Georgia governor and U.S. senator Joseph Emerson Brown (1821-1894) is chiefly remembered for his political representation of the common man and his obstructionist attitude toward the policies of Confederate president Jefferson Davis.

Joseph E. Brown was born in Pickens District, S.C., on April 15, 1821, but his family soon moved to the mountains of northern Georgia. At the age of 19 Brown attended school in Anderson District, S.C. He returned to Canton, Ga., where he directed the local academy and read law. In 1845, after admission to the Georgia bar, he left to attend Yale Law School. He graduated in 1846, settled in Canton, and began practicing law.

In 1849 Brown was elected to the state senate, where he demonstrated a capacity for work and innate political skill. In 1855 he became judge of the Blue Ridge circuit. A Democrat, Brown was elected governor in 1857, 1859, 1861, and 1863--a record never equaled before in...