William J. Northen Explained

William Jonathan Northen
Order:54th Governor of Georgia
Term Start:November 8, 1890
Term End:October 27, 1894
Predecessor:John Brown Gordon
Successor:William Yates Atkinson
Office1:Georgia State Senate
Term Start1:1885
Term End1:1887
Office2:Georgia House of Representatives
Term Start2:1881
Term End2:1883
Term Start3:1877
Term End3:1879
Birth Name:William Jonathan Northen
Birth Date:9 July 1835
Birth Place:Jones County, Georgia U.S.
Death Place:Atlanta, Georgia U.S.
Resting Place:Oakland Cemetery
Party:Democratic Party
Alma Mater:Mercer University
Signature:Signature of William Jonathan Northen (1835–1913).png

William Jonathan Northen (July 9, 1835 – March 25, 1913), was the 54th Governor of Georgia from 1890 to 1894, as well as a leading Baptist minister. Northen was president of the Georgia Baptist Convention from 1892 to 1910, and president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1899 to 1901.[1] His political rhetoric was based on his religious outlook, and often focused on racial issues at a time when lynching was increasing. Northen believed that advances in medicine and health would ultimately help African Americans achieve salvation. He promoted the ideology of the modernizing New South, but did not abandon the policy of white supremacy.[2] [3]

Early life

Born in Jones County, Georgia, Northen graduated from Mercer University in 1853. He married Martha Neel in 1860 and served as a two-term member of the Georgia House of Representatives (1877–1881). He also was elected to the Georgia Senate in 1884. He was one of the biggest planters in Hancock County, Georgia.

Religious life

Northen was president of the Georgia Baptist Convention from 1892 to 1910,[4] and president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1899 to 1901.[5]

Political life

Forced to resign from teaching, Northen began to farm. After the Civil War, farming in Georgia needed reform. Northen set his sights on the Georgia House of Representatives, where he earned the trust of fellow farmers in the same situation as he. He uplifted the spirits of his fellow Georgians, who elected him to two terms in the state House, one term in the state Senate, and president of the Georgia Agricultural Society. He was elected to his first term as governor in 1890.

Northen was a Democrat and a staunch foe of the Populist party.[6] He promoted biracial cooperation among races and was against lynching, a common occurrence at the time.[7] "I regret that the necessity exists for recommending the passage of more stringent laws for the protection of human life," he told state legislators in October 1892.[8]

He was a proponent of temperance, and offered a temperance bill to the Georgia General Assembly on July 14, 1881. The bill passed the House, but was swiftly defeated in the Senate.[9]

Despite opposition from Thomas E. Watson, who supported the Populist Party's candidate, Northen won a second term as governor in 1892.

Death and legacy

Northen contributed to the history of Georgia by compiling a seven-volume collection of biographical essays, published between 1907 and 1912, titled Men of Mark in Georgia. In 1911, he replaced Allen D. Candler as compiler of state records and contributed to the ongoing publication of the Colonial Records of Georgia series.

He died in 1913, in Atlanta, Georgia. Northen is buried in Oakland Cemetery.

See also

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. Raybon. S. Paul. Stick by the old paths: an inquiry into the Southern Baptist response to Populism. American Baptist Quarterly. 1992. 11. 3. 241.
  2. Casey, Cater, "To Pick Up Again the Cross of Missionary Work: W. J. Northen's Politics of Race, Religion, and Reform, 1890-1911" Georgia Baptist History (2008), Vol. 21, pp 23-41
  3. Casey P. Cater, "William J. Northen (1835-1913)". New Georgia Encyclopedia (2014).
  4. Raybon. S. Paul. Stick by the old paths: an inquiry into the Southern Baptist response to Populism. American Baptist Quarterly. 1992. 11. 3. 241. June 1, 2016.
  5. Book: Caner. Emir. Caner. Ergun. The sacred trust : sketches of the Southern Baptist Convention presidents. 2003. Broadman & Holman. Nashville, Tenn.. 080542668X. 27. June 1, 2016.
  6. Raybon. S. Paul. Stick by the old paths: an inquiry into the Southern Baptist response to Populism. American Baptist Quarterly. 1992. 11. 3. 241. June 1, 2016.
  7. Harvey. Paul. 'The right-minded members of that race': southern religious progressives confront race, 1880-1930. Perspectives in Religious Studies. 2012. 39. 3. 242. June 1, 2016.
  8. Book: Thurston. Robert W.. Lynching : American Mob Murder in Global Perspective. 2011. Routledge. Farnham, Surrey, England. 9781409409090. 295.
  9. Wagner. Michael A.. 'As Gold Is Tried In The Fire, So Hearts Must Be Tried By Pain': The Temperance Movement in Georgia and the Local Option Law of 1885. Georgia Historical Quarterly. 2009. 93. 1. June 1, 2016.