Born in 1825 in Putnam County, on the banks of the Little River, Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II was the son of a Milledgeville attorney and state judge. He was later educated at Emory and came of age as America was tearing itself apart.
As a man of the Deep South, Lamar was deeply entrenched in its most tragic struggles and conflicts. Yet his most enduring contribution to American democracy was not division but reconciliation.
Following the devastation of the Civil War, the United States was fractured. The easy, expected path for many Southern leaders was sustained bitterness and obstruction. Lamar, however, understood that democracy required empathy and a willingness to build bridges.
His defining moment came in 1874, when radical Republican Charles Sumner of Massachusetts — a fierce political opponent — died. Lamar, a former Confederate, stood in Congress to deliver his eulogy. Rather than offering procedural remarks, he delivered a heartfelt plea for mutual understanding.
“My countrymen,” he urged the chamber, “know one another, and you will love one another.”
The act stunned the nation and served as a balm for a wounded republic, showing that connection can triumph over conflict. The moment was later included in President John F. Kennedy’s book “Profiles in Courage” (1956).
Lamar’s legacy shows that true representation is not just about advocating for one side, but about forging a path forward together. He later served as a congressman, senator, secretary of the interior, and U.S. Supreme Court justice, bringing a spirit of collaboration to each role.
He married the daughter of Georgia Writers Hall of Fame honoree Augustus B. Longstreet, an Oconee District judge and author of “Georgia Scenes, Characters, Incidents, &c., in the First Half-Century of the Republic” (1835).
To learn more stories like this, don’t miss the Smithsonian Institution’s “Voices and Votes” exhibit, hosted by the Georgia Writers Museum and the Old School History Museum from April 25 to May 31 at the Putnam County Administration Center, 117 Putnam Drive, Eatonton.