Jackson, James, 1757-1806

James Jackson (1757-1806), U.S. Senator and Georgia Governor (1798-1801) born in Moreton, England.

U.S. senator from Georgia, 1793-1795, 1801-1806, and governor of Georgia, 1798-1801.

James Jackson (1757-1806) was born in Devonshire, England. In 1772, he arrived in Savannah to study law. He fought for Georgia during the Revolutionary War, after which he became a member of the Georgia legislature. A member of the U.S. Senate since 1793, he left this position after the Yazoo fraud of 1795 and returned to Georgia's state legislature and organized an anti-Yazoo campaign. His efforts resulted in the Yazoo act's rescinding and the destruction of its records. In 1798, Jackson won the gubernatorial election. While in office (he held the position until 1801), Jackson ensured Georgia's political party status as a Jeffersonian state. He served his final term in the U.S. Senate from 1801 to 1806; he died March 19, 1806 in Washington, D.C.

James Jackson a Georgia politician who was a well known duelist with a fiery temper who built the Georgia Democratic-Republican party and led it to statewide dominance during the late eighteenth century. Jackson was born in Devonshire, England in 1757 and migrated to Savannah, Georgia in 1772. During the American Revolutionary War, he served in the Georgia militia and was active in the defense of Savannah, the Battle of Cowpens, and the recapture of Augusta and Savannah. Following the war, Jackson set up a law practice in Savannah and started a career in politics. Jackson was elected to the first Georgia state legislature and in 1788 was elected Governor of Georgia, but declined the position, citing his inexperience. In 1789, he was elected to the first United States Congress and strongly opposed any efforts to end slavery and Alexander Hamilton's, the Secretary of the Treasury, financial plans for federals assumption of state debts from the Revolutionary War. In the election of 1791, Jackson was defeated for reelection by Anthony Wayne and was convinced that Wayne had not won his seat fairly. This led Jackson to mount a campaign against Wayne and his supporters, which ultimately led to the removal of Wayne from Congress. Jackson was elected to the United States Senate in 1793 and during this time the state of Georgia sold a large portion its western lands, called Yazoo, to a group of investors. Jackson believed that this sale was influenced by bribery of state legislatures and resigned his post in the Senate to run for a seat in the Georgia legislature in 1795. He won the election and immediately organized a campaign to repeal the Yazoo land sale. In 1798, Jackson won the election for governor of Georgia and proceeded to implement the legislation to repeal the Yazoo land sale and placed the blame for the Yazoo land fraud on his political enemies, the Federalists. Jackson was reelected to the Senate in 1801 and served until his death in 1806.

Brigadier general in Revolution, U.S. representative (1789-1791) and senator (1793-1795) from Georgia, governor of Georgia (1798-1801).