f in the great
controversy that grew so furious in 1850. In that controversy some of
Georgia's ablest men took part,--men who were famous as statesmen all
over the country. There were Alexander H. Stephens, who afterwards
became the Vice-President of the Confederacy; Robert Toombs, whose fiery
and impetuous character and wonderful eloquence made him a man of mark;
Howell Cobb, who was speaker of the House of Representatives; Herschel
V. Johnson, who was a candidate for Vice-President on the ticket with
Stephen A. Douglas in 1860; Benjamin H. Hill, who was just then coming
into prominence; and Joseph E. Brown, whose influence on the political
history of the State has been more marked than that of any other
individual.

The controversy growing out of the slavery question became so warm that
it led to the breaking-up of parties in 1850. Stephens and Toombs,
who had been Whigs, united with Howell Cobb, who was a Democrat. Other
Southern Whigs united under the name of the American party. At the North
the Whigs either joined the Republican party or united with the American
party. The spirit of disunion was rampant in all parts of the South.
In Georgia the Legislature had called a State convention, and a great
effort was made by some of the politicians to commit the State to
secession. Both Toombs and Stephens were strong Union men, and they
opposed the spirit and purpose of the call for the convention.
The speeches that Toombs had made in Congress were garbled by the
newspapers, and he was made to appear as favoring immediate secession.
He made short work of that scheme, however. He returned to Georgia in
the fall of 1850, and immediately began one of the most extraordinary
campaigns that has ever taken place in the State. He was in the prime
of life. His fiery energy, his boldness, his independence, and his
dauntless courage, were in full flower. He took issue with what seemed
to be the unanimous sentiment of the State. He declared that the call
for the convention had dishonored the State. He sent out a ringing
address to the people, urging the South to stand by the Constitution and
the laws in good faith.

By the time the convention was held, the efforts of Toombs, supplemented
by those of Stephens and other conservative men, had turned the tide of
disunion. Whigs united with Democrats. When the returns of the election
were made known, it was found that a large majority of the members
were for the Union. "With no memory o