Charles Jones Jenkins | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 44th Governor of Georgia | |
| In office December 14, 1865 – January 13, 1868 | |
| Preceded by | James Johnson |
| Succeeded by | Thomas H. Ruger |
| Attorney General of Georgia | |
| In office 1831-1834 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1805-01-06)January 6, 1805 Beaufort, South Carolina |
| Died | June 14, 1883(1883-06-14) (aged 78) Augusta, Georgia |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | Union College |
| Profession | Lawyer, politician |
| Signature | .png) |
Charles Jones Jenkins (January 6, 1805 – June 14, 1883) was an American politician fromGeorgia. ADemocrat, Jenkins served asAttorney General of Georgia from 1831 to 1834. He then went on to serve asGovernor of Georgia from December 14, 1865 to January 13, 1868. He was removed from office and replaced byThomas H. Ruger as military governor after Jenkins refused to allow state funds to be used for a racially integrated state constitutional convention. Jenkins remained a respected figure in Georgia, and despite not running for the office, he received two electoral votes in the1872 United States presidential election, due to the premature death of candidateHorace Greeley.
Jenkins was born inSouth Carolina. His family moved toJefferson County, Georgia, and he attended theUniversity of Georgia inAthens at a young age; his exact dates of attendance are not known.[1] Jenkins left the university before graduating and finished his education in 1824 atUnion College inSchenectady, New York. In 1831 Jenkins succeededGeorge W. Crawford asattorney general for the State of Georgia, himself succeeded in 1834 by Ebenezer Starnes.[2]
Jenkins first gained widespread attention as the author of theGeorgia Platform, a proclamation by a special state convention that endorsed theCompromise of 1850.[3] In the1852 Presidential election, he ran forVice President under presidential candidateDaniel Webster for the "Union Party". During theAmerican Civil War, he was appointed by GovernorJoseph E. Brown as a justice of theSupreme Court of Georgia.
After a state constitutional convention in 1865 re-established Georgia's state government, he ran as the only candidate for governor. He served as theGovernor of Georgia from 1865 to 1868, duringReconstruction. In 1868, he refused to allow state funds to be used for a racially integrated state constitutional convention that was supervised by the U.S. military occupation.[4] In response, GeneralGeorge Meade (of theThird Military District) installed Brig. GeneralThomas H. Ruger as military governor and Jenkins fled the state, taking with him the state seal to thwart state fund payments which had been ordered by the United States military authority.[5] He later returned.[6]
In the1872 U.S. presidential election, he received two electoral college votes. In that election, Liberal Republican candidateHorace Greeley died after the election but before the electors convened and so two electors from Georgia cast their votes for Jenkins.[7]
In the state constitutional convention of 1877, delegates unanimously chose Jenkins as president of the convention when they assembled on July 11, 1877.[8]
Jenkins died on June 14, 1883. He was interred inSummerville Cemetery inAugusta, Georgia.
Jenkins County, Georgia is named in his honor.[9]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Constitutional Union nominee forGovernor of Georgia 1853 | Succeeded by None |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by | Attorney General of Georgia 1834–1840 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Georgia 1865–1868 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
