Augustus O. Bacon | |
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| President pro tempore of the United States Senate | |
| In office August 14, 1911 – February 15, 1913 | |
| Preceded by | William P. Frye |
| Succeeded by | Jacob Harold Gallinger |
| United States Senator fromGeorgia | |
| In office March 4, 1895 – February 14, 1914 | |
| Preceded by | Patrick Walsh |
| Succeeded by | William S. West |
| Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives | |
| In office 1873-1874 1877-1881 | |
| Preceded by | Joseph B. Cumming (first term) Thomas Hardeman Jr. (second term) |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Hardeman Jr. (first term) Louis F. Garrard (second term) |
| Member of theGeorgia House of Representatives | |
| In office 1871–1886 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1839-10-20)October 20, 1839 Bryan County,Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | February 14, 1914(1914-02-14) (aged 74) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | University of Georgia University of Georgia School of Law |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Confederate States |
| Branch/service |  Confederate States Army |
| Rank |  Captain |
| Unit | 9th Georgia Infantry |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Augustus Octavius Bacon (October 20, 1839 – February 14, 1914) was a Confederate soldier, segregationist, andU.S.politician. A member of theDemocratic Party, he served as aU.S. senator fromGeorgia, becoming the first senator to be directly elected after the ratification of the17th Amendment, and rose to the position ofpresident pro tempore of the United States Senate.[1] Controversy arose during theAmerican Civil Rights Movement over a provision in hiswill that created aracially segregated park in his hometown ofMacon, which led to twoU.S. Supreme Court decisions. He was a slave owner.[2]
Augustus Octavius Bacon was born inBryan County, Georgia. He graduated in 1859 from theUniversity of Georgia (UGA) inAthens,Georgia, and from theUniversity of Georgia School of Law in its inaugural class of graduates in 1860. While at UGA, he was a member of thePhi Kappa Literary Society.
He was a soldier in the army of theConfederate States of America during theAmerican Civil War. Following the end of the war, he served in theGeorgia State House of Representatives from 1871 to 1886, for much of that time as House speaker.[3] He made his home inMacon.[4]
Bacon was elected as one of Georgia'sUnited States senators in 1894 and was re-elected to three subsequent terms.[3][5] Bacon held several committee chairmanships (Committee on Engrossed Bills, Committee on Private Land Claims,Committee on Foreign Relations).[3] He considered himself anAnglophile, once remarking that "all the blood in me comes from English ancestors," but he did not want America to become animperial power along the same lines as theUnited Kingdom; he opposed theSpanish–American War and the subsequent occupation of thePhilippines on those grounds.[6]
He served as one of several alternatingpresidents pro tempore of the United States Senate during the62nd Congress (1911 to 1913), as part of a compromise under which Bacon and four senators from theRepublican majority rotated in the office because no single candidate in either party was able to secure a majority vote.[7]
While in the Senate, Bacon was one of a number of members of Congress who tried to get "better" streets inWashington, D.C., named after their home states. Although most of these efforts failed, in 1908 Bacon succeeded in having Brightwood Avenue (or Brookeville Pike) renamedGeorgia Avenue.[8] The old Georgia Avenue became Potomac Avenue.[9]
Bacon died of acoronary occlusion on February 14, 1914, inWashington, D.C., at the age of 74.[1][3] He was buried atRose Hill Cemetery inMacon, Georgia.
After his death, Senator Bacon's 1911 will established a "whites only" park in Macon which was to be held in trust by the city. During theCivil Rights Movement, the use of the park, known as Baconsfield Park, was the subject of two relatedSupreme Court cases.
The first,Evans v. Newton, was decided in 1966.[10] The Court held that the use of the park for "whites only" was invalid under theFourteenth AmendmentEqual Protection Clause. Because the park was held intrust by a public entity, the Court held that it could not exclude non-white persons. Although the city tried to maintain the segregationist intentions of Senator Bacon by transferring the trust to private trustees,Justice Douglas’ majority opinion explained that a park is public in nature and may not exclude non-white persons from using the park for recreation.
A subsequent Supreme Court case,Evans v. Abney, was decided in 1970.[11] After the Court held that Baconsfield Park was unable to perform a segregationist function, the state court held that "Senator Bacon's intention to provide a park for whites only had become impossible to fulfill and that accordingly the trust had failed and the parkland and other trust property had reverted by operation of Georgia law to the heirs of the Senator." The decision involved the doctrine ofcy pres, and it was necessary for the court to determine Senator Bacon's probable intention in the matter. The Court concluded that, if Senator Bacon had been able to know that his objective was impossible or illegal, he would have preferred that the land revert to hisheirs. TheSupreme Court of the United States affirmed the decision of theSupreme Court of Georgia, holding that refusing to apply the doctrine of cy pres did not violate theFourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Bacon's heirs then sold the property to private developers, who converted the land near North Avenue and Nottingham Drive to commercial use.[12]
Bacon County, Georgia, established shortly after his death in 1914, is named in his honor.[4]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) page 1339
Johnson, Rossiter, ed. (1906). "Bacon, Augustus Octavius".The Biographical Dictionary of America. Vol. 1. Boston: American Biographical Society. p. 176.
| Party political offices | ||
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| First | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromGeorgia (Class 2) 1913 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. senator (Class 2) from Georgia March 4, 1895 – February 14, 1914 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | President pro tempore of the United States Senate 1911–1913 | Succeeded by |
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