George McIntosh Troup (September 8, 1780 – April 26, 1856) was an
American politician
The politics of the United States function within a framework of a constitutional federal republic and presidential system, with three distinct branches that share powers. These are: the U.S. Congress which forms the legislative branch, a bic ...
from the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
. He served in the
Georgia General Assembly
The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directly ...
,
U.S. House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
, and U.S.
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
before becoming the 32nd Governor of Georgia for two terms and then returning to the U.S. Senate. A believer in
expansionist
Expansionism refers to states obtaining greater territory through military empire-building or colonialism.
In the classical age of conquest moral justification for territorial expansion at the direct expense of another established polity (who of ...
Manifest Destiny
Manifest destiny was a cultural belief in the 19th century in the United States, 19th-century United States that American settlers were destined to expand across North America.
There were three basic tenets to the concept:
* The special vir ...
policies and a supporter of native
Indian removal
Indian removal was the United States government policy of forced displacement of self-governing tribes of Native Americans from their ancestral homelands in the eastern United States to lands west of the Mississippi Riverspecifically, to a de ...
slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
throughout his career. Later in his life, he was known as "the
Hercules
Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures.
The Romans adapted the Gr ...
of
states' rights
In American political discourse, states' rights are political powers held for the state governments rather than the federal government according to the United States Constitution, reflecting especially the enumerated powers of Congress and the ...
."
Family life
Troup was born during the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
at
McIntosh Bluff
McIntosh Bluff was one of the earliest white settlements in Alabama, United States. Although it is now in Mobile County, it was the first county seat of Baldwin County. It was the birthplace of early Georgia Governor George Troup. McIntosh Bluff ...
, on the
Tombigbee River
The Tombigbee River is a tributary of the Mobile River, approximately 200 mi (325 km) long, in the U.S. states of Mississippi and Alabama. Together with the Alabama, it merges to form the short Mobile River before the latter empties int ...
in what is now
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
(then a part of the
Province of Georgia
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outs ...
). He was the son of George Troup and Catherine McIntosh, the Georgia-born daughter of Captain John McIntosh, a British military officer and the chief of the McIntosh clan. (Catherine McIntosh was of the Chiefs of the MacGillivary clan lineage—she was a first cousin to Creek Chief
Alexander McGillivray
Alexander McGillivray, also known as ''Hoboi-Hili-Miko'' (December 15, 1750February 17, 1793), was a Muscogee (Creek) leader. The son of a Muscogee mother and a Scottish father, he had skills no other Creek of his day had: he was not only liter ...
and aunt of Creek Chief
William McIntosh
William McIntosh (1775 – April 30, 1825),Hoxie, Frederick (1996)pp. 367-369/ref> was also commonly known as ''Tustunnuggee Hutke'' (White Warrior), was one of the most prominent chiefs of the Creek Nation between the turn of the nineteenth cen ...
.)
Troup was twice married and the father of six children. He primarily lived in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
plantation
A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
, Valdosta (sometimes spelled Val d'Osta), was named after the
Valle d'Aosta
, Valdostan or Valdotainian it, Valdostano (man) it, Valdostana (woman)french: Valdôtain (man)french: Valdôtaine (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title = Official languages
, population_blank1 = Italian French
...
alpine valley in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. In turn, the town of
Valdosta, Georgia
Valdosta is a city in and the county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia, Lowndes County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. As of 2019, Valdosta had an estimated population of 56,457.
Valdosta is the principal city of the Valdosta Metr ...
was named for Troup's plantation.
Troupville, Georgia
"Troupville" (occasionally recorded as Troupeville) is an unincorporated community in Lowndes County, Georgia, United States, near Valdosta. Troupville was a riverboat landing near the confluence of the Withlacoochee River and the Little River ( ...
was also named for him.
Troup graduated from the College of New Jersey (later Princeton University) in 1797. He read the law with an established firm and two years later was admitted to the bar in
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...
.
Early career
Troup entered politics, where he became a strong opponent of the
Yazoo land scandal
The Yazoo land scandal, Yazoo fraud, Yazoo land fraud, or Yazoo land controversy was a massive real-estate fraud perpetrated, in the mid-1790s, by Georgia governor George Mathews and the Georgia General Assembly. Georgia politicians sold large ...
. A
Democratic-Republican
The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...
, Troup served one term as a state legislator (1803–1805). In 1806 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He was re-elected three times and served from 1807 to 1815. Along with other members of Congress, including
Henry Clay
Henry Clay Sr. (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American attorney and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. He was the seventh House speaker as well as the ninth secretary of state, al ...
of
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
and
John C. Calhoun
John Caldwell Calhoun (; March 18, 1782March 31, 1850) was an American statesman and political theorist from South Carolina who held many important positions including being the seventh vice president of the United States from 1825 to 1832. He ...
of
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 = ...
, Troup was a part of the nationalistic movement which originated the term
War Hawks
In politics, a war hawk, or simply hawk, is someone who favors war or continuing to escalate an existing conflict as opposed to other solutions. War hawks are the opposite of doves. The terms are derived by analogy with the birds of the same name ...
—members who supported the United States' entry into the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
. Troup defended Calhoun on the House floor when Rep. John Randolph of Virginia attacked Calhoun, saying it was "the great mass of the House ... against the solitary gentleman from Virginia."
Troup was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he was supported by fellow wealthy plantation owners and served as chairman of the Senate Committee of Military Affairs.
Governorship of Georgia
Georgia political force
William H. Crawford
William Harris Crawford (February 24, 1772 – September 15, 1834) was an American politician and judge during the early 19th century. He served as US Secretary of War and US Secretary of the Treasury before he ran for US president in the 1824 ...
hand-picked Troup as his candidate for governor in 1819. However, Troup twice lost to Crawford's bitter rival, John Clark, who was supported by
frontier
A frontier is the political and geographical area near or beyond a boundary. A frontier can also be referred to as a "front". The term came from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"—the region of a country that fronts o ...
settlers. In 1823, Troup ran again, as Clark was no longer eligible, and won. He advocated the removal of the
Creek Indians
The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsWestern Territory of the
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...
, an idea first proposed by
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
in 1803. In 1825, in Georgia's first popular election, Troup won by a razor-thin margin. He negotiated the controversial Treaty of Indian Springs on February 12, 1825, with his first cousin
William McIntosh
William McIntosh (1775 – April 30, 1825),Hoxie, Frederick (1996)pp. 367-369/ref> was also commonly known as ''Tustunnuggee Hutke'' (White Warrior), was one of the most prominent chiefs of the Creek Nation between the turn of the nineteenth cen ...
, a mixed-blood Creek chief. McIntosh and 49 other tribal leaders (predominantly from the Lower Creeks) ceded a large portion of Georgia, although they did not have the backing of the majority of the Creek Confederacy. He threatened an attack on Federal troops if they interfered with the treaty and challenged
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States S ...
, who conceded and allowed Troup to seize the remaining Creek land in Georgia. During Troup's tenure as governor, he also supported
public education
State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary schools that educate all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in pa ...
and the construction of new roads and
canal
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...
s. Despite the recentness of the War of 1812, Troup maintained that the United States should pursue a positive relationship with
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
. Troup always referred to the British in familial terms ("our cousins", "fraternal relations with England" our "sister nation") and believed that since Britain and America shared common roots, the two countries would "ultimately reunite in some form" although he believed the United States would and should "remain forever independent from, though no less loving towards, England." The European country remained most hostile to was France, Troup was very critical of both the French revolution, particularly the
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervour, ...
as well as the subsequent
Bourbon restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to:
France under the House of Bourbon:
* Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815)
Spain under the Spanish Bourbons:
* ...
government.
Later career
Upon the expiration of his second term as governor, Troup returned to the Senate in 1829 as a
Jacksonian Democrat
Jacksonian democracy was a 19th-century political philosophy in the United States that expanded suffrage to most white men over the age of 21, and restructured a number of federal institutions. Originating with the seventh U.S. president, Andr ...
, where he served on the Committee on Indian Affairs. He was a nominee for
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
at the
States Rights Convention
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
in January 1852 in
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...
.
Death and memorialization
Troup died while visiting one of his plantations near the
Oconee River
The Oconee River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map Accessed April 21, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its origin is in Hall County and it terminates where it joins ...
in
Montgomery County, Georgia
Montgomery County is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,610. The county seat is Mount Vernon.
Montgomery County is part of the Vidalia, GA Micropolitan Statistic ...
(now Treutlen County). He was buried on the Rosemont plantation.
Troup County
Troup County (pronounced ) is a county located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 69,426.US Census Bureau, 2020 Report, Troup County, Georgia The county seat is LaGrange.
Troup ...
was created from former Lower Creek land in 1826 and named for him.
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 ...
, an
Athens, Georgia
Athens, officially Athens–Clarke County, is a consolidated city-county and college town in the U.S. state of Georgia. Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta, and is a satellite city of the capital. The University of Georgia, the sta ...
battery
Battery most often refers to:
* Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power
* Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact
Battery may also refer to:
Energy source
*Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
was named the "Troup Artillery" in his memory.
See also
*
Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation
The Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation was a plantation on the Altamaha River, in Glynn County, Georgia. Operated as a forced-labor farm until 1865, it produced rice from 1800 until 1915, when growing rice became unprofitable. Then it was primarily a ...
, owned by his brother
Footnotes
Further reading
* Harden, Edward Jenkins The life of George M. Troup Savannah, 1859.
* Winn, William W. ''The Triumph of Ecunnau-Nuxulgee: Land Speculators, George M. Troup, State Rights, and the Removal of the Creek Indians from Georgia and Alabama, 1825-38.'' Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 2015.