About The Golden age. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1906-1920
Atlanta, Ga. (1906-1920)

Golden Age

Georgia native William David Upshaw began publishing the Golden Age newspaper in Atlanta on February 22, 1906. Upshaw was vice president of the Georgia Anti-Saloon League and a national prohibition activist. He established the Golden Age as a nondenominational Christian newspaper that promoted Christianity and temperance politics. The paper circulated weekly on Thursdays and advertised itself as a family publication that included content to especially appeal to women and children. Issues of the Golden Age routinely contained Bible teachings, Sunday school lessons, fiction, poetry, education, religious news in Georgia, and stories and editorials on the topic of prohibition. Regularly featured sections of the paper, included "The Household" and "Voices of Youth," reinforcing the paper's emphasis on domestic life. The publication selected advertisements with "editorial conscience," including ads for ginger ale promising "no alcohol" as well as sanatoriums to cure alcohol addiction.

Nicknamed the "Georgia Cyclone" for his oratorical style, Upshaw was increasingly in demand as a speaker throughout the South in the years after his establishment of the Golden Age. In his absence, Upshaw largely left the editorial responsibilities of the paper in the hands of the women in his family. This distinguished the Golden Age from most other Georgia newspapers in the early 20th century that rarely employed women in managerial positions. Upshaw's wife, Margaret Beverly Upshaw, who wrote the paper's book reviews and the "Piney Woods Sketches" column, began serving as the first associate editor of the Golden Age in April 1910. Upshaw's sister, Mrs. G. B. Lindsey, wrote the "Home Circle for Our Young People" column and served as managing editor of the paper. Writers Odessa Strickland Payne and Mary E. Bryan were frequent contributors of fiction and poetry to the Golden Age.

By 1916, the Golden Age had transitioned to monthly publication. The paper reached the height of its popularity the following year, when it matched the circulation of the Christian Index, a long-standing intracity competitor. Throughout its existence, the paper espoused the policies of the Democratic Party and opposed Tom Watson and the Populist Party in Georgia. In 1918, Upshaw leveraged his political influence to successfully run as a Democrat for Congress to represent Georgia's Fifth District. The Golden Age continued publication during his first term in office, when Upshaw voted in support of women's suffrage, but by 1923, the paper was out of circulation. Upshaw continued to represent Georgia in Congress until 1927 and later ran unsuccessfully for president in 1932 on the Prohibition Party ticket.

Provided by: Digital Library of Georgia, a project of GALILEO located at the University of Georgia Libraries