Robert Augustus Toombs (1810-1885), U.S. congressman and Confederate secretary of state, was noted for his opposition to Confederate president Jefferson Davis.

Robert Toombs was born on July 2, 1810, in Wilkes County, Ga. He attended the University of Georgia but graduated from Union College in New York in 1828. After his admission to the bar in 1830, Toombs began a successful career as lawyer, planter, and businessman in Washington, Ga.

Toombs served in the Georgia Legislature from 1837 to 1843, establishing a reputation as an expert on financial matters. In 1844 he was elected to the U.S. Congress. At this time Toombs manifested the political philosophy of a conservative Whig; by 1850 he had adopted an aggressively pro-Southern stance.

In Congress, Toombs was influential in securing passage of the 1850 compromise measures. With Alexander Stephens and Howell Cobb, he established the Constitutional Union party, which dominated Georgia politics for several years and was responsible for...