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==Early life==
==Early life==
Gilmer was born near [[Lexington, Georgia]], in what is present day [[Oglethorpe County, Georgia|Oglethorpe County]] ([[Wilkes County, Georgia|Wilkes County]] at the time of his birth). He served as first [[lieutenant]] in the Forty-third Infantry Regiment from 1813 to 1815 in the [[Creek War|campaign]] against the [[Creek people|Creek]] during the [[War of 1812]]. He practiced law as a profession.
Gilmer was born near [[Lexington, Georgia]], in what is present day [[Oglethorpe County, Georgia|Oglethorpe County]] ([[Wilkes County, Georgia|Wilkes County]] at the time of his birth). He attended a variety of backwood schools, including [[Moses Waddel | Moses Waddell's]] famous Willington Academy. He served as first [[lieutenant]] in the Forty-third Infantry Regiment from 1813 to 1815 in the [[Creek War|campaign]] against the [[Creek people|Creek]] during the [[War of 1812]]. He practiced law as a profession.


==Political career==
==Political career==
Gilmer's career consisted of multiple, alternating, elected positions at the state and federal level.
Gilmer's career consisted of multiple, alternating, elected positions at the state and federal level. Of the two great Georgia political factions known as the Crawford men and the Clarke men, he favored Crawford.


He was elected to the [[Georgia House of Representatives]] in 1818, 1819, and 1824.
He was elected to the [[Georgia House of Representatives]] in 1818, 1819, and 1824.


Gilmer was also elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1820, 1826, 1828 and 1832. However, he did not serve after the election in 1828 because he failed to accept the position within the legal time frame and the governor ordered a new election.
Gilmer was also elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1820, 1826, 1828 and 1832. Due to an oversight, he did not serve after the election in 1828, because he failed to accept the position within the legal time frame and the governor ordered a new election.


As governor of Georgia, Gilmer aggressively pursued Indian removal, laying claim to Federal assistance promised by the [[Compact of 1802]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gilmer|first1=George R.|title=Sketches of some of the first settlers of upper Georgia|date=1854|publisher=D. Appleton|location=New York|page=332-441|url=https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/government-politics/george-r-gilmer-1790-1859|accessdate=20 Nov 2018}}</ref>
⚫
When he became governor of Georgia, Gilmer initiated the prosecution of Cherokee missionary Samuel Austin Worcester for violation of a law requiring all white persons residing within the Cherokee nation to obtain a license from the governor and to swear to uphold the laws of Georgia.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Gilmer|first1=George R.|title=Letter, 1831 May 16, Milledgeville, [Georgia] to Rev[erend] Samuel A. Worcester / George R. Gilmer|url=http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/zlna/id:ch044|website=State Library Cherokee Collection, The Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville, TN|publisher=Presented in the Digital Library of Georgia|accessdate=12 June 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Breyer|first1=Stephen|title='For Their Own Good'|journal=New Republic|date=August 7, 2000|volume=223|issue=6|url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=fth&AN=3379733&site=eds-live&scope=site|accessdate=12 June 2016}}</ref> Worcester was arrested in 1831 and sentenced to four years' hard labor.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Howe|first1=Daniel Walker|title=What Hath God Wrought : The Transformation of America, 1815-1848|date=2007|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|isbn=9780195078947|page=355|url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=284051&site=eds-live&scope=site&ebv=EB&ppid=pp_355|accessdate=12 June 2016}}</ref> The Cherokee Nation hired a lawyer, [[William Wirt (Attorney General)|William Wirt]], and sued the state of Georgia in [[Cherokee Nation v. Georgia]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Breyer|first1=Stephen|title=The Cherokee Indians and the Supreme Court|journal=Journal of Supreme Court History|date=Spring 2000|volume=25|issue=3|page=219|url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edb&AN=6639914&site=eds-live&scope=site|accessdate=12 June 2016}}</ref> This led to the [[United States Supreme Court]] decision ''[[Worcester v. Georgia]]'', which struck down the Georgia statute imposing its laws on the Cherokees as violating the [[Treaty of Hopewell]].

⚫
He initiated the prosecution of Cherokee missionary Samuel Austin Worcester for violation of a law requiring all white persons residing within the Cherokee nation to obtain a license from the governor and to swear to uphold the laws of Georgia.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Gilmer|first1=George R.|title=Letter, 1831 May 16, Milledgeville, [Georgia] to Rev[erend] Samuel A. Worcester / George R. Gilmer|url=http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/zlna/id:ch044|website=State Library Cherokee Collection, The Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville, TN|publisher=Presented in the Digital Library of Georgia|accessdate=12 June 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Breyer|first1=Stephen|title='For Their Own Good'|journal=New Republic|date=August 7, 2000|volume=223|issue=6|url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=fth&AN=3379733&site=eds-live&scope=site|accessdate=12 June 2016}}</ref> Worcester was arrested in 1831 and sentenced to four years' hard labor.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Howe|first1=Daniel Walker|title=What Hath God Wrought : The Transformation of America, 1815-1848|date=2007|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|isbn=9780195078947|page=355|url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=284051&site=eds-live&scope=site&ebv=EB&ppid=pp_355|accessdate=12 June 2016}}</ref> The Cherokee Nation hired a lawyer, [[William Wirt (Attorney General)|William Wirt]], and sued the state of Georgia in [[Cherokee Nation v. Georgia]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Breyer|first1=Stephen|title=The Cherokee Indians and the Supreme Court|journal=Journal of Supreme Court History|date=Spring 2000|volume=25|issue=3|page=219|url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edb&AN=6639914&site=eds-live&scope=site|accessdate=12 June 2016}}</ref> This led to the [[United States Supreme Court]] decision ''[[Worcester v. Georgia]]'', which struck down the Georgia statute imposing its laws on the Cherokees as violating the [[Treaty of Hopewell]].


Backed by the Georgia militia and Governor Gilmer, the General Assembly dissolved the Cherokee government, annulled its laws, and passed an act authorizing Gilmer to take possession of the Cherokee lands in north Georgia.<ref>{{cite web|title=Act to authorize Georgia Governor George R. Gilmer to take possession of Cherokee lands|url=http://cdm.georgiaarchives.org:2011/cdm/compoundobject/collection/adhoc/id/14|website=1830, Acts 1-165, Enrolled Acts and Resolutions, Georgia Legislature, RG 37-1-15, Georgia Archives|publisher=Digital Library of Georgia|accessdate=12 June 2016}}</ref>
Backed by the Georgia militia and Governor Gilmer, the General Assembly dissolved the Cherokee government, annulled its laws, and passed an act authorizing Gilmer to take possession of the Cherokee lands in north Georgia.<ref>{{cite web|title=Act to authorize Georgia Governor George R. Gilmer to take possession of Cherokee lands|url=http://cdm.georgiaarchives.org:2011/cdm/compoundobject/collection/adhoc/id/14|website=1830, Acts 1-165, Enrolled Acts and Resolutions, Georgia Legislature, RG 37-1-15, Georgia Archives|publisher=Digital Library of Georgia|accessdate=12 June 2016}}</ref>


The Cherokee issue was hotly debated in the gubernatorial campaign of 1831.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Williams|first1=David|title=The Georgia Gold Rush : Twenty-niners, Cherokees, and Gold Fever|date=1995|publisher=University of South Carolina Press|location=Columbia|isbn=978-1570030529|page=48|url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=51027&site=eds-live&scope=site&ebv=EB&ppid=pp_48|accessdate=12 June 2016}}</ref> Gilmer lost the election to [[Wilson Lumpkin]]. The state seized Cherokee gold mines and set up a [[Georgia Land Lottery of 1832|land lottery system]] in 1832 to distribute Cherokee lands.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sleeper-Smith|first1=Susan|title=Why You Can't Teach United States History without American Indians|date=2015|publisher=University of North Carolina Press|location=Chapel Hill|isbn=978-1-4696-2120-3|page=279|url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=965246&site=eds-live&scope=site&ebv=EB&ppid=pp_279|accessdate=12 June 2016}}</ref>
The Cherokee issue was hotly debated in the gubernatorial campaign of 1831.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Williams|first1=David|title=The Georgia Gold Rush : Twenty-niners, Cherokees, and Gold Fever|date=1995|publisher=University of South Carolina Press|location=Columbia|isbn=978-1570030529|page=48|url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=51027&site=eds-live&scope=site&ebv=EB&ppid=pp_48|accessdate=12 June 2016}}</ref> Gilmer lost the election to [[Wilson Lumpkin]]. The state seized Cherokee gold mines and set up a [[Georgia Land Lottery of 1832|land lottery system]] in 1832 to distribute Cherokee lands.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sleeper-Smith|first1=Susan|title=Why You Can't Teach United States History without American Indians|date=2015|publisher=University of North Carolina Press|location=Chapel Hill|isbn=978-1-4696-2120-3|page=279|url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=965246&site=eds-live&scope=site&ebv=EB&ppid=pp_279|accessdate=12 June 2016}}</ref>

During his second term as Governor of Georgia, beginning in 1837, Gilmer supported and expedited the Federal government in the final removal of Indians from Georgia <ref>{{cite book|last1=Gilmer|first1=George R.|title=Sketches of some of the first settlers of upper Georgia|date=1854|publisher=D. Appleton|location=New York|page=503-555|url=https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/government-politics/george-r-gilmer-1790-1859|accessdate=20 Nov 2018}}</ref>. This process came to be termed the [[Trail of Tears]].


==Also of Note==
==Also of Note==
Line 68: Line 72:
*[[Gilmer County, Georgia]] is named after him.
*[[Gilmer County, Georgia]] is named after him.
* Georgia [[Presidential elector]] in 1836 and 1840
* Georgia [[Presidential elector]] in 1836 and 1840
* Authored ''[http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/georgiabooks/do-pdf:gb0093 Sketches of Some of the First Settlers of Upper Georgia]''
* Authored ''[https://archive.org/details/sketchesofsomeof01gilm Sketches of Some of the First Settlers of Upper Georgia]''


==Death and legacy==
==Death and legacy==
Line 83: Line 87:
{{CongBio|G000216}} Retrieved on 2008-04-28
{{CongBio|G000216}} Retrieved on 2008-04-28
*[http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/tdgh-nov/nov15.htm ''This Day in Georgia History:November 15'', Ed Jackson and Charly Pou, Carl Vinson Institute of Government, The University of Georgia]
*[http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/tdgh-nov/nov15.htm ''This Day in Georgia History:November 15'', Ed Jackson and Charly Pou, Carl Vinson Institute of Government, The University of Georgia]
*[http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/statues/gilmerport.htm Portrait and Bio at GeorgiaInfo.com]
*[https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/government-politics/george-r-gilmer-1790-1859 Portrait and Bio at New Georgia Encyclopedia]


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Revision as of 13:54, 20 November 2018

George R. Gilmer
34th Governor of Georgia
In office
November 4, 1829 – November 9, 1831
Preceded byJohn Forsyth
Succeeded byWilson Lumpkin
In office
November 8, 1837 – November 6, 1839
Preceded byWilliam Schley
Succeeded byCharles J. McDonald
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's at-large congressional district
In office
March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1835
Preceded bynew seat
Succeeded bySeaton Grantland
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 1st congressional district
In office
October 1, 1827 – March 3, 1829
Preceded byEdward F. Tattnall
Succeeded byredistricted to at-large
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's at-large congressional district
In office
March 4, 1821 – March 3, 1823
Preceded byJoel Crawford
Succeeded byGeorge Cary
Member of the Georgia House of Representatives
In office
1818–1819
1824
Personal details
Born
George Rockingham Gilmer

April 11, 1790
Lexington, Georgia, U.S.
DiedNovember 16, 1859 (age 69)
Political partyDemocratic-Republican
Whig
ProfessionSoldier, Politician

George Rockingham Gilmer (April 11, 1790 – November 16, 1859) was an American politician. He served two non-consecutive terms as the 34th Governor of Georgia, the first from 1829 to 1831 and the second from 1837 to 1839. He also served multiple terms in the United States House of Representatives.

Early life

Gilmer was born near Lexington, Georgia, in what is present day Oglethorpe County (Wilkes County at the time of his birth). He attended a variety of backwood schools, including Moses Waddell's famous Willington Academy. He served as first lieutenant in the Forty-third Infantry Regiment from 1813 to 1815 in the campaign against the Creek during the War of 1812. He practiced law as a profession.

Political career

Gilmer's career consisted of multiple, alternating, elected positions at the state and federal level. Of the two great Georgia political factions known as the Crawford men and the Clarke men, he favored Crawford.

He was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1818, 1819, and 1824.

Gilmer was also elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1820, 1826, 1828 and 1832. Due to an oversight, he did not serve after the election in 1828, because he failed to accept the position within the legal time frame and the governor ordered a new election.

As governor of Georgia, Gilmer aggressively pursued Indian removal, laying claim to Federal assistance promised by the Compact of 1802.[1]

He initiated the prosecution of Cherokee missionary Samuel Austin Worcester for violation of a law requiring all white persons residing within the Cherokee nation to obtain a license from the governor and to swear to uphold the laws of Georgia.[2][3] Worcester was arrested in 1831 and sentenced to four years' hard labor.[4] The Cherokee Nation hired a lawyer, William Wirt, and sued the state of Georgia in Cherokee Nation v. Georgia.[5] This led to the United States Supreme Court decision Worcester v. Georgia, which struck down the Georgia statute imposing its laws on the Cherokees as violating the Treaty of Hopewell.

Backed by the Georgia militia and Governor Gilmer, the General Assembly dissolved the Cherokee government, annulled its laws, and passed an act authorizing Gilmer to take possession of the Cherokee lands in north Georgia.[6]

The Cherokee issue was hotly debated in the gubernatorial campaign of 1831.[7] Gilmer lost the election to Wilson Lumpkin. The state seized Cherokee gold mines and set up a land lottery system in 1832 to distribute Cherokee lands.[8]

During his second term as Governor of Georgia, beginning in 1837, Gilmer supported and expedited the Federal government in the final removal of Indians from Georgia [9]. This process came to be termed the Trail of Tears.

Also of Note

Additional facts of interest concerning George Gilmer:

Death and legacy

Gilmer died in 1859 in Lexington and is buried in the Presbyterian Church Cemetery in the same city.[10] Gilmer County, Georgia is named for him.[11]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Gilmer, George R. (1854). Sketches of some of the first settlers of upper Georgia. New York: D. Appleton. p. 332-441. Retrieved 20 Nov 2018.
  2. ^ Gilmer, George R. "Letter, 1831 May 16, Milledgeville, [Georgia] to Rev[erend] Samuel A. Worcester / George R. Gilmer". State Library Cherokee Collection, The Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville, TN. Presented in the Digital Library of Georgia. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  3. ^ Breyer, Stephen (August 7, 2000). "'For Their Own Good'". New Republic. 223 (6). Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  4. ^ Howe, Daniel Walker (2007). What Hath God Wrought : The Transformation of America, 1815-1848. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 355. ISBN 9780195078947. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  5. ^ Breyer, Stephen (Spring 2000). "The Cherokee Indians and the Supreme Court". Journal of Supreme Court History. 25 (3): 219. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  6. ^ "Act to authorize Georgia Governor George R. Gilmer to take possession of Cherokee lands". 1830, Acts 1-165, Enrolled Acts and Resolutions, Georgia Legislature, RG 37-1-15, Georgia Archives. Digital Library of Georgia. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  7. ^ Williams, David (1995). The Georgia Gold Rush : Twenty-niners, Cherokees, and Gold Fever. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press. p. 48. ISBN 978-1570030529. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  8. ^ Sleeper-Smith, Susan (2015). Why You Can't Teach United States History without American Indians. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. p. 279. ISBN 978-1-4696-2120-3. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  9. ^ Gilmer, George R. (1854). Sketches of some of the first settlers of upper Georgia. New York: D. Appleton. p. 503-555. Retrieved 20 Nov 2018.
  10. ^ "Governor Gilmer's Home historical marker". Digital Library of Georgia. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  11. ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. p. 137.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Georgia's at-large congressional district
March 4, 1821 – March 3, 1823 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Georgia's 1st congressional district
October 1, 1827 – March 3, 1829 		Succeeded by
Elected at large
Preceded by
Newly established seat from congressional apportionment
 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Georgia's at-large congressional district
March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1835 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Governor of Georgia
1829–1831 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Governor of Georgia
1837–1839 		Succeeded by
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