George W. Crawford
George W. Crawford was a Whig politician, congressman, and governor of Georgia.
Contents
History
Crawford began his political career with an appointment to Georgia's attorney general in 1827, by Forsyth. He served until 1831, despite inspiring a state law denying eligibility for public office based on participation in duels. (In 1828, he challenged, shot, and killed assemblyman Thomas E. Burnside.)
In 1837, Crawford won election to the state assembly.
Following the death of Habersham, Crawford was appointed to fill his congressional seat for the remaining two months of the term.
He was nominated by the Whigs for the 1843 gubernatorial election. While he defeated Cooper with a slim majority, the party otherwise swept the legislature; he was enabled to pursue a strong Whig platform for the next two years. In 1845, he won re-election against McAllister with an extremely slim margin.
TODO: confederate stuff
Policies
Crawford supported slavery and secession.
He was a central figure in the Whig fiscal conservatism movement. He nearly erased Georgia's public debt and is responsible for dismantling the Georgia Central Bank.