Augustus Octavius Bacon
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Augustus Octavius Bacon (October 20, 1839February 14, 1914) was a Confederate soldier, segregationist, and
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. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a
U.S. senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...
from
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
, becoming the first senator to be directly elected after the ratification of the 17th Amendment, and rose to the position of
president pro tempore of the United States Senate The president pro tempore of the United States Senate (often shortened to president pro tem) is the second-highest-ranking official of the United States Senate, after the Vice President of the United States, vice president. According to Articl ...
. Controversy arose during the American Civil Rights Movement over a provision in his
will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...
that created a racially segregated park in his hometown of Macon, which led to two
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decisions. He was a slave owner.


Biography

Augustus Octavius Bacon was born in
Bryan County, Georgia Bryan County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 44,738. The county seat is Pembroke, Georgia, Pembroke. Bryan Cou ...
. He graduated in 1859 from the
University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...
(UGA) in
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,
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
, and from the
University of Georgia School of Law The University of Georgia School of Law (Georgia Law) is the law school of the University of Georgia, a Public university, public research university in Athens, Georgia. It was founded in 1859, making it one of the oldest American university law ...
in its inaugural class of graduates in 1860. While at UGA, he was a member of the
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. He was a soldier in the army of the
Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United State ...
during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
. Following the end of the war, he served in the Georgia State House of Representatives from 1871 to 1886, for much of that time as House speaker.Marquis Who's Who, Inc. ''Who Was Who in American History, the Military''. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1975. P. 22 He made his home in Macon. Bacon was elected as one of Georgia's United States senators in 1894 and was re-elected to three subsequent terms. Bacon held several committee chairmanships (Committee on Engrossed Bills, Committee on Private Land Claims,
Committee on Foreign Relations The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for authorizing and overseeing foreign ai ...
). He considered himself an
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, once remarking that "all the blood in me comes from English ancestors," but he did not want America to become an imperial power along the same lines as the
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; he opposed the
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and the subsequent occupation of the
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on those grounds. He served as one of several alternating
presidents pro tempore of the United States Senate President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsidente ...
during the 62nd Congress (1911 to 1913), as part of a compromise under which Bacon and four senators from the Republican majority rotated in the office because no single candidate in either party was able to secure a majority vote. While in the Senate, Bacon was one of a number of members of Congress who tried to get "better" streets in
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, named after their home states. Although most of these efforts failed, in 1908 Bacon succeeded in having Brightwood Avenue (or Brookeville Pike) renamed
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. The old Georgia Avenue became Potomac Avenue. Bacon died of a
coronary occlusion A coronary occlusion, or coronary artery disease, is the partial or complete Coronary artery disease, obstruction of blood flow in a coronary artery. This condition was first discussed in 1910 by William Osler, Sir William Osler. This condition s ...
on February 14, 1914, in
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, at the age of 74. He was buried at Rose Hill Cemetery in
Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Situated near the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is southeast of Atlanta and near the ...
.


Legacy

After his death, Senator Bacon's 1911 will established a "whites only" park in Macon which was to be held in trust by the city. During the Civil Rights Movement, the use of the park, known as Baconsfield Park, was the subject of two related
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cases. The first, ''Evans v. Newton'', was decided in 1966. The Court held that the use of the park for "whites only" was invalid under the Fourteenth Amendment
Equal Protection Clause The Equal Protection Clause is part of the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The clause, which took effect in 1868, provides "nor shall any State... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal pr ...
. Because the park was held in trust by a public entity, the Court held that it could not exclude non-white persons. Although the city tried to maintain the segregationist intentions of Senator Bacon by transferring the trust to private trustees, Justice Douglas’ majority opinion explained that a park is public in nature and may not exclude non-white persons from using the park for recreation. A subsequent Supreme Court case, ''Evans v. Abney'', was decided in 1970. After the Court held that Baconsfield Park was unable to perform a segregationist function, the state court held that "Senator Bacon's intention to provide a park for whites only had become impossible to fulfill and that accordingly the trust had failed and the parkland and other trust property had reverted by operation of Georgia law to the heirs of the Senator." The decision involved the doctrine of cy pres, and it was necessary for the court to determine Senator Bacon's probable intention in the matter. The Court concluded that, if Senator Bacon had been able to know that his objective was impossible or illegal, he would have preferred that the land revert to his
heirs Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Official ...
. The
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affirmed the decision of the Supreme Court of Georgia, holding that refusing to apply the doctrine of cy pres did not violate the
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Fourteenth Amendment (Amendment XIV) to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments. Considered one of the most consequential amendments, it addresses Citizenship of the United States ...
. Bacon's heirs then sold the property to private developers, who converted the land near North Avenue and Nottingham Drive to commercial use.Stephanie Barron, Jessica Carrier, Chad Moore, William Sanders, and Andrew Smith, "The Case over Baconsfield Park,
''Remembering the Civil Rights Movement''
c. 2012.
Bacon County, Georgia, established shortly after his death in 1914, is named in his honor.


See also

*
List of United States Congress members who died in office (1900–49) There are several lists of United States Congress members who died in office. These include: *List of United States Congress members who died in office (1790–1899) *List of United States Congress members who died in office (1900–1949) *List ...
* List of speakers of the Georgia House of Representatives


References


Further reading

Retrieved on 2008-09-28 *
''History of the University of Georgia'', Thomas Walter Reed, Imprint: Athens, Georgia : University of Georgia, ca. 1949, p.677


External links

*
Bacon County
historical marker
Augustus O. Bacon, late a senator from Georgia, Memorial addresses delivered in the House of Representatives and Senate frontispiece 1915
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bacon, Augustus O. 1839 births 1914 deaths University of Georgia alumni Bacon County, Georgia Confederate States Army soldiers Georgia (U.S. state) Democrats Democratic Party United States senators from Georgia (U.S. state) Presidents pro tempore of the United States Senate Speakers of the Georgia House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations United States senators who owned slaves 20th-century United States senators 19th-century United States senators 19th-century members of the Georgia General Assembly