Charles W. Downing Jr. (1825–1862) was the third Secretary of State of the state of Florida, in office from July 23, 1849, and June 30, 1853.

Life

At the time the

governor of Florida A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

was appointed to a three-year term by the President and the

territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

operated with little federal funding, while a popularly elected

Florida Territorial Council The Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida, often referred to as the Florida Territorial Council or Florida Territorial Legislative Council, was the legislative body governing the American territory of Florida (Florida Territory) before st ...

had only minimal powers to borrow money, issue

license A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

s, and organize a state

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

. According to the State Archives of Florida, "A political protest in 1838 by

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Downing forced the establishment of a more representative

bicameral legislature Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...

, where voices of rural farmers could be better presented. This reform was offset by the isolation of most

homestead Homestead may refer to: *Homestead (buildings), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses *Homestead (unit), a unit of measurement equal to 160 acres *Homestead principle, a legal concept th ...

s and their lack of political participation. In 1840, Downing introduced House Bill 466 to end the Seminole War." His father, Charles Downing, was a

Delegate Delegate or delegates may refer to: * Delegate, New South Wales, a town in Australia * Delegate (CLI), a computer programming technique * Delegate (American politics), a representative in any of various political organizations * Delegate (United ...

to the US House of Representatives from the Florida Territory. His wife,

Fanny Murdaugh Downing Fanny Murdaugh Downing (, Murdaugh; pen names, Viola and Frank Dashmore; October 19, 1831 - May 6, 1894) was a 19th-century American author and poet. She was the first resident novelist of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Downing's principal p ...

, was an author and poet.

References

1825 births 1862 deaths Florida Territory officials Secretaries of State of Florida 19th-century American politicians {{Florida-politician-stub