relative to non-stealthy, short-range
tactical aircraft. But so is the cost of failing to stop a determined enemy short of his strategic objectives.
The inherent flexibility and capability of the B-2 bomber will be most important in those cases where we
are surprised, where an enemy doesn't do what we had expected, and/or where we did not plan to have to
fight." (37) Conclusion Finally, Sam Nunn has helped this great state by being our United States Senator. Sam Nunn is
very wise on matter of defense and foreign policy issues. Sam Nunn has helped this great state as our
Senator from 1972 until 1997. He made sure that none of our military bases were closed. Robins Air
Force Base is an important factor in the growth of Central Georgia. If the base closes than many towns
will turn into ghost towns. This country needs all of its bases. We can not become isolationists. We may
of won the cold war but we still have many potential enemies. WORKS CITED The Academic American Encyclopedia, 1997 Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia version, Electronic edition
1997. s.v. "Nunn, Sam." Danbury, Ct.: Grolier, 1997. "CNN - Sen. Nunn retires - Oct. 9, 1995." <http://www.cnn.com/US/9510/nunn_retires/index.html> 17
October 2000.Coleman, Kenneth, General Editor. A History of Georgia. 2d ed. Athens and London: University of
Georgia Press, 1991. Correll, John T., Editor in Chief. "Sam Nunn's Defense Strategy-June 1990."
<http://www.afa.org/magazine/editorial/06edit90.html> 18 October 2000. John B. Judis. "Nunn of the above." The New Republic 231, no. 18 (30 October 1995): 16-18. "MILLER, Zell Bryan (1932-) Biographical Information."
<http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=M001141> 31 October 2000. Copeland, Robert D., Senior Editor. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Quotations. Springfield, Ma.:
Merriam-Webster, 1992. Nunn, Sam. "SENATOR SAM NUNN SUPPORTS THE B-2 (Senate - April 24, 1997)."
<http://www.fas.org/pub/gen/mswg/stealth/s970427.htm> 18 October 2000. Nunn, Sam. "U.S. China policy: Seeking a balance." Vital Speeches of the Day 63, no. 11 (15 March
1997): 325-328. "NUNN, Samuel Augustus (1938-) Biographical Information."
<http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=N000171> 30 October 2000. "RUSSELL, Richard Brevard, Jr (1897-1971) Biographical Information."
<http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=R000536> 31 October 2000."The Sam
Nunn School: Distinguished Professor." <http:www.inta.gatech.edu/Nunn/default.html> 18
October 2000. Starovoitova, Galina. "USIP Peaceworks 19 - Sovereignty after Empire."
<http://www.usip.org/pubs/pworks/pwks19/chap4_19.html> 18 October 2000. Merriam-Webster, 1992), 68. "Nunn, Sam" (Danbury, Ct.: Grolier, 1997), 1.
John B. Judis, "Nunn of the above," The New Republic 231, no. 18 (30 October 1995): 16. <http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=N000171, 1. <http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=R000536, 1.
Kenneth Coleman, General Editor, A History of Georgia, 2d ed., (Athens and London: University of Georgia Press, 1991), 414; "MILLER, Zell Bryan (1932-) Biographical Information," <http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=M001141, 1; "NUNN, Samuel Augustus (1938-) Biographical Information," <http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=N000171, 1; and "RUSSELL, Richard Brevard, Jr (1897-1971) Biographical Information," <http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=R000536, 1. <http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=N000171, 1. <http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=N000171, 1. <http://www.usip.org/pubs/pworks/pwks19/chap4_19.html, 2. 21. Ibid. (15 March 1997): 325.
26. Ibid., 325-326. Ibid., 326.
28. Ibid., 326.
29. Ibid., 326.
30. John B. Judis, "Nunn of the above," The New Republic 231, no. 18 (30 October 1995): 17.
31. John T. Correll, Editor in Chief, "Sam Nunn's Defense Strategy-June 1990,"
<http://www.afa.org/magazine/editorial/06edit90.html, 1-2.
32. Ibid., 2.
33. Sam Nunn, "SENATOR SAM NUNN SUPPORTS THE B-2 (Senate - April 24, 1997)," <http://www.fas.org/pub/gen/mswg/stealth/s970427.htm, 1-2. 34. Ibid., 1-2. 35. Ibid., 2. 36. Ibid., 1-2. 37. Ibid., 2-3.
