Georgia Platform facts for kids

The Georgia Platform was an important statement made by leaders in Georgia on December 10, 1850. It was a response to the Compromise of 1850, a big agreement meant to solve arguments between the North and South over slavery.

This document was supported by people who wanted to keep the United States together. It said that Georgia accepted the Compromise of 1850 as a final solution to the slavery issues. However, it also warned that the North should not attack the South's rights any further.

The Georgia Platform was very important politically across the South. For a short time, it helped stop states from wanting to leave the Union. But in the long run, it helped bring the Southern states closer together and led to the end of the Second Party System (a time when two main political parties were strong) in the South. A large part of this document was written by Charles J. Jenkins, a lawyer and politician from Augusta.

Why Was the Georgia Platform Needed?

Arguments over whether slavery should spread into new western territories had been a problem for a long time. The Missouri Compromise had tried to solve this before. But these tensions flared up again when the U.S. debated adding Texas and after the Mexican War.

The idea of adding Texas to the U.S. was a major topic in the 1844 national elections. Even though there were some signs of a split between North and South, the election mostly followed regular party lines. Disagreement about the Mexican War and gaining new land also largely split along party lines.

The real shift happened in August 1846 with the Wilmot Proviso. This proposal tried to ban slavery in any land gained from Mexico. After this, the national debate truly began to divide the country by region. During the "long period of disagreement from 1846-1850," more and more Southerners started thinking that leaving the Union might be a way to protect slavery from Northern threats.

In the U.S. Congress, the North and South argued fiercely over these issues. This led to the Compromise of 1850, which aimed to settle all the remaining arguments about slavery. After an early attempt to pass one big bill failed, President Millard Fillmore signed five separate bills in September 1850 that made up the compromise.

Around the same time, some extreme Southerners tried their own solution. They held the Nashville Convention in June 1850. Some hoped this meeting would lead to states leaving the Union. The convention spoke out against the proposed compromise. However, it decided not to recommend leaving the Union over limits on slavery in new territories. Instead, it suggested extending the Missouri Compromise line all the way to the Pacific Ocean.

Unionists vs. Southern Rights Supporters

The idea of states leaving the Union was strongest in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. In Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia, groups called Union or Constitutional Parties formed to oppose the radical Southern Rights parties. These Southern Rights parties were pushing for states to leave the Union. In South Carolina, the Southern Rights agenda was already very strong, and its leaders were urging other states to secede.

The new Union parties attracted most of the Whigs in these three states. In Alabama and Mississippi, the Whigs had been weak. But the creation of the Union parties gave new life to the opposition against the powerful state Democratic Parties.

In Alabama, the state was divided. The pro-compromise Union Party was strongest in the north. Democrats in the south formed the Southern Rights Party.

In Mississippi, Governor John A. Quitman and Jefferson Davis led the Southern Rights group. Senator Henry S. Foote, who had lost support in the state for backing the compromise, was the most visible leader of the Union Party.

Georgia had a strong Whig Party led by Alexander Stephens and Robert Toombs. They had already opposed President Zachary Taylor. They ended up supporting the Compromise of 1850, though they voted against the bill that ended the slave trade in Washington D.C. They were joined in their efforts to form the Constitutional Union Party by a moderate Democrat named Howell Cobb. Their opponents included Democratic Governor George W. Towns and Hershel V. Johnson, along with fellow Whig John M. Berrien.

After the Compromise of 1850 bills were finally approved, the radical groups took action. In Mississippi, Governor Quitman called a special meeting of the legislature in November. This meeting was to discuss the state's reaction to the compromise. The Nashville Convention met again in November, but few people attended, and nothing was achieved. In South Carolina, a regular legislative meeting was already set for November. Governor Whitemarsh Seabrook was convinced not to take any special actions that might remind people of South Carolina's extreme actions during the Nullification Crisis (a past disagreement over federal laws). However, the most important action would happen in Georgia.

Georgia Takes Action

Governor Towns of Georgia, following instructions from the state legislature, called for a special election. This election was to choose delegates for a state convention. The convention, planned for November, was meant to decide how Georgia should respond to the Compromise of 1850.

Robert Barnwell Rhett from South Carolina and William Lowndes Yancey from Alabama joined local Georgians in supporting the Southern Rights party. They even went so far as to damage the state Democratic Party. Stephens, Toombs, and Cobb traveled all over the state to oppose them. Stephens alone estimated he traveled over 3,000 miles during the campaign.

The Unionists won the election to the convention by a large margin, with 46,000 votes compared to 24,000 for their opponents. There were 10 delegates committed against leaving the Union for every 1 who supported it. Stephens and Toombs were delegates to the convention. They used it to officially create the state Constitutional Union Party. Meanwhile, in Alabama, Mississippi, and South Carolina, the Georgia election results and the lack of action at the Nashville Convention discouraged those who wanted to leave the Union.

The convention's main job was to create a position that supported the Compromise of 1850 as the final solution to the arguments over slavery. At the same time, it needed to strongly protect traditional Southern rights. They did this by approving what became known as the Georgia Platform.

The platform was a clever statement. It supported both keeping the Union together and accepting the compromise. It also clearly listed specific future actions by the North that would not be tolerated. And it kept open the idea of leaving the Union as a possible future solution. Many Southerners felt that the Compromise of 1850 favored the North more. The Georgia Platform made it clear that the future of the nation depended on the North strictly following the Compromise.

What Happened Next?

Mississippi and Alabama followed Georgia in supporting the Georgia Platform. This political move greatly weakened any effective response from the Southern Rights parties. Generally, the Compromise was popular throughout the South. Historian William J. Cooper Jr. noted that even though the conflict wasn't truly about staying in the Union or leaving it everywhere, the success of the Unionists made it seem that way. Historian David Potter said the Georgia Platform "became the main policy for the South for several years."

The state elections of 1851 showed how popular the Unionist position was. In Georgia, Cobb was elected governor. Stephens was reelected to the House of Representatives, and Toombs was appointed to the United States Senate. In Mississippi, Foote defeated Jefferson Davis for the United States Senate seat. In the elections for the House of Representatives, Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi elected 14 Unionists and only 5 Southern Rights candidates. In the rest of the South, the Whigs generally gained seats in Congress.

In South Carolina, there was mostly only one political party. This party was divided between those who thought South Carolina should act alone and those who wanted action only if other states joined them. The South Carolina legislature called for both a state convention and another Southern Congress in early 1852 in Memphis. However, very few people voted for the convention. And the victories of Unionists in other states meant that the Memphis convention never happened.

The Union Parties, despite the hopes of Stephens and others, did not become a national party. Cooper wrote that "Political parties in the South lived and succeeded only if they could truly or supposedly protect the South and its ways of life. A party limited to Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi could not convincingly claim to protect anything."

Eventually, the very success of the Georgia Platform meant it soon became a basic part of the Democratic Party's policies. Neither the isolated Union Parties nor the remaining Whigs in other states could effectively challenge the Democrats. The Democrats now seemed to offer the best protection for Southern rights. This helped lead to the breakup of the Second Party System in the South.

Images for kids

• Charles J Jenkins.jpg

  Charles J. Jenkins, who wrote much of the Georgia Platform.

• Millard Fillmore by Brady, c1850.jpg

  President Millard Fillmore signed the Compromise of 1850.

• Alexander H Stephens - Brady-Handy.jpg

  Alexander Stephens, a Whig leader who helped form the Constitutional Union Party in Georgia.

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  Robert Toombs, another Whig leader and delegate to the Georgia convention.

• Howell Cobb.jpg

  Howell Cobb, a moderate Democrat who joined the Unionists.

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  Jefferson Davis, a Southern Rights leader in Mississippi.