Joseph Emerson Brown
| Joseph Emerson Brown | |
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United States Senator from Georgia |
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In office May 26, 1880 – March 3, 1891 |
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| Preceded by | John B. Gordon |
| Succeeded by | John B. Gordon |
| 42nd Governor of Georgia | |
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In office November 6, 1857 – June 17, 1865 |
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| Preceded by | Herschel Johnson |
| Succeeded by | James Johnson |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
April 15, 1821 Pickens, South Carolina |
| Died | November 30, 1894 (aged 73) Atlanta, Georgia |
| Political party | Whig, Democratic |
Joseph Emerson Brown (April 15, 1821 – November 30, 1894), often referred to as Joe Brown, was an attorney and politician, serving as the 42nd Governor of Georgia from 1857 to 1865, the only governor to serve four terms. After the American Civil War, he was elected by the state legislature as a two-term U.S. Senator, serving from 1880 to 1891. Brown was a leading secessionist in 1861, and led his state into the Confederacy.
A former Whig, and a firm believer in slavery and southern states' rights, he defied the Confederate government's wartime policies. He resisted the military draft, believing that local troops should be used only for the defense of Georgia. He denounced Confederate President Jefferson Davis as an incipient tyrant, and challenged Confederate impressment of animals and goods to supply the troops, and slaves to work in military encampments and on the lines. Several other governors followed his lead.
After the war, Brown joined the Republican Party for a time, and was appointed as chief justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia from 1865 to 1870. Later he rejoined the Democrats, became president of the Western and Atlantic Railroad and began to amass great wealth; he was estimated to be a millionaire by 1880. He earned high profits from two decades of using mostly black convicts leased from state, county and local governments in his coal mining operations in Dade County. His Dade Coal Company bought other coal and iron companies, all based on the use of convict labor. By 1889 it was known as the Georgia Mining, Manufacturing and Investment Company. Brown and his wife were honored in 1928 by a statue installed on the state capitol grounds.
Joseph Emerson Brown was born April 15, 1821 in Pickens County, South Carolina to Mackey Brown and Sally (Rice) Brown. At a young age he moved with his family to Union County, Georgia. In 1840, he decided to leave the farm and seek an education. With the help of his younger brother James and his father's plow horse, Brown drove a yoke of oxen on a 125-mile trek to an academy near Anderson, South Carolina. There Brown traded the oxen for eight months' board and lodging.
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Wikipedia