Charles J. Jenkins

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For other persons named Charles Jenkins, see Charles Jenkins (disambiguation).

40th Governor of Georgia
Charles Jones Jenkins

In office 1865 – 1868
Preceded by	James Johnson
Succeeded by	Thomas H. Ruger

Born	January 6, 1805(1805-01-06) Beauford District, South Carolina, U.S.
Died	June 14, 1883 (aged 78) U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Profession	Lawyer, Politician

Charles Jones Jenkins (January 6, 1805 – June 14, 1883) was a politician from Georgia, U.S..

Jenkins was born in South Carolina. His family moved to Jefferson County, Georgia, and Jenkins attended the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens at a young age; however, his exact dates of attendance are not known. Jenkins left UGA before graduating and finished his education in 1824 at Union College in Pennsylvania.

He first gained widespread attention as the author of "The Georgia Platform", a proclamation by a special state convention that cautiously endorsed the Compromise of 1850. In the 1852 Presidential election he was nominated for Vice President on a "National Union" ticket as a running mate for Daniel Webster. During the American Civil War, he was appointed by Governor Joseph E. Brown 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 Governor of Georgia from 1865 to 1868, during Reconstruction. 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 John Pope installed Brig. General Thomas H. Ruger as military governor and Jenkins fled the state, though he later returned. In the 1872 Election, he received 2 electoral college votes. In that election, Liberal Republican candidate Horace Greeley died after the elections but before the electors convened and so two of the electors from Georgia cast their vote for Jenkins.

He died on June 14, 1883. He was interned in Summerville Cemetery in Augusta, Georgia. Jenkins County, Georgia is named in his honor.

[edit] References

History of the University of Georgia by Thomas Walter Reed, Thomas Walter Reed, Imprint: Athens, Georgia : University of Georgia, ca. 1949, pp. 188-190

[edit] External links

Preceded by James Johnson	Governor of Georgia 1865–1868	Succeeded by Thomas H. Ruger

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