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102. Georgia 1803 House of Representatives, Jefferson County, Special
103. Georgia 1803 House of Representatives, Richmond County
104. Georgia 1803 Judge, Western District, Special
105. Georgia 1803 State Senate, Chatham County
106. Georgia 1803 State Senate, Richmond County
107. Georgia 1803 U.S. House of Representatives, Special
108. Georgia 1804 Attorney General, Eastern District
109. Georgia 1804 Electoral College
110. Georgia 1804 House of Representatives, Camden County
111. Georgia 1804 House of Representatives, Chatham County
112. Georgia 1804 House of Representatives, Greene County
113. Georgia 1804 House of Representatives, Hancock County
114. Georgia 1804 House of Representatives, Richmond County
115. Georgia 1804 House of Representatives, Warren County
116. Georgia 1804 House of Representatives, Washington County
117. Georgia 1804 Judge, Eastern District
118. Georgia 1804 Judge, Middle District
119. Georgia 1804 Judge, Western District
120. Georgia 1804 State Senate, Camden County
121. Georgia 1804 State Senate, Chatham County
122. Georgia 1804 State Senate, Greene County
123. Georgia 1804 State Senate, Hancock County
124. Georgia 1804 State Senate, Richmond County
125. Georgia 1804 State Senate, Warren County
126. Georgia 1804 State Senate, Washington County
127. Georgia 1804 U.S. House of Representatives
128. Georgia 1804 U.S. Senate
129. Georgia 1805 Governor
130. Georgia 1805 House of Representatives, Richmond County
131. Georgia 1805 State Senate, Richmond County
132. Georgia 1806 House of Representatives, Chatham County
133. Georgia 1806 House of Representatives, Richmond County
134. Georgia 1806 State Senate, Chatham County
135. Georgia 1806 State Senate, Richmond County
136. Georgia 1806 U.S. House of Representatives
137. Georgia 1806 U.S. House of Representatives, Special
138. Georgia 1806 U.S. House of Representatives, Special
139. Georgia 1806 U.S. Senate, Special
140. Georgia 1807 Alderman, Savannah, Special
141. Georgia 1807 Coroner, Chatham County
142. Georgia 1807 Governor
143. Georgia 1807 House of Representatives, Chatham County
144. Georgia 1807 Secretary of State
145. Georgia 1807 Sheriff, Chatham County
146. Georgia 1807 State Senate, Chatham County
147. Georgia 1807 Surveyor General
148. Georgia 1807 U.S. Senate, Special
149. Georgia 1808 Electoral College
150. Georgia 1808 Electoral College, Ballot 2
151. Georgia 1808 House of Representatives, Chatham County
152. Georgia 1808 House of Representatives, Columbia County, Special
153. Georgia 1808 House of Representatives, Richmond County
154. Georgia 1808 House of Representatives, Richmond County, Special
155. Georgia 1808 State Senate, Chatham County
156. Georgia 1808 State Senate, Richmond County
157. Georgia 1808 U.S. House of Representatives
158. Georgia 1809 Circuit Court, Western Circuit, Special
159. Georgia 1809 Clerk of the Inferior Court, Oglethorpe County
160. Georgia 1809 Clerk of the Superior Court, Oglethorpe County
161. Georgia 1809 Comptroller General
162. Georgia 1809 Coroner, Oglethorpe County
163. Georgia 1809 Governor
164. Georgia 1809 House of Representatives, Chatham County
165. Georgia 1809 House of Representatives, Lincoln County
166. Georgia 1809 House of Representatives, Richmond County
167. Georgia 1809 House of Representatives, Wilkes County
168. Georgia 1809 Secretary of State
169. Georgia 1809 Secretary of State, Ballot 2
170. Georgia 1809 Sheriff, Oglethorpe County
171. Georgia 1809 State Senate, Chatham County
172. Georgia 1809 State Senate, Lincoln County
173. Georgia 1809 State Senate, Richmond County
174. Georgia 1809 State Senate, Wilkes County
175. Georgia 1809 Surveyor General
176. Georgia 1809 Surveyor General, Ballot 2
177. Georgia 1809 Surveyor, Oglethorpe County
178. Georgia 1809 Treasurer
179. Georgia 1809 U.S. Senate, Special
180. Georgia 1809 U.S. Senate, Special, Ballot 2
181. Georgia 1809 U.S. Senate, Special, Ballot 3
182. Georgia 1810 House of Representatives, Baldwin County
183. Georgia 1810 House of Representatives, Camden County
184. Georgia 1810 House of Representatives, Chatham County
185. Georgia 1810 House of Representatives, Clark County
186. Georgia 1810 House of Representatives, Jackson County
187. Georgia 1810 House of Representatives, Liberty County
188. Georgia 1810 House of Representatives, Wilkes County
189. Georgia 1810 State Senate, Baldwin County
190. Georgia 1810 State Senate, Camden County
191. Georgia 1810 State Senate, Chatham County
192. Georgia 1810 State Senate, Clark County
193. Georgia 1810 State Senate, Jackson County
194. Georgia 1810 State Senate, Liberty County
195. Georgia 1810 State Senate, Oglethrope County
196. Georgia 1810 State Senate, Wilkes County
197. Georgia 1810 U.S. House of Representatives
198. Georgia 1811 Clerk of the Inferior Court, Baldwin County
199. Georgia 1811 Clerk of the Superior Court, Baldwin County
200. Georgia 1811 Comptroller General
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Georgia entered the Union on January 2, 1788, the fourth of the original thirteen colonies to ratify the United States Constitution. The Georgia constitution of 1789 created a bicameral legislature consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives; representatives were elected annually, senators every third year. Although Georgia's early constitutions specified neither the sex nor the race of voters, in practice eligible voters consisted of free men (predominantly whites) at least 21 years old who had paid taxes during the previous year and had resided in the county for at least six months. Each county elected one senator, and counties elected from two to five representatives, depending roughly on relative population. The legislature elected the governor to a two-year term, initially through a cumbersome process but, after a 1795 amendment, through a simple joint ballot of the legislature. Another 1795 amendment made Senate elections annual. All elections were by ballot.
The 1798 constitution (frequently amended but not entirely replaced until 1861) left the basic electoral structure intact. The most important change specified the use of the "three-fifths" or "federal" ratio, which counted three-fifths of the enslaved population in addition to the free white population in apportioning seats in the state House of Representatives. The 1798 document also required regular reapportionment among counties as the population changed. The legislature continued to elect the governor until an amendment in 1824 required direct popular election of the state's chief executive. The first popular election for governor occurred in 1825. In elections for the U.S. Congress, the legislature elected senators by joint ballot, and the state alternated between a district system and a general ticket system for the direct popular election of members of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Early Georgia politics was highly personal and factional. The absence of statewide elections, except for Congress, tended to localize politics and deter the formation of broad, institutionalized parties. The Federalists had some strength through the turn of the century, especially in Savannah and Augusta, but Georgia was largely a Republican state. The major political contests featured clashes among those who claimed to be Jeffersonian Republicans. Outrage over the Yazoo land frauds helped James Jackson dominate state politics for many years until his death in 1806, and William Crawford and George M. Troup then assumed the leadership of the Jackson group. John Clark headed the major rival faction. In broad terms, Jackson-Crawford-Troup adherents tended to have Virginia ties and to be based in the wealthier sections of the eastern black belt and low country. The Clark faction contained more people of North Carolina extraction and found its strongest support in frontier areas. Clark defeated Troup for the governorship in both 1819 and 1821, before Troup bested his rival in 1825. William Crawford was a major presidential contender in 1824. Excitement over these races, indeed, helped push through the amendment calling for popular election of the governor and a law mandating popular election of presidential electors. The most persistent and pressing issue of this early period was the state's efforts to push back the Creek and Cherokee nations and open Native American lands to white settlement. The short-staple cotton boom and the Panic of 1819 fueled economic and land concerns. The election returns presented in this series end just before the Georgia factions began to organize themselves into bona fide political parties that would become the Democratic and Whig parties in the state.
Bibliography
- Carey, Anthony Gene.
Parties, Slavery, and the Union in Antebellum Georgia. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1997. - Coleman, Kenneth R., gen. ed.
A History of Georgia, 2nd ed. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1991. - Cook, James F.
The Governors of Georgia, 1754—2004, 3rd ed. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 2005. - Carl Vinson Institute of Government, University of Georgia Georgia Constitution Web Page
- Lamplugh, George R.
Politics on the Periphery: Factions and Parties in Georgia, 1783—1806. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1986. - Phillips, Ulrich B.
Georgia and State Rights. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1902.