Allen D. Candler

American politician

Allen Daniel Candler

56th Governor of Georgia

In office
October 29, 1898 – October 25, 1902

Preceded by

William Y. Atkinson

Succeeded by

Joseph M. Terrell

14th Secretary of State of Georgia

In office
1894–1898

Preceded by

Philip Cook, Sr.

Succeeded by

William C. Clifton

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Georgia\'s 9th district

In office
March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1891

Preceded by

Emory Speer

Succeeded by

Thomas E. Winn

Member of the Georgia Senate

In office
1878–1880

Member of the Georgia House of Representatives

In office
1873–1878

Personal details Born

(1834-11-04)November 4, 1834
Auraria, Georgia, U.S.

Died

October 26, 1910(1910-10-26) (aged 75)
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.

Political party

Democratic

Spouse

Eugenia Williams

Residence

Gainesville, Georgia

Alma mater

Mercer University

Occupation

Teacherfarmerrailroad owner

Allen Daniel Candler (November 4, 1834 – October 26, 1910), was a Georgia state legislator, U.S. Representative and the 56th Governor of Georgia.

Candler was known as a conservative governor. While he established pensions for Confederate widows, he otherwise cut back both taxes and government expenditures. Candler pushed for the establishment of a whites-only Democratic primary based on the legal notion that the Democratic Party was a private organization and therefore not subject to the Fifteenth Constitutional Amendment giving all Americans the right to vote, regardless of race. Since the Democratic Party had a monopoly on power in Southern states, the real selection of officeholders in Georgia occurred during the Democratic primary to select Democratic candidates for the fall general election. Democrats consistently won all of these offices from the end of Reconstruction in 1871 until the 1970s.

Candler\'s tenure as governor coincided with some of the most violent lynchings in Georgia\'s history. Although he publicly denounced mob violence, at the same time he blamed the victims of these incidents on black criminality and the increasing annoyance among whites of blacks demanding equal treatment. In an incident which culminated with the notorious lynching of Sam Hose in 1899, he berated the \"better class\" of blacks for not aiding authorities in his apprehension. These views were prominently printed in the Atlanta newspapers alongside those of the editors which urged the mobs on. Candler did ask the courts for speedier trials to head-off mob violence.

Death and legacy

After leaving the Governor\'s office, Candler served as the State\'s first compiler of records until his death in 1910 in Atlanta, Georgia. He was buried at Alta Vista cemetery in Gainesville.

Candler County, Georgia, was named in 1914 for Candler in appreciation for his passion and diligence in compiling and editing nearly thirty volumes of the State\'s historical records from the Colonial, Revolutionary and Confederate periods.

Notes

^ Butts, p. 87

^ Coleman, Kenneth (2010). American National Biography. London: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 31 May 2016.

^ \"Candler campaign button\". Campaign Materials Collection, Georgia Capitol Museum, University of Georgia Libraries. Digital Library of Georgia. Archived from the original on 10 December 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2016.

^ Sarris, Jonathan Dean (2006). A Separate Civil War : Communities In Conflict In The Mountain South. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press. p. 176. ISBN 9780813925493.

^ Brundage, pg. 202

^ Arnold, Edwin T. (2009). \'What Virtue There Is in Fire\' : Cultural Memory and the Lynching of Sam Hose. Athens: University of Georgia Press. p. 55. ISBN 978-0820340647.

^ Grem, Darren E. (2006). \"Sam Jones, Sam Hose, and the Theology of Racial Violence\". Georgia Historical Quarterly. 90 (1). Retrieved 31 May 2016.

^ Davis, p. 115

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