Disciplines
American Politics | Human Geography | Political History | United States History
Abstract (300 words maximum)
Since the start of the American Revolution, seventy-seven men have served as Governor of Georgia. Over time, the state expanded westward from the coast to become the largest state east of the Mississippi River. Although individual governors have been studied extensively (particularly in James F. Cook’s The Governors of Georgia), their residences remain underexplored as indicators of electoral power shifts. Based on the information of seventy-seven governors collected from Cook, the New Georgia Encyclopedia, and Georgia Historical Quarterly, this research visualizes the residences of governors at the time of their election by using ArcGIS and reveals the state’s electoral power over almost 250 years of Georgia's history. They are divided into five distinct periods using key dates in the state’s political history: 1776, the start of the American Revolution; 1825, the first gubernatorial election held by popular vote; 1865, the end of the Civil War; 1917, the start of Georgia’s county unit system; and 1962, the last election held under the county unit system. While early governors primarily resided along the coast, those elected after 1962 predominantly hail from North Georgia. The county unit system, active from 1917 to 1962, visibly shaped electoral outcomes, heavily favoring rural counties. Notably, no governor from an urban county was elected under the county unit system. Mapping Georgia’s governors illustrates the state's westward growth and the shift in its electoral base from the coast to Middle and North Georgia, along with the important effects of the county unit system.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
RCHSS - Geography & Anthropology
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Qihang Qiu
Included in
American Politics Commons, Human Geography Commons, Political History Commons, United States History Commons
Mapping Homes of Georgia's Governors and Their Westward Shift (1776–2024)
Since the start of the American Revolution, seventy-seven men have served as Governor of Georgia. Over time, the state expanded westward from the coast to become the largest state east of the Mississippi River. Although individual governors have been studied extensively (particularly in James F. Cook’s The Governors of Georgia), their residences remain underexplored as indicators of electoral power shifts. Based on the information of seventy-seven governors collected from Cook, the New Georgia Encyclopedia, and Georgia Historical Quarterly, this research visualizes the residences of governors at the time of their election by using ArcGIS and reveals the state’s electoral power over almost 250 years of Georgia's history. They are divided into five distinct periods using key dates in the state’s political history: 1776, the start of the American Revolution; 1825, the first gubernatorial election held by popular vote; 1865, the end of the Civil War; 1917, the start of Georgia’s county unit system; and 1962, the last election held under the county unit system. While early governors primarily resided along the coast, those elected after 1962 predominantly hail from North Georgia. The county unit system, active from 1917 to 1962, visibly shaped electoral outcomes, heavily favoring rural counties. Notably, no governor from an urban county was elected under the county unit system. Mapping Georgia’s governors illustrates the state's westward growth and the shift in its electoral base from the coast to Middle and North Georgia, along with the important effects of the county unit system.