1851 Georgia gubernatorial election

none January 2025 September 2023 1851 Georgia gubernatorial election Georgia (U.S. state) October 6, 1851 1853 1853 Georgia gubernatorial election 1849 1849 Georgia gubernatorial election no Presidential 1879 180x180px Howell Cobb-crop.jpg Howell Cobb Constitutional Union 59.66% 57,417 File:CharlesJamesMcDonald_(cropped).jpg Charles McDonald Resistance 40.34% 38,824 1851 Georgia gubernatorial election results map by county (party colors).svg Results by CountyDubin Michael J. United States Gubernatorial Elections, 1776 1860: The Official Results By State And County McFarland 2003 9780786414390 40Cobb: #fd93a9 50–60% #f6718c 60–70% #ea5774 70–80% #d53958ff 80–90%McDonald: #87be51 50–60% #63a61f 60–70% #478e00 70–80% #387100 80–90% Governor George W. Towns Democratic Party (United States) Howell Cobb Constitutional Union Party The 1851 Georgia gubernatorial election was held on October 6, 1851, to elect the governor of Georgia. Howell Cobb, nominee for the newly formed Constitutional Union Party, defeated the Resistance candidate, Charles McDonald. Background Old local party system Until 1840 Georgian politics were dominated by two local parties, the Union Party and the State Rights Party. The Union party was the product of the forces of liberal democracy that brought white manhood suffrage and popular elections in the 1800s. The State Rights Party, on the other hand, was the successor to the Troup Party, a political anomaly whose conservative politics and organization were more closely related to those of the late 1800s.Murray Paul Party Organization in Georgia Politics 1825-1853 40576991 The Georgia Historical Quarterly 29 4 197, 204–206 After the 1836 presidential election the Union and State Rights parties slowly began to merge with the Democratic and Whig parties respectively. By the 1840 presidential election, the national Whig and Democratic parties had crystallized in Georgia, creating a strong two-party system that would last in the state for the next decade and a half.Georgia and the Sectional Crisis https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/georgia-and-the-sectional-crisis/ 2023-10-19 New Georgia Encyclopedia en-US Mexican-American War Wilmot Proviso The Mexican-American War greatly intensified the national debate over slavery and created disruptions within the previously stable party lines. This rift occurred at the General Assembly of 1847 over the issue of the Wilmot Proviso. The Whigs presented resolutions denying that Congress had the power to restrict slavery in the territories. The Democrats were opposed to this and argued for an endorsement of the war and seizer of Mexican land. The debate dragged on for awhile as each side attempted to get the other to contradict the aims of their respective national party. In the 1848 presidential election, Georgia Whigs endorsed the unpopular Zachary Taylor for president. Many Whigs revolted against the decision of the party, denouncing Taylor and criticizing Alexander Stephens for not supporting the Clayton Compromise. The only thing that saved the Whigs from breaking up entirely was when Stephens was gravely injured by a knife-wielding man twice his size. Ultimately, Taylor won the Georgia vote but only thanks to Democratic dissidents who found Democratic nominee Lewis Cass as the least satisfactory on the issue of slavery. However, the divisions within the Whig party would cost them more than they could handle. Compromise of 1850 Compromise of 1850 The state of Georgia was once again absorbed into sectional debates during 1849 and 1850 that resulted in the Compromise of 1850. Both sides had come to see the Wilmot Proviso, admission of California, abolishment of slavery in Washington DC, and refusal of the North to follow the fugitive slave act as a threat to the South. The democrats passed an act forcing the governor to call a state convention to meet in the event of any of these. The Whigs were opposed to this as state convention would most likely make them the minority. Around the same time, Alexander Stephens and Robert Toombs, leading members of the Georgia Whigs, had departed its ranks and entered into negotiations with Speaker Howell Cobb and other Democratic members to support compromise measures. Many political leaders discussed the need for a compromise spirt to preserve the union and save the South from "the miserable free soil policy of General Taylor." A movement to create a Union of the parties began at Macon and rapidly spread throughout the state. Not to be confused with the later Constitutional Union Party, the Georgia Constitutional Union Party was a short-lived merger of Unionists Democrats and Whigs who supported the Compromise of 1850.Murray Paul 1945 Party Organization in Georgia Politics 1825-1853 40576991 The Georgia Historical Quarterly 29 4 206–207 An anti-Compromise or "Resistance" group, also originating from Macon, led by prominent Democrats, old State Rights Whigs, and fire-eaters was formed. Georgia Platform Georgia Platform In response to the admission of California as a state and his mistaken belief that white Georgians supported the radical cause, Governor Towns scheduled elections for a December 1850 state convention in the hopes of launching the state toward secession. The resulting vote was essentially a referendum on the Compromise of 1850 and saw the pro-Unionists win with a nine-to-one majority. In three caucuses from December 11–13, the Democratic and Whig state parties merged into the Constitutional Union Party. General election Results 1851 Georgia gubernatorial election Constitutional Union #ffaadd Howell Cobb 57,417 59.66% Resistance #6ab023 Charles McDonald 40,824 40.34% 98,241 100.00 Notes References Category:Georgia (U.S. state) gubernatorial elections Georgia Gubernatorial Category:October 1851