bs marked an epoch in his career. It
separated him entirely from Stephen A. Douglas, to whom he had been
closely allied, in spite, as he said, of Douglas having wandered after
strange gods. Douglas absented himself from the Senate when Toombs
spoke. For the first time in twenty years, Toombs and Stephens took
divergent paths. They were called in Georgia the "Siamese twins." From
the election of Harrison to the Democratic split in 1860, they had been
personal friends and firm political allies. Mr. Stephens was for Douglas
and the Union; Mr. Toombs feared lest "the Union survive the
Constitution."

The Democratic party in Georgia met on June 4, and parted on the lines
of the Charleston division. The Union element in Georgia was led by
Herschel V. Johnson, a man of power and influence. He had been Governor
of the State, was a man of learning, profound in thought and candid in
expression. His wife was a niece of President Polk. His state papers
were models of clear and classical expression. Governor Johnson was,
however, better fitted for the bench or the Cabinet than for a public
leader.

Both wings of the Georgia convention appointed delegates to the
Baltimore convention. That body admitted the delegation which had
seceded from the Charleston convention. As the seceding delegates from
the other States were rejected, the Georgia delegates refused to go in.
Missouri was the only Southern State which was represented entirely in
the body, composed of 190 delegates. Massachusetts withdrew and Caleb
Cushing resigned the chair. Stephen A. Douglas was nominated for
President of the United States. Governor Fitzpatrick of Alabama declined
the vice presidency, and Herschel V. Johnson of Georgia was chosen for
vice president. The seceders immediately organized a national
convention, Mr. Cushing presiding. It was composed of 210 delegates. The
majority or anti-Douglas platform of the Charleston convention was
adopted. John C. Breckenridge of Kentucky was nominated for President,
and Joseph C. Lane of Oregon for vice president. Mr. Breckenridge was at
that time vice president of the United States, and Mr. Lane was a
senator. Meanwhile, a Constitutional Union party had been formed in
Georgia, and had elected delegates to a convention of that party in
Baltimore. This body nominated for President and vice president, John
Bell of Tennessee and Edward Everett of Massachusetts. Mr. Bell had been
United States Senator at the time of the pas