Final Years
He returned to Georgia in 1867 but he refused to request a pardon from the president and regained neither his right to vote nor his political career. He did restore his lucrative law practice. In addition, he dominated the Georgia constitutional convention of 1877, where once again he demonstrated the political skill and temperament that earlier had earned him a reputation as one of Georgia's most effective leaders. He gained a populist reputation for his attacks on railroads. In his final years, he was blinded and ravaged by alcoholism.
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“The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men the conviction and the will to carry on.... The genius of a good leader is to leave behind him a situation which common sense, without the grace of genius, can deal with successfully.”
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