1828 United States presidential election in Georgia

Background

The first political divisions in the state fell along the lines of personal support for outstanding leaders in their struggle for power. Many of these factions were usually held together through personal friendships and family associations. The two factions at the time were the Clark party, followers of Ex-Governor John Clark, and the Troup party, followers of Ex-Governor George Troup.

The Clark party had slowly begun dying out after the death of its candidate in the 1827 Georgia gubernatorial election and the removal of its leader, John Clark, from the state in the same year. The remnants of the Clark party decried party divisions and pleaded for unanimous support of Andrew Jackson in 1828. The Troup party, on the other hand, staged an aggressive campaign against the Clarkites and the Tariff of Abominations, winning whelming victories for their nominees for Congress and the Electoral College.

The Troup party nominated William H. Crawford, Georgia's presidential nominee in 1824, as their vice presidential candidate in an attempt to win over voters to their slate. Elijah Burritt, a Clarkite editor for the newspaper Statesman & Patriot, accused the Troupers of attempting to deny the vice presidency to Calhoun, opening the way for Adam's running mate, Richard Rush, and wondered why Troupers had not simply nominated Rush themselves and been done with it.

While it was true that Crawford preferred Adams to Jackson in 1824, such preference no longer existed by 1828. However, he could not "consistently with its feelings and character" support either Calhoun or Richard Rush for vice president on the Jackson ticket. Crawford was clearly more concerned with Calhoun, contending that, should Calhoun fail to win the vice presidency, Jackson would not dare bring him into the Cabinet. In case he was mistaken on this point, Crawford pledged, "I will myself cause representations to be made to General Jackson that will prevent [Calhoun's]being taken into the Cabinet."

While the victorious Troup party's Jackson electors cast all of their votes for Jackson for President, only two of them supported Calhoun for vice president, with the other seven votes going to William Smith of South Carolina, a decision characterized as "throwing away seven votes on a man, not thought of by their constituents or by any of the other states."

Results

Aftermath

In the aftermath of its defeat, the Clark party would die out in the same year. In its ashes rose the Union party, a product of the forces of liberal democracy that brought white manhood suffrage and popular elections in the 1800s.

References

References

1. Dubin, Michael J.. (2009). "United States Presidential Elections, 1788-1860: The Official Results by County and State". McFarland.
2. Lamplugh, George. (2015). "Rancorous Enmities and Blind Partialities: Factions and Parties in Georgia, 1807–1845". McFarland.
3. Murray, Paul. (1945). "Party Organization in Georgia Politics 1825-1853". The Georgia Historical Quarterly.