Free and Rowdy Party

The Free and Rowdy Party was a political party that operated in Atlanta, Georgia, during the middle of the 19th century. Although the mayoral elections of Atlanta are not contested along party lines, the first three mayors of the city were Rowdies, as members of the Free and Rowdy Party were called. They included Moses Formwalt, Benjamin Bomar, and Willis Buell, each serving one year as per the city charter.

The Rowdies included many owners of distilleries, bars and brothels, represented most of what the city was, especially as an outpost along the railroads. They existed in direct opposition to the Moral Party, which called for temperance and chastity. The two parties were also said to differ on approaches to civil engagement, and so where the Rowdies were the party of militant disorder, the Moral Party promoted law and order.

Atlanta's fourth Mayor, Jonathan Norcross, was a member of the Moral Party, and used city hall to so harass the Rowdies that many moved out of what was then incorporated into the city, to places like Snake Nation and Murrell's Row.

The word Free in the party's name did not connote a support of the abolitionist movement. Indeed, many served the confederate cause during the American Civil War.

References

• Garrett, Franklin M. (1969). Atlanta and Environs, Volume I. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press. pp. 328–331.