[1] Expressing an interest in politics, but without the necessary support beyond his region in north Georgia, Akin ran unsuccessfully, receiving just 39.61% of the vote, for governor against incumbent Joseph Emerson Brown in 1859.
Nonetheless, after Georgia seceded from the Union, he felt honor bound to support his state, and the new national government of which it was part.
During the first years of the war, Akin devoted his time to the practice of law in Cassville and his duties as a State Representative in Milledgeville.
[7] In 1862, long before it was an acceptable notion, Akin proposed allowing slaves to enlist in the Confederate Army with the promise of freedom in return for service.
Akin continued, They give up their sons, husbands, brothers & friends, and often without murmuring, to the army; but let one of their negroes be taken, and what a howl you will hear.
The love of money had been the greatest difficulty in our way to independence - it is now our chief obstacle....[8] In November 1863, after the Confederate defeat in the Chattanooga Campaign, Akin became convinced that his family would be in the path of approaching Union forces.
[7] The loss of his home, and personal property, along with the high cost of living in Elberton, and the Confederate capital of Richmond compelled Akin to extreme economies.