George Troup

George Michael Troup ( born September 8, 1780 in McIntosh Bluff, Baldwin County, Alabama, † April 26, 1856 in Montgomery County, Georgia ) was an American politician and Governor of the State of Georgia, which he represented in both houses of Congress.

Early years

George Troup studied until 1797 at the College of New Jersey, later Princeton University emerged from the Jura. In 1799 he opened a law practice in Savannah. His political rise began in 1803, when he was elected to the House of Representatives from Georgia. He belonged to the Democratic- Republican Party, which at that time was unrivaled in the United States.

Congressman and Senator

After three years he moved to the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, where he remained until 1815. After a short break he received in 1816 a political seat in the U.S. Senate. He was Chairman of the Military Committee. In 1818 he gave up his seat in the Senate again. In 1819 he was persuaded by the influential William Harris Crawford to run for the governorship of Georgia. His opponent was John Clark. Both candidates belonged to different factions within the Democratic Republicans and were bitter political opponents a long time. The contrast between the two groups existed before the turn of the century. The followers of Troup were the wealthy plantation owner, while Clark was supported by the small farmers and the settlers in the border area. Agreement among both groups in their quest to the Cherokee Indians from Georgia were to market. Troup lost the elections of 1819. His rival was re-elected in 1821 and remained until 1823 governor. According to the constitution could not stand Clark in 1823 and thus the way was clear for Troup.

Governor and return to the Senate

As Governor, he immediately began a racial policy against the Indians. He wanted to drive the Cherokee from Georgia as soon as possible. He appealed to the former president Thomas Jefferson, who had proposed at the beginning of the century, in which to resettle the Indians from the eastern U.S. in 1803 newly acquired Louisiana Territory. He concluded with some Indian representatives from a contract, but was not recognized by the majority of the Cherokee. Then put the governor against the wishes of President John Quincy Adams, a militia against the Indians. Until 1827 already many Indians from Georgia were sold. The vast majority came in the next ten years under the governors George Gilmer, Wilson Lumpkin and William Schley, especially after 1828 was found in the Indian Territory gold. Governor Troup in 1825 re-elected by a narrow margin against his old rival Clark after the new general election system.

After the end of his term Troup was again Senator in Washington ( 1829-1833 ). There he became chairman of the Indian Committee. In 1833, he retired from politics and devoted himself to his death his plantations.