The Constitutional Union Party was formed in Georgia in 1850 in order to gather support for the Compromise of 1850. It lasted until 1853, after the Compromise of 1850 had been firmly established. The Constitutional Union Party was reestablished 1860 in an effort to reconcile the North and the South to prevent civil war.

John William Augustine Sanford, Jr. (1825-1913) was born in Milledgeville, Georgia, to John William Augustine and Marianne Ridley (Blount) Sanford. He graduated from Oglethorpe University in 1844, from Harvard University in 1851, and from the University of Alabama in 1878. He was admitted to the bar in 1852. He married Sallie Maria in 1860 and they had one son, John William Augustine Sanford, III. In 1861, he joined the 3rd Alabama Infantry Regiment as a private, but was quickly promoted to assistant quartermaster. In 1862, he was authorized to return to Alabama and raise a regiment, and he became the lieutenant colonel of the 3rd battalion, Hilliard's Legion. In 1863, he was promoted to colonel of the 60th Alabama Infantry Regiment. He was elected Attorney General of Alabama in 1865, but was removed in 1868 as a result of reconstruction policies. He was re-elected in 1870, 1874 and 1876. In 1880, he became the Clerk of the Supreme Court of Alabama.