Charles Jones Jenkins (January 6, 1805June 14, 1883) was an American politician from Georgia. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, Jenkins served as

Attorney General of Georgia The Attorney General of Georgia is the chief law enforcement officer and lawyer for the U.S. state of Georgia. The officeholder is elected to a four-year term at the same time as elections are held for Governor of Georgia and other offices. The c ...

from 1831–1834. He then went on to serve as

Governor of Georgia The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor also has a duty to enforce state laws, the power to either veto or approve bills passed by the Georgia Legisl ...

from December 14, 1865 to January 13, 1868. He was removed from office and replaced by

Thomas H. Ruger Thomas Howard Ruger (April 2, 1833 – June 3, 1907) was an American soldier and lawyer who served as a Union general in the American Civil War. After the war, he was a superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New ...

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 the

1872 United States presidential election The 1872 United States presidential election was the 22nd quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 5, 1872. Despite a split in the Republican Party, incumbent President Ulysses S. Grant defeated Democratic-endorsed Liberal ...

, due to the premature death of candidate

Horace Greeley Horace Greeley (February 3, 1811 – November 29, 1872) was an American newspaper editor and publisher who was the founder and newspaper editor, editor of the ''New-York Tribune''. Long active in politics, he served briefly as a congressm ...

Early life

Jenkins was born in

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. His family moved to Jefferson County, Georgia, and he attended the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

at a young age; his exact dates of attendance are not known. Jenkins left the university before graduating and finished his education in 1824 at

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

Schenectady, New York Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

. In 1831 Jenkins succeeded

George W. Crawford George Walker Crawford (December 22, 1798 – July 27, 1872) was a licensed lawyer, attorney turned politician from Columbia County, Georgia. Crawford was appointed attorney general for the state in 1827, by Governor of Georgia, Governor John For ...

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

for the State of Georgia, himself succeeded in 1834 by Ebenezer Starnes.

Political life

Jenkins first gained widespread attention as the author of the ''

Georgia Platform The Georgia Platform was a statement executed by a Georgia Convention in Milledgeville, Georgia on December 10, 1850, in response to the Compromise of 1850. Supported by Unionists, the document affirmed the acceptance of the Compromise as a final ...

'', a proclamation by a special state convention that endorsed the Compromise of 1850. In the

1852 Presidential election The 1852 United States presidential election was the 17th quadrennial United States presidential election, presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 2, 1852. History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat Franklin Pierce defeate ...

, he ran for

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

under presidential candidate Daniel Webster for the "Union Party". During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, he was appointed by Governor

Joseph E. Brown Joseph Emerson Brown (April 15, 1821 – November 30, 1894), often referred to as Joe Brown, was an American attorney and politician, serving as the 42nd Governor of Georgia from 1857 to 1865, the only governor to serve four terms. He also se ...

as a justice of the Supreme 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 the

from 1865 to 1868, during

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

. 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. In response, General George Meade (of the

Third Military District The Third Military District of the U.S. Army was one of five temporary administrative units of the U.S. War Department that existed in the American South. The district was stipulated by the Reconstruction Acts during the Reconstruction period follo ...

) installed Brig. General

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. He later returned. In the 1872 U.S. presidential election, he received two electoral college votes. In that election, Liberal Republican candidate

died after the election but before the electors convened and so two electors from Georgia cast their votes for Jenkins. In the state constitutional convention of 1877, delegates unanimously chose Jenkins as president of the convention when they assembled on July 11, 1877.

Death and legacy

Jenkins died on June 14, 1883. He was interred in

Summerville Cemetery Summerville Cemetery is a cemetery in Augusta, Georgia. It is maintained by the City of Augusta. Notable interments * George Walker Crawford (1798–1872), Governor of Georgia, US Secretary of War * Alfred Cumming (general), Alfred Cumming (1828� ...

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navig ...

. Jenkins County, Georgia is named in his honor.

References

External links

Jenkins
at '' New Georgia Encyclopedia''
Jenkins at OurGeorgiaHistory.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Charles J. 1805 births 1883 deaths Georgia (U.S. state) Attorneys General Georgia (U.S. state) Constitutional Unionists Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers Democratic Party governors of Georgia (U.S. state) Politicians from Augusta, Georgia Justices of the Supreme Court of Georgia (U.S. state) Union College (New York) alumni Candidates in the 1872 United States presidential election 1852 United States vice-presidential candidates University of Georgia people Speakers of the Georgia House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers

Early life

Political life

Death and legacy

See also

References

External links