Rufus Brown Bullock (March 28, 1834 – April 27, 1907) was an American politician and businessman from Georgia. A Republican, he served as the state's governor during the

Reconstruction Era The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the Abolitionism in the United States, abol ...

. He called for equal economic opportunity and political rights for blacks and whites in Georgia. He also promoted public education for both, and encouraged railroads, banks, and industrial development. During his governorship, he requested federal military help to ensure the rights of

freedmen A freedman or freedwoman is a person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their owners), emancipation (granted freedom as part of a larger group), or self- ...

; this made him "the most hated man in the state", and he had to flee the state without completing his term. After returning to Georgia and being found "not guilty" of corruption charges, for three decades afterwards he was an esteemed private citizen.

Early life

Bullock was born in

Bethlehem, New York Bethlehem is a town in Albany County, New York, United States. The town's population was 35,034 at the 2020 census. Bethlehem is located immediately to the south of the city of Albany and includes the following hamlets: Delmar, Elsmere, Gl ...

and moved to

Augusta, Georgia Augusta is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta, the third mos ...

, in 1857 for his job with the telegraph company

Adams Express Adams Funds, formerly Adams Express Company, is an investment company made up of Adams Diversified Equity Fund, Inc. (), a publicly traded diversified equity fund, and Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. (), formerly Petroleum & Resources Corp., a p ...

. He served in the Confederate Army, setting up railroad and telegraph lines, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Quartermaster's Office. After the war, Bullock served as president of the Macon and Augusta Railroad in 1867, and established the Augusta First National Bank.

Political life

Bullock entered politics as a Republican delegate to the Georgia Constitutional Convention of 1867–1868. Despite serving in the Confederate Army, Bullock was nominated by the Republican Party for the 1868 Georgia gubernatorial election, and defeated Democratic nominee and former Major general of the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

John B. Gordon on 20 April 1868. Bullock was sworn into office as the 46th Governor of Georgia on 21 July 1868, becoming the first Republican governor of

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 ...

. After Georgia ratified the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, the Omnibus Act declared that states were entitled to representation in Congress as one of the states of the Union. Georgia again lost the right to representation in Congress because the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

expelled twenty-eight black members and prevented blacks from voting in the 1868 presidential election (see

Original 33 The "Original 33" were the first 33 African-American members of the Georgia General Assembly. They were elected to office in 1868, during the Reconstruction era. They were among the first African-American state legislators in the United States. T ...

). In response to an appeal from Bullock, Georgia was again placed under military rule as part of the

Georgia Act 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 peo ...

of December 22, 1869. This made Bullock a hated political figure. After various allegations of scandal and ridicule, in 1871 he was obliged by the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

to resign the governorship, and felt it prudent to leave the state. He was succeeded by Republican

State Senate In the United States, the state legislature is the legislative branch in each of the 50 U.S. states. A legislature generally performs state duties for a state in the same way that the United States Congress performs national duties at ...

president

Benjamin Conley Benjamin Conley (March 1, 1815 – January 10, 1886) was an American politician from the state of Georgia, who served as the 47th Governor of Georgia from October 30, 1871, to January 12, 1872. He also previously served as the mayor of Augusta ...

, who served as Governor for the two remaining months of the term to which Bullock had been elected. Conley was succeeded by James M. Smith, a Democrat, and no Republican would serve as governor of Georgia again until

Sonny Perdue George Ervin "Sonny" Perdue III (born December 20, 1946) is an American politician, veterinarian, and businessman who served as the 31st United States secretary of agriculture from 2017 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party (United States), ...

in 2003.

Postbellum life

He later became president of the

Atlanta Chamber of Commerce Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County and extends into neighboring DeKalb County. With a population of 520,070 (2024 estimate) living within the city limits, Atlan ...

, and in 1895 served as master of ceremonies for the

Cotton States and International Exposition Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

. Bullock introduced the speaker,

Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, and orator. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the primary leader in the African-American community and of the contemporary Black elite#United S ...

, who gave his famous "Atlanta Compromise" speech.

Death and legacy

Bullock died in Albion, New York, in 1907 and was buried in Mt. Albion Cemetery nearby. Bullock has had both detractors and admirers. According to the ''New Georgia Encyclopedia'', he was the last progressive governor of Georgia until

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

. He is the only governor of Georgia since 1850 of whom there is no portrait in the

Georgia State Capitol The Georgia State Capitol is an architecturally and historically significant building in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The building has been named a National Historic Landmark which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. As t ...

Margaret Mitchell Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell (November 8, 1900 – August 16, 1949) was an American novelist and journalist. Mitchell wrote only one novel that was published during her lifetime, the American Civil War-era novel ''Gone With the Wind (novel), Gone ...

, in her novel,

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind ...

, included comments relating to Bullock.

References

External links