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The1851 Georgia gubernatorial election was held on October 6, 1851, to elect the governor ofGeorgia.Howell Cobb, nominee for the newly formedConstitutional Union Party, defeated theResistance candidate,Charles McDonald.[1][2]
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.[2]
After the1836 presidential election the Union and State Rights parties slowly began to merge with theDemocratic andWhig parties respectively. By the1840 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.[2][3]
TheMexican-American War greatly intensified the national debate over slavery and created disruptions within the previously stable party lines. This rift occurred at theGeneral Assembly of 1847 over the issue of theWilmot 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.[2]
In the1848 presidential election, Georgia Whigs endorsed the unpopularZachary Taylor for president. Many Whigs revolted against the decision of the party, denouncing Taylor and criticizingAlexander Stephens for not supporting theClayton 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.[2]
The state of Georgia was once again absorbed into sectional debates during 1849 and 1850 that resulted in theCompromise 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.[2]
Around the same time, Alexander Stephens andRobert Toombs, leading members of the Georgia Whigs, had departed its ranks and entered into negotiations with SpeakerHowell 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 miserablefree soil policy of General Taylor." A movement to create a Union of the parties began atMacon and rapidly spread throughout the state.[2][3] Not to be confused with the laterConstitutional Union Party, the Georgia Constitutional Union Party was a short-lived merger of Unionists Democrats and Whigs who supported theCompromise of 1850.[4]
An anti-Compromise or "Resistance" group, also originating from Macon, led by prominent Democrats, old State Rights Whigs, and fire-eaters was formed.[2]
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.[2][3]
In three caucuses from December 11–13, the Democratic and Whig state parties merged into the Constitutional Union Party.[2]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constitutional Union | Howell Cobb | 57,417 | 59.66% | ||
| Resistance | Charles McDonald | 40,824 | 40.34% | ||
