Unlike many of the Civil War governors who were elected in and out of office while the war was in full swing, Joseph Emerson Brown served as the governor of Georgia throughout the entire Civil War era, from 1857 to 1865. His influence, thus, is broad, ranging from the conflicts leading up to the war and succession of the southern states to the defeat of the Confederacy. His voice, which continuously advocated for states’ rights, called first for the succession of the southern states out of the Union and then, in turn, resisted against the Confederacy, opposing its impressments of goods and slave labor and the Confederate draft. State after state followed him, protesting against conscription and the Confederacy. Ultimately, Brown’s and his followers’
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After being inaugurated into the position on November 6, 1857, his first order of business was banks and their possible suspension of payments. Brown was an avid opposer of banks, only supporting banks on the sole condition that they remain local with no national control. In 1857, the country was hit with a wave of depression causing hardships on banks as they could no longer afford to make the necessary payments. Georgia, at the time, had a law penalizing banks for overdue payments. Brown’s predecessor had been lenient on the banks, brushing the violations under the rug. But Brown considered the law imperative and declared his intentions to make the banks for their failures. The banks quickly turned to the legislative body for dire aid. In response, the first session of the legislature under Brown’s administration introduced and passed a bill that would temporarily suspend payments for a year, giving relief to the banks of Georgia. Brown vetoed it. He had always condemned all efforts to make the banks more powerful. The legislative body did not agree with Brown’s sentiments, however, and the bill rendered enough votes to pass despite the veto. However, Brown possessed remarkable political skill and rhetoric and used the Suspension Act as an example of a larger issue of government feeding power and money to a few while leeching out of the pockets
After being inaugurated into the position on November 6, 1857, his first order of business was banks and their possible suspension of payments. Brown was an avid opposer of banks, only supporting banks on the sole condition that they remain local with no national control. In 1857, the country was hit with a wave of depression causing hardships on banks as they could no longer afford to make the necessary payments. Georgia, at the time, had a law penalizing banks for overdue payments. Brown’s predecessor had been lenient on the banks, brushing the violations under the rug. But Brown considered the law imperative and declared his intentions to make the banks for their failures. The banks quickly turned to the legislative body for dire aid. In response, the first session of the legislature under Brown’s administration introduced and passed a bill that would temporarily suspend payments for a year, giving relief to the banks of Georgia. Brown vetoed it. He had always condemned all efforts to make the banks more powerful. The legislative body did not agree with Brown’s sentiments, however, and the bill rendered enough votes to pass despite the veto. However, Brown possessed remarkable political skill and rhetoric and used the Suspension Act as an example of a larger issue of government feeding power and money to a few while leeching out of the pockets