George McIntosh Troup (September 8, 1780 – April 26, 1856) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Georgia. He served in the Georgia General Assembly, U.S. House of Representatives, and U.S. Senate before becoming the 32nd Governor of Georgia for two terms and then returning to the U.S. Senate. A believer in expansionist Manifest Destiny policies and a supporter of native Indian removal, Troup was born to planters and supported slavery throughout his career. Later in his life, he was known as "the Hercules of states' rights." Family life Troup was born during the American Revolution at McIntosh Bluff, on the Tombigbee River in what is now Alabama (then a part of the Province of Georgia). He was the son of George Troup and Catherine McIntosh, the Georgia-born daughter of Captain John McIntosh, a British military officer and the chief of the McIntosh clan. (Catherine McIntosh was of the Chiefs of the MacGillivary clan lineage—she was a first cousin to Creek Chief Alexander McGillivray and aunt of Creek Chief William McIntosh.) Troup was twice married and the father of six children. He primarily lived in Dublin in Laurens County. Troup's plantation, Valdosta (sometimes spelled Val d'Osta), was named after the Valle d'Aosta alpine valley in Italy. In turn, the town of Valdosta, Georgia was named for Troup's plantation. Troupville, Georgia was also named for him. Troup graduated from the College of New Jersey (later Princeton University) in 1797. He read the law with an established firm and two years later was admitted to the bar in Savannah, Georgia. Early career Troup entered politics, where he became a strong opponent of the Yazoo land scandal. A Democratic-Republican, Troup served one term as a state legislator (1803–1805). In 1806 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He was re-elected three times and served from 1807 to 1815. Along with other members of Congress, including Henry Clay of Kentucky and John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, Troup was a part of the nationalistic movement which originated the term War Hawks—members who supported the United States' entry into the War of 1812. Troup defended Calhoun on the House floor when Rep. John Randolph of Virginia attacked Calhoun, saying it was "the great mass of the House ... against the solitary gentleman from Virginia." Troup was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he was supported by fellow wealthy plantation owners and