1855 Georgia gubernatorial election
1 October 1855
 
Nominee Herschel V. Johnson Garnett Andrews[lower-alpha 1] B. H. Overby
Party Democratic Know Nothing Temperance
Popular vote 54,136 43,358 6,331
Percentage 52.14% 41.76% 6.10%
Results by County[2]
Johnson:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Andrews:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Governor before election

Herschel V. Johnson
Democratic

 Elected Governor

Herschel V. Johnson
Democratic

The 1855 Georgia gubernatorial election was held on 1 October 1855 in order to elect the Governor of Georgia. Democratic nominee and incumbent Governor Herschel V. Johnson was re-elected against Know Nothing (Sam)[lower-alpha 1] nominee Garnett Andrews and Temperance nominee B. H. Overby.[3]

Background

By this point, the Constitutional Unionist Party had effectively dissolved with the loss of Union Democrats, and with the collapse of the Whigs following the passage of the Kansas–Nebraska Act in 1854, most Southern Whigs had joined the nativist American Party (Know Nothing). As one of these people, Garnett Andrews became involved with the Nothing Know party and in 1855, after resigning his seat on the Northern Circuit, became the Know-Nothing (Sam)[lower-alpha 1] candidate for the Georgia governorship. He campaigned against unrestricted immigration and against secession.[1][4]

Around the same time, the Georgia State Temperance Convention met in Atlanta with the aim of getting involved in local politics. Basil Hallam Overby, a lawyer from Atlanta, beat out the son of William H. Crawford for the nomination.[5]

General election

On election day, 1 October 1855, Democratic nominee Herschel V. Johnson won re-election by a margin of 10,778 votes against his foremost opponent Know Nothing (Sam)[lower-alpha 1] nominee Garnett Andrews, thereby continuing Democratic control over the office of Governor. Johnson was sworn in for his second term on 9 November 1855.[6]

Results

Georgia gubernatorial election, 1855[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Herschel V. Johnson (incumbent) 54,136 52.14
Know Nothing Garnett Andrews 43,358 41.76
Temperance B. H. Overby 6,331 6.10
Total votes 103,825 100.00

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 In Georgia the Know Nothing Party was called "Sam" by the local Democratic party. Its use was so widespread that even some Know-Nothings adopted it. According to Royce McCrary, the origins of the term are obscure. Sam was a term applied to the raw Irish immigrants in the 1850s. Apparently the Democrats, in a mocking way, meant to imply that the anti-Irish Know-Nothings were actually Irish.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 McCrary, Royce (1977). "John Macpherson Berrien and the Know-Nothing Movement in Georgia". The Georgia Historical Quarterly. 61 (1): 35–36, 41 – via JSTOR.
  2. 1 2 Dubin, Michael J. (2003). United States Gubernatorial Elections, 1776 1860: The Official Results By State And County. McFarland. pp. 41–43. ISBN 9780786414390.
  3. ↑ "Gov. Herschel Vespasian Johnson". National Governors Association. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  4. ↑ "Garnett Andrews". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2023-12-17.
  5. ↑ Tankersley, Allen P. (1947). "Basil Hallam Overby, Champion of Prohibition in Ante-Bellum Georgia". The Georgia Historical Quarterly. 31 (1): 8 – via JSTOR.
  6. ↑ "GA Governor". ourcampaigns.com. 14 March 2005. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
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