66-511: Wilkinson County is the name of two counties in the United States: Wilkinson County, Georgia Wilkinson County, Mississippi [REDACTED] Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles about distinct geographical locations with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to
132-408: A county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia . As of the 2020 census , the population was 8,877. The county seat is Irwinton . The county was created on May 11, 1803, and named for General James Wilkinson (1757–1825). According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 452 square miles (1,170 km ), of which 447 square miles (1,160 km )
198-637: A Democrat, and in doing so captured a 3-2 majority. Republicans also captured a seat on the local Board of Education, in which they had none prior to the election. Current county officials: The only school district is the Wilkinson County School District . Whig Party (United States) Defunct Newspapers Journals TV channels Websites Other Economics Gun rights Identity politics Nativist Religion Watchdog groups Youth/student groups Miscellaneous Other The Whig Party
264-527: A direct successor to that party, and many Whig leaders, including Henry Clay, had aligned with the rival Democratic-Republican Party . In the 1836 presidential election , four different Whig candidates received electoral votes , but the party failed to defeat Jackson's chosen successor, Martin Van Buren . Whig nominee William Henry Harrison unseated Van Buren in the 1840 presidential election but died one month into his term. Harrison's successor, John Tyler,
330-607: A firm stance on slavery , but Northern Whigs tended to be less supportive than their Democratic counterparts. The Whigs emerged in the 1830s in opposition to President Andrew Jackson , pulling together former members of the National Republican Party , the Anti-Masonic Party , and disaffected Democrats. The Whigs had some weak links to the defunct Federalist Party , but the Whig Party was not
396-558: A former Democrat, broke with the Whigs in 1841 after clashing with Clay and other party leaders over economic policies such as the re-establishment of a national bank . Clay clinched his party's nomination in the 1844 presidential election but was defeated by Democrat James K. Polk , who subsequently presided over the Mexican–American War . Whig nominee Zachary Taylor won the 1848 presidential election , but Taylor died in 1850 and
462-597: A joint resolution providing for the annexation of Texas, and Texas subsequently became a state in 1845. Following the annexation of Texas, Polk began preparations for a potential war with Mexico , which still regarded Texas as a part of its republic and contended that Texas's true southern border was the Nueces River rather than the Rio Grande . After a skirmish known as the Thornton Affair broke out on
528-554: A margin of less than 1.5%. In 2016, it voted for Donald Trump by a margin of just over 10%. Wilkinson was thus one of many counties in Georgia's historic black belt that demonstrated a significant swing in favor of Republican presidential candidates from 2012 to 2016. Similarly, the county swung from a 0.25% victory for the 2014 Democratic gubernatorial nominee to an 11.63% victory for the 2018 Republican gubernatorial nominee . Even as it has become more favorable to Republicans at
594-664: A separate proposal which included the admission of California as a free state, the cession by Texas of some of its northern and western territorial claims in return for debt relief, the establishment of New Mexico and Utah territories, a ban on the importation of slaves into the District of Columbia for sale, and a more stringent fugitive slave law. Taylor died in July 1850 and was succeeded by Vice President Fillmore. In contrast to John Tyler, Fillmore's legitimacy and authority as president were widely accepted by members of Congress and
660-580: A strict constructionist view of the Constitution , while Clay and Adams favored high tariffs and the national bank; regionalism played a central role, with Jackson strongest in the West. Jackson won a plurality of the popular and electoral vote in the 1824 election, but not a majority. The House of Representatives had to decide. Speaker Clay supported Adams, who was elected as president by the House, and Clay
726-556: A treaty with Mexico. Democratic Congressman David Wilmot of Pennsylvania offered an amendment known as the Wilmot Proviso , which would ban slavery in any newly acquired lands. The Wilmot Proviso passed the House with the support of both Northern Whigs and Northern Democrats, breaking the typical pattern of partisan division in congressional votes, but it was defeated in the Senate. Nonetheless, clear divisions remained between
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#1732772304954792-515: A victory for the people against an elitist institution. Jackson won another decisive victory in the 1832 presidential election , taking 55 percent of the national popular vote and 88 percent of the popular vote in the slavery states south of Kentucky and Maryland. Clay's defeat discredited the National Republican Party, encouraging those opposed to Jackson to seek to create a more effective opposition party. Jackson, by 1832,
858-595: Is land and 4.6 square miles (12 km ) (1.0%) is water. The county is located mainly in the upper Atlantic coastal plain region of the state, but does have some rolling hills due to its close proximity to the fall line . The entirety of Wilkinson County is located in the Lower Oconee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin. As of the 2020 United States census , there were 8,877 people, 3,185 households, and 2,079 families residing in
924-757: The Federalist Party , led by Alexander Hamilton , and the Democratic-Republican Party , led by Thomas Jefferson . After 1815, the Democratic-Republicans emerged as the sole major party at the national level but became increasingly polarized. A nationalist wing led by Henry Clay favored policies such as the Second Bank of the United States and the implementation of a protective tariff . A second group,
990-521: The King of Great Britain at the time of the American Revolution . Jackson's decision to remove government deposits from the national bank ended any possibility of a Webster-Jackson alliance and helped to solidify partisan lines. The removal of the deposits drew opposition from both pro-bank National Republicans and states' rights Southerners like Willie Person Mangum of North Carolina,
1056-776: The Old Republicans , opposed these policies, favoring a strict interpretation of the Constitution and a weak federal government. In the 1824 presidential election , Speaker of the House Henry Clay , Secretary of the Treasury William H. Crawford , Secretary of State John Quincy Adams , and General Andrew Jackson all sought the presidency as members of the Democratic-Republican Party. Crawford favored state sovereignty and
1122-637: The Panic of 1837 struck the nation. Land prices plummeted, industries laid off employees, and banks failed. According to historian Daniel Walker Howe , the economic crisis of the late 1830s and early 1840s was the most severe recession in U.S. history until the Great Depression . Van Buren's economic response centered on establishing the Independent Treasury system, essentially a series of vaults that would hold government deposits. As
1188-555: The annexation of Texas his key priority. The annexation of Texas was widely viewed as a pro-slavery initiative as it would add another slave state to the union, and most leaders of both parties opposed opening the question of annexation in 1843 due to the fear of stoking the debate over slavery. Tyler was nonetheless determined to pursue annexation because he believed that the British conspired to abolish slavery in Texas and because he saw
1254-552: The "birth of the Whig Party" can be dated to Clay and his allies taking control of the Senate in December 1833. The National Republicans, including Clay and Webster, formed the core of the Whig Party, but many Anti-Masons like William H. Seward of New York and Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania also joined. Several prominent Democrats defected to the Whigs, including Mangum, former Attorney General John Berrien , and John Tyler of Virginia. The Whig Party's first significant action
1320-586: The Adams administration's nationalist agenda, becoming informally known as "Jacksonians". Due in part to the superior organization (by Martin Van Buren) of the Jacksonians, Jackson defeated Adams in the 1828 presidential election , taking 56 percent of the popular vote. Clay became the leader of the National Republican Party , which opposed President Jackson. By the early 1830s, the Jacksonians organized into
1386-550: The North, Democrats benefited from the growing animosity towards the Whig Party among Catholic and foreign-born voters. Ultimately, Polk won the election, taking 49.5% of the popular vote and a majority of the electoral vote; the swing of just over one percent of the vote in New York would have given Clay the victory. In the final weeks of Tyler's presidency, a small group of Southern Whigs joined with congressional Democrats to pass
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#17327723049541452-529: The Republican Party and enacted much of their American System. Presidents Abraham Lincoln , Rutherford B. Hayes , Chester A. Arthur , and Benjamin Harrison were Whigs before switching to the Republican Party, from which they were elected to office. It is considered the primary predecessor party of the modern-day Republicans . During the 1790s, the first major U.S. parties arose in the form of
1518-502: The Treasury William M. Meredith issued a report calling for an increase in tariff rates, but not to the levels seen under the Tariff of 1842. Even Meredith's moderate policies were not adopted, and, partly due to the strong economic growth of the late 1840s and late 1850s, traditional Whig economic stances would increasingly lose their salience after 1848. When Taylor assumed office, the organization of state and territorial governments and
1584-515: The Whig Party due to his lack of public commitment to Whig policies and his association with the Mexican–American War. In late 1847, Clay emerged as Taylor's main opponent for the Whig nomination, appealing especially to Northern Whigs with his opposition to the war and the acquisition of new territory. With strong backing from slavery-state delegates, Taylor won the presidential nomination on
1650-519: The Whigs included a distrust of behind-the-scenes political maneuvering by party bosses instead of encouraging direct appeals to the people through gigantic rallies, parades, and rhetorical rabble-rousing. Early successes in various states made many Whigs optimistic about victory in 1836, but an improving economy bolstered Van Buren's standing ahead of the election. The Whigs also faced the difficulty of uniting former National Republicans, Anti-Masons, and states' rights Southerners around one candidate, and
1716-540: The county within 30% since 1912. This was also the first time since 1848, when Whig Zachary Taylor narrowly won Georgia, that the county voted for a presidential candidate who did not win the state. In the following three presidential elections, Wilkinson continued to give Democratic candidates between 53% and 59% of the vote. In 2000, Al Gore won Wilkinson County by a margin of 1.3%, or 84 votes, receiving 50.4% to George W. Bush 's 48.1%. The county then voted for all three Republican nominees from 2004 to 2012, each time by
1782-491: The county. Wilkinson County voted for every Democratic presidential nominee from 1828 to 1960; note that 1828 was the first year in which Georgia held a popular vote for presidential electors and also the first year in which the Democratic Party ran a presidential candidate. However, there was at least one example of Republican success in the county during Reconstruction : in the 1868 gubernatorial election, which
1848-418: The county. It also delivered large victories to segregationist American Independent Party candidate George Wallace and Republican Richard Nixon in 1968 and 1972 respectively. In the presidential elections of both 1976 and 1980, former Georgia governor Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, won the county easily. In 1984, Democrat Walter Mondale won the county by a 9% margin, which was only the second presidential result in
1914-538: The debate over the Independent Treasury continued, William Cabell Rives and some other Democrats who favored a more activist government defected to the Whig Party, while Calhoun and his followers joined the Democratic Party. Whig leaders agreed to hold the party's first national convention in December 1839 in order to select the Whig presidential nominee. By early 1838, Clay had emerged as
1980-508: The declaration of war against Mexico and also pushed through the restoration of the Independent Treasury System and a bill that reduced tariffs; opposition to the passage of these Democratic policies helped to reunify and reinvigorate the Whigs. In August 1846, Polk asked Congress to appropriate $ 2 million (~$ 60.7 million in 2023) in hopes of using that money as a down payment for the purchase of California in
2046-546: The disappearance and possible murder of William Morgan in 1826. The Anti-Masonic movement, strongest in the Northeast, gave rise to or expanded the use of many innovations which became an accepted practice among other parties, including nominating conventions and party newspapers. Clay rejected overtures from the Anti-Masonic Party, and his attempt to convince Calhoun to serve as his running mate failed, leaving
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2112-426: The economy. They argued that traditional Whig policies, such as the restoration of a national bank and the implementation of protective tariff rates, would help to restore the economy. With the economy still in a downturn, Harrison decisively defeated Van Buren, taking a wide majority of the electoral vote and just under 53 percent of the popular vote. With the election of the first Whig presidential administration in
2178-459: The fifth ballot of the 1839 Whig National Convention . For vice president, the Whigs nominated John Tyler, a former states' rights Democrat selected for the Whig ticket primarily because other Southern supporters of Clay refused to serve as Harrison's running mate. Log cabins and hard cider became the dominant symbols of the Whig campaign as the party sought to portray Harrison as a man of the people. The Whigs also assailed Van Buren's handling of
2244-497: The fourth ballot of the 1848 Whig National Convention . The Whigs nominated Millard Fillmore of New York, a pro-Clay Northerner, for vice president. Anti-slavery Northern Whigs disaffected with Taylor joined with Democratic supporters of Martin Van Buren and some members of the Liberty Party to found the new Free Soil Party ; the party nominated a ticket of Van Buren and Whig Charles Francis Adams Sr. and campaigned against
2310-401: The front-runner due to his southern support and spirited opposition to Van Buren's Independent Treasury. A recovering economy convinced other Whigs to support Harrison, who was generally seen as the Whig candidate best able to win over Democrats and new voters. With the crucial support of Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania and Thurlow Weed of New York, Harrison won the presidential nomination on
2376-529: The incumbent county commission chair lost, and the District 2 incumbent won by just one vote. Prior to the November 2022 elections, Democrats held a majority or 4 out of 5 seats on the County Commission. On election night, a Republican defeated the incumbent Democratic chairman by nearly 20 percentage points. Republicans were also able to flip an additional seat on the commission previously held by
2442-400: The intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wilkinson_County&oldid=933249702 " Category : United States county name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Wilkinson County, Georgia Wilkinson County is
2508-425: The issue as a means to reelection, either through the Democratic Party or through a new party. In April 1844, Secretary of State John C. Calhoun reached a treaty with Texas providing for the annexation of that country. Clay and Van Buren, the two front-runners for major-party presidential nominations in the 1844 election, both announced their opposition to annexation, and the Senate blocked the annexation treaty. To
2574-567: The issue of slavery more so than Democratic candidate Lewis Cass of Michigan. Ultimately, Taylor won the election with a majority of the electoral vote and a plurality of the popular vote. Taylor improved on Clay's 1844 performance in the South and benefited from the defection of many Democrats to Van Buren in the North. Reflecting the Taylor administration's desire to find a middle ground between traditional Whig and Democratic policies, Secretary of
2640-442: The latter of whom accused Jackson of flouting the Constitution. In late 1833, Clay began to hold a series of dinners with opposition leaders to settle on a candidate to oppose Martin Van Buren , the likely Democratic nominee in the 1836 presidential election . While Jackson's opponents could not agree on a single presidential candidate, they coordinated in the Senate to oppose Jackson's initiatives. Historian Michael Holt writes that
2706-537: The legislation was unconstitutional. Congress passed a second bill based on an earlier proposal made by Treasury Secretary Ewing that was tailored to address Tyler's constitutional concerns, but Tyler vetoed that bill as well. In response, every Cabinet member but Webster resigned, and the Whig congressional caucus expelled Tyler from the party on September 13, 1841. The Whigs later began impeachment proceedings against Tyler, but they ultimately failed to impeach him because they believed his likely acquittal would devastate
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2772-481: The new Democratic Party . Despite Jackson's decisive victory in the 1828 election, National Republicans initially believed that Jackson's party would collapse once Jackson took office. Vice President Calhoun split from the administration in 1831. Still, differences over the tariff prevented Calhoun's followers from joining the National Republicans. Meanwhile, the Anti-Masonic Party formed following
2838-509: The northern side of the Rio Grande, Polk called on Congress to declare war against Mexico, arguing that Mexico had invaded American territory by crossing the Rio Grande. Many Whigs argued that Polk had provoked war with Mexico by sending a force under General Zachary Taylor to the Rio Grande, but only a minority of Whigs voted against the declaration of war as they feared that opposing the war would be politically unpopular. Polk received
2904-412: The opposition to Jackson split among different leaders when the National Republicans nominated Clay for president. Hoping to make the national bank a key issue of the 1832 election, the National Republicans convinced national bank president Nicholas Biddle to request an extension of the national bank's charter, but their strategy backfired when Jackson successfully portrayed his veto of the recharter as
2970-551: The overwhelming majority of primary voters in Wilkinson have chosen Democratic ballots even in recent years, presidential primaries excepted. In 2014, 2,022 of 2,174 primary voters (93.0%) chose Democratic ballots. In 2016, 1,726 of 2,033 primary voters (84.9%) did so, and in 2018, 1,186 of the 1,862 primary voters (63.7%) did so, even in the context of a competitive statewide Republican primary for governor . Three incumbent county commissioners faced opponents in their 2018 primaries;
3036-652: The partisan divisions that had emerged after 1824, as many within the Jacksonian coalition opposed President Jackson's threats of force against South Carolina, while some opposition leaders like Daniel Webster supported them. The name "Whig" was first suggested for Jackson's opponents by James Watson Webb , editor of the Courier and Enquirer of New York City. In South Carolina and other states, those opposed to Jackson began to form small "Whig" parties. The Whig label implicitly compared "King Andrew" to King George III ,
3102-428: The party suffered an early blow when Calhoun announced that he would refuse to support any candidate opposed to the doctrine of nullification. Northern Whigs cast aside both Clay and Webster in favor of General William Henry Harrison , a former senator who had led U.S. forces in the 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe . Though he had not previously been affiliated with the National Republicans, Harrison indicated that he shared
3168-462: The party's concerns over Jackson's executive power and favored federal investments in infrastructure. Southern Whigs coalesced around Senator Hugh Lawson White , a long-time Jackson ally who opposed Van Buren's candidacy. Ultimately, Van Buren won a majority of the electoral and popular vote in the 1836 election, though the Whigs improved on Clay's 1832 performance in the South and West. Shortly after Van Buren took office, an economic crisis known as
3234-542: The party's history, Clay and his allies prepared to pass ambitious domestic policies such as the restoration of the national bank, the distribution of federal land sales revenue to the states, a national bankruptcy law, and increased tariff rates. Harrison died just one month into his term, thereby elevating Vice President Tyler to the presidency. Tyler had never accepted much of the Whig economic program and he soon clashed with Clay and other congressional Whigs. In August 1841, Tyler vetoed Clay's national bank bill, holding that
3300-654: The party. Beginning in mid-1842, Tyler increasingly began to court Democrats, appointing them to his Cabinet and other positions. At the same time, many Whig state organizations repudiated the Tyler administration and endorsed Clay as the party's candidate in the 1844 presidential election . After Webster resigned from the Cabinet in May 1843 following the conclusion of the Webster-Ashburton Treaty , Tyler made
3366-716: The passage of the Kansas–Nebraska Act in 1854, with most Northern Whigs eventually joining the anti-slavery Republican Party and most Southern Whigs joining the nativist American Party and later the Constitutional Union Party . The last vestiges of the Whig Party faded away after the start of the American Civil War , but Whig ideas remained influential for decades. During the Lincoln Administration , ex-Whigs dominated
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#17327723049543432-612: The rule of law, protections against majority rule, and vigilance against executive tyranny. They favored an economic program known as the American System , which called for a protective tariff , federal subsidies for the construction of infrastructure, and support for a national bank . The party was active in both the Northern United States and the Southern United States and did not take
3498-561: The spread of slavery into the territories. The Whig campaign in the North received a boost when Taylor released a public letter in which he stated that he favored Whig principles and would defer to Congress after taking office, thereby reassuring some wavering Whigs. During the campaign, Northern Whig leaders touted traditional Whig policies like support for infrastructure spending and increased tariff rates, but Southern Whigs largely eschewed economic policy, instead emphasizing that Taylor's status as an enslaver meant that he could be trusted on
3564-553: The state and federal level, Wilkinson's county government continued to be dominated by Democrats up until the 2020s. For most of this century the Democratic primary was often tantamount to election . In 2016, Democrats won all six county executive offices without Republican opposition, as well as the three school board seats up for election that year. While the Republican district attorney for the district that includes Wilkinson
3630-565: The status of slavery in the Mexican Cession remained the major issue facing Congress. To sidestep the issue of the Wilmot Proviso, the Taylor administration proposed that the lands of the Mexican Cession be admitted as states without first organizing territorial governments; thus, slavery in the area would be left to the discretion of state governments rather than the federal government. In January 1850, Senator Clay introduced
3696-517: The surprise of Clay and other Whigs, the 1844 Democratic National Convention rejected Van Buren in favor of James K. Polk and established a platform calling for the acquisition of both Texas and Oregon Country . Having won the presidential nomination at the 1844 Whig National Convention unopposed, Clay and other Whigs were initially confident that they would defeat the divided Democrats and their relatively obscure candidate. However, Southern voters responded to Polk's calls for annexation, while in
3762-458: The two parties on territorial acquisitions, as most Democrats joined Polk in seeking to acquire vast tracts of land from Mexico, but most Whigs opposed territorial growth. In February 1848, Mexican and U.S. negotiators reached the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo , which provided for the cession of Alta California and New Mexico. Despite Whig objections to the acquisition of Mexican territory, the treaty
3828-570: Was a mid-19th century political party in the United States. Alongside the Democratic Party , it was one of two major parties between the late 1830s and the early 1850s and part of the Second Party System . As well as four Whig presidents ( William Henry Harrison , John Tyler , Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore ), other prominent members included Henry Clay , Daniel Webster , Rufus Choate , William Seward , John J. Crittenden , and John Quincy Adams . The Whig base of support
3894-524: Was also unopposed, he received only 65.6% of ballots cast, compared to at least 72.4% for each unopposed Democratic countywide official. In 2018, Democratic incumbents were reelected unopposed to two of the county's five commission seats unopposed and to a third seat by a 25% margin, as well as winning the race for commission chair unopposed. The Democratic candidate in the open first commission district lost, but by just 2.7%. Both school board members up that year were unopposed Democratic incumbents. Similarly,
3960-563: Was amongst entrepreneurs, professionals, Protestants (particularly evangelicals ), and the urban middle class . It had much less backing from poor farmers and unskilled workers. The party was hostile toward manifest destiny , territorial expansion into Texas and the Southwest , and the Mexican–American War . It disliked presidential power, as exhibited by Andrew Jackson and James K. Polk , and preferred congressional dominance in lawmaking. Members advocated modernization, meritocracy ,
4026-452: Was appointed Secretary of State. Jackson called it a "corrupt bargain". In the years following the 1824 election, former members of the Democratic-Republican Party split into hostile factions. Supporters of President Adams and Clay joined with many former Federalists such as Daniel Webster to form a group informally known as the "Adams party". Meanwhile, supporters of Jackson, Crawford, and Vice President John C. Calhoun joined in opposing
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#17327723049544092-683: Was determined to destroy the bank (the Second Bank of the United States), which Whigs supported. Shortly after Jackson's re-election, South Carolina passed a measure to " nullify " the Tariff of 1832 , beginning the Nullification Crisis . Jackson strongly denied the right of South Carolina to nullify federal law, but the crisis was resolved after Congress passed the Tariff of 1833 . The Nullification Crisis briefly scrambled
4158-485: Was held in April, the Republican ticket swept the county, with Rufus Bullock receiving 59% of the vote; the Republican candidate for county ordinary won by just 1.7%. Decades later, in the 1948 presidential election Harry Truman only won the county by one vote from States’ Rights candidate Strom Thurmond . In 1964, Wilkinson County voted overwhelmingly for Barry Goldwater, the first Republican presidential nominee to win
4224-444: Was ratified with the support of a majority of the Democratic and Whig senators; Whigs voted for the treaty largely because ratification brought the war to an immediate end. During the war, Whig leaders like John J. Crittenden of Kentucky began to look to General Taylor as a presidential candidate, hoping the party could run on Taylor's personal popularity rather than economic issues. Taylor's candidacy faced significant resistance in
4290-470: Was succeeded by Millard Fillmore. Fillmore, Clay, Daniel Webster, and Democrat Stephen A. Douglas led the passage of the Compromise of 1850 , which helped to defuse sectional tensions in the aftermath of the Mexican–American War for a time. Nonetheless, the Whigs suffered a decisive defeat in the 1852 presidential election partly due to sectional divisions within the party. The Whigs collapsed following
4356-607: Was to censure Jackson for the removal of the national bank deposits, thereby establishing opposition to Jackson's executive power as the organizing principle of the new party. In doing so, the Whigs were able to shed the elitist image that had persistently hindered the National Republicans. Throughout 1834 and 1835, the Whigs successfully incorporated National Republican and Anti-Masonic state-level organizations and established new state party organizations in Southern states like North Carolina and Georgia. The Anti-Masonic heritage of
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