Jump to content

James Jackson (Georgia politician): Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
m rv. to previous edit to fix wk. link broken by most recent edit..
 
(205 intermediate revisions by more than 100 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|American politician (1757–1806)}}
[[Image:JamesJackson.jpg|thumb|right|Jackson as an officer in the American Revolution]]
{{Other people|James Jackson}}
'''James Jackson''' ([[September 21]], [[1757]]–[[March 19]],[[1806]]) was an early [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] politician in the [[Democratic-Republican Party (United States)|Democratic-Republican Party]]. He was a member of the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] from [[1789]] until [[1791]]. He was also a [[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]] from [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] from [[1793]] to [[1795]] then from [[1801]] until his death, and was [[List of Governors of Georgia|Governor of Georgia]] from [[1798]] to [[1801]]. Jackson was well known as a [[duel]]ist. [[Jackson County, Georgia]] is named in his honor.
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = James Jackson
| image = 1805 engraving of James Jackson, head-and-shoulders portrait, right profile LCCN2007675915 (cropped).jpg
| imagesize =
| jr/sr1 = United States Senator
| state1 = [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
| term_start1 = March 4, 1793
| term_end1 = October 31, 1795<ref name="congress">{{ cite web | url=https://bioguideretro.congress.gov/Home/MemberDetails?memIndex=J000017 | title=JACKSON, James, (1757 - 1806) | publisher=[[Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]] | access-date=June 17, 2020}}</ref><br>March 4, 1801 – March 19, 1806
| preceded1 = [[William Few]]<br>[[James Gunn (senator)|James Gunn]]
| succeeded1 = [[George Walton]]<br>[[John Milledge]]
| order2 = 23rd [[Governor of Georgia]]
| term_start2 = January 12, 1798
| term_end2 = March 3, 1801
| predecessor2 = [[Jared Irwin]]
| successor2 = [[David Emanuel (Governor of Georgia)|David Emanuel]]
| state3 = [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
| district3 = [[Georgia's 1st congressional district|1st]]
| term_start3 = March 4, 1789
| term_end3 = March 3, 1791
| preceded3 = ''district created''
| succeeded3 = [[Anthony Wayne]]
| birth_date = September 21, 1757
| birth_place = [[Moretonhampstead]], [[Devon]], [[England]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|1806|3|19|1757|9|21}}
| death_place = [[Washington, D.C.]], [[U.S.]]
| nationality =
| party = [[Anti-Administration Party (United States)|Anti-Administration]]<br>[[Democratic-Republican Party|Democratic-Republican]]
| spouse =
| relations =
| children =
| residence =
| alma_mater =
| occupation =
| profession =
| religion =
| signature =
| website =
| allegiance = {{Flag|United States|1777-Ross}}
| branch = [[Georgia Militia]]
| battles = [[American Revolutionary War]]
*[[Battle of Cowpens]]
| unit= [[1st Brigade Georgia Militia]]
| footnotes =
}}


'''James Jackson''' (September 21, 1757 – March 19, 1806) was an early British-born [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] [[politician]] of the [[Democratic-Republican Party (United States)|Democratic-Republican Party]]. He was a member of the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] from 1789 until 1791. He was also a [[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]] from [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] from 1793 to 1795, and from 1801 until his death in 1806. In 1797 he was elected [[List of Governors of Georgia|23rd Governor of Georgia]], serving from 1798 to 1801 before returning to the senate.<ref>{{ cite web | url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_georgia/col2-content/main-content-list/title_jackson_james.html | title=Georgia Governor James Jackson | publisher=[[National Governors Association]] | access-date=October 10, 2013}}</ref>
==Early Life==
Jackson was born in [[Moreton-Hampstead]], [[Devonshire]], [[England]]. He immigrated to [[Savannah, Georgia]] in 1772. During the [[American Revolutionary War]], he served in the [[1st Brigade Georgia Militia|Georgia Militia]] at the defense of Savannah, the [[Battle of Cowpens]], and the recapture of [[Augusta, Georgia|Augusta]] and Savannah. After the war, he built up his law practice in Savannah. He was elected to the first [[Georgia General Assembly|Georgia state legislature]]. In [[1788]], Jackson was elected governor of Georgia, but declined the position, citing his inexperience.


==Early life==
In 1789, Jackson was elected to the [[First United States Congress]]. As what would later come to be known as a Jeffersonian Republican, he vigorously opposed Secretary of the Treasury [[Alexander Hamilton]]'s financial plans for federal assumption of the states' debts from the Revolutionary War. He was also strongly opposed to efforts to curtail [[slavery]]. In the election of 1791, he was defeated for re-election to his seat by [[Anthony Wayne]]. Jackson was convinced that Wayne had not won his seat fairly, so he mounted a campaign against Wayne and his supporters, finally succeeding in removing Wayne from Congress.
Jackson was born in [[Moretonhampstead]], [[Devon]]shire, [[England]]. He migrated at age 15 to [[Savannah, Georgia]] in 1772, and it was then that he became a ward of Savannah lawyer, John Wereat.<ref name=":1">{{cite book|title=Debates in the House of Representatives|publisher=The Johns Hopkins University Press|year=1995|location=Baltimore, MD|pages=555–556}}</ref> As a young man, Jackson became well known as a [[duel]]ist<ref>{{cite book|last1=Foster|first1=William Omer|title=James Jackson, Duelist and Militant Statesman, 1757-1806|date=1960|publisher=University of Georgia Press|location=Athens|page=6|url=http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/ugapressbks/do-pdf:ugp9780820334400|access-date=21 May 2016}}</ref> with a fiery temper;<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Fleming|first1=Thomas|title=When Politics Was Not Only Nasty … but Dangerous|journal=American Heritage|date=Spring 2011|volume=61|issue=1|url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=fth&AN=73309649&site=eds-live&scope=site|access-date=10 June 2016}}</ref> in February 1780 he killed Georgia governor [[George Wells (Georgia politician)|George Wells]] in a duel.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Cashin|first1=Edward J.|title='The Famous Colonel Wells': Factionalism in Revolutionary Georgia|journal=The Georgia Historical Quarterly|date=1974|volume=58|issue=Supplement|pages=137–156 |jstor=40579633}}</ref> In 1785, he married Mary Charlotte Young, with whom he had five sons, four of whom later became prominent in the state's public affairs.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lambremont|first1=Marie Sauer|title='Rep. James Jackson of Georgia and the Establishment of the Southern States' Rights Tradition in Congress.' In Inventing Congress : Origins and Establishment of the First Federal Congress|date=1999|publisher=Ohio University Press|location=Athens, Ohio|isbn=9780821412718|page=192}}</ref>


==Revolutionary War==
==Senator and Governor==
During the [[American Revolutionary War]], he served in the [[1st Brigade Georgia Militia]] at the defense of Savannah,<ref name="congress" /> the [[Battle of Cowpens]], and the recapture of [[Augusta, Georgia|Augusta]] and Savannah.<ref>{{ cite web | url=http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/government-politics/james-jackson-1757-1806 | title=James Jackson (1757-1806) | author=George R. Lamplugh | publisher=[[New Georgia Encyclopedia]]|date=December 8, 2003| access-date=October 10, 2013}}</ref>
Jackson was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1793. Meanwhile, the state of Georgia sold a large portion of its western lands, called [[Yazoo land scandal|Yazoo]], to a group of investors. Jackson, believing that the sale was influenced by bribery of state legislatures, resigned his post in the Senate to run for a seat in the Georgia legislature in 1795. He won the election and began to lead a campaign to repeal the Yazoo land sale. In 1798, he won the election for governor of Georgia and proceeded to implement the legislation repealing the Yazoo land sale. Jackson placed blame for the Yazoo land fraud on his political enemies, the [[Federalist Party (United States)|Federalists]]. He built the Georgia Democratic-Republican party and led it to statewide dominance.


When the British left Savannah in July 1782, General [[Anthony Wayne]] gave Jackson the privilege of receiving the keys to the city.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Lawrence|first1=Alexander A.|title=James Jackson: Passionate Patriot|journal=The Georgia Historical Quarterly|date=June 1950|volume=34|issue=2|page=85|jstor=40577222}}</ref> Even after the Revolutionary War, Jackson remained an important and influential figure in the Georgia Militia; he participated in the expansionist drive against the [[Creek Nation]] in Georgia.<ref name=":1" /> Jackson eventually thus rose to the rank of brigadier general of Georgia's militia in 1786 and major general in 1792.<ref name=":1" />
Jackson was re-elected to the Senate in 1801 and served until his death in 1806. He is buried in the [[Congressional Cemetery]].

==Political career==
After the war, he built up his law practice in Savannah. Jackson was elected to the first [[Georgia General Assembly|Georgia state legislature]] in 1777 after he had been clerk of court in the Provincial Congress.<ref name=":1" /> His interest in the military was rekindled when he joined the Georgia militia in the defense of Georgia frontier settlers against Indian inhabitants.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Jackson|first1=James|title=Letter [with enclosures], 1788 Mar. 28, Savannah, [Georgia to] George Handley, Governor of Georgia / General James Jackson|url=http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/zlna/id:tcc304|website=Southeastern Native American Documents, 1730-1842|publisher=Digital Library of Georgia|access-date=9 June 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Jackson|first1=James|title=[Letter with] brigade orders, 1787 Nov. 17, Liberty County [Georgia to] Major Carter / Brig[adier] Gen[era]l James Jackson|url=http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/zlna/id:tcc288|website=Southeastern Native American Documents, 1730-1842|publisher=Digital Library of Georgia|access-date=9 June 2016}}</ref> In 1788, Jackson was elected governor of Georgia but declined the position, citing his inexperience.<ref name=":1" />

In 1789, Jackson was elected to the [[First United States Congress]] in one of Georgia's most competitive districts. The First District was the least populated district in the state; because of the three-fifths rule for counting slaves, the district was deemed to have a population of over 16,000.<ref name=":1" /> It was also one of the most contested districts in the state.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=Debates in the House of Representatives|publisher=The Johns Hopkins University Press|year=1995|isbn=0-8018-5015-0|pages=556}}</ref> Jackson ran against [[William Houston]] and [[Henry Osborne (American politician)|Henry Osborne]], the former a veteran of the [[Confederation Congress]], the latter of the [[Continental Congress]].<ref name=":1" /> Jackson won by a narrow margin, and the result was unsuccessfully challenged by Osborne.<ref name=":2" /> As a [[Jeffersonian Republican]],<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Lamplugh|first1=George R.|title='Oh the Colossus! The Colossus!': James Jackson and the Jeffersonian Republican Party in Georgia, 1796-1806|journal=Journal of the Early Republic|date=Autumn 1989|volume=9|issue=3|pages=315–334|jstor=3123592|doi=10.2307/3123592}}</ref> he vigorously opposed Secretary of the Treasury [[Alexander Hamilton]]'s plans for federal assumption of the states' debts from the Revolutionary War.<ref>[[Claude G. Bowers]], ''Jefferson and Hamilton: The Struggle for Democracy in America'', [https://archive.org/details/jeffersonhamilto0000clau/page/49/mode/1up?view=theater p.49] (Boston and New York: [[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|Houghton Mifflin]] 1953) (retrieved Aug. 25, 2024).</ref>

One of Hamilton's first proposals was to tax spirits. Jackson opposed that proposal, saying it would "deprive the mass of the people of almost the only luxury they enjoy, that of distilled spirits."<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Annals of the Congress of the United States|year=1791|location=New York|pages=1891–1892}}</ref> It was originally suggested that the tax be 15¢ a gallon, but Jackson backed a competing proposal for a tax of 12¢ a gallon.<ref>{{Cite book|title=James Jackson: Duelist and Militant Statesman 1757-1806|last=Foster|first=William Omer|publisher=University of Georgia Press|year=1960|location=Athens|pages=75}}</ref> The higher tax was passed despite Jackson's opposition.<ref name=":0" />

The next bill over which Jackson and Hamilton fought concerned the assumption of states' debts from the Revolutionary War. Hamilton wanted to collapse all of the states' debts from the war into one national debt, which would spread the burden of repayment ratably across the union. Jackson, by contrast, believed that states like Georgia that accumulated little debt during the war should not bear the burden of repayment at the same rate as the higher-debt states.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Hamilton and the National Debt|last=Taylor|first=George|publisher=D.C. Heath and Company|year=1950|location=Amherst|pages=52}}</ref> He also opposed efforts to curtail [[slavery]]. He warned that ending slavery would "light up the flame of civil discord for the people of the Southern States" who "will never suffer themselves to be divested of their property without a struggle."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hirschfeld |first=Fritz |url=http://archive.org/details/georgewashington00hirs |title=George Washington and slavery : a documentary portrayal |date=1997 |publisher=Columbia : University of Missouri Press |others=Missouri University Press |isbn=978-0-8262-1135-4 |page=183 |quote=(...) light up the flame of civil discord for the people of the Southern States (...) they will never suffer themselves to be divested of their property without a struggle.}}</ref>

While serving in the House of Representatives, Jackson served on over twenty committees and reported on many more.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|title=Debates in the House of Representatives|publisher=The Johns Hopkins University Press|year=1995|isbn=0-8018-5015-0|location=Baltimore, MD|pages=557}}</ref> During his first term, Jackson became known for his fiery temper and personality; he once became so impassioned that the senators who were meeting above the House chamber had to close the windows to muffle the sound of Jackson's voice.<ref name=":3" />

Defeated for re-election in 1791 by his former Revolutionary commander, [[Anthony Wayne]] (for whom [[Wayne County, Georgia|Wayne County]] is named), in a campaign rife with charges of irregularity against Wayne's supporters, Jackson contested the outcome and succeeded in removing Wayne from Congress. Making effective use of grand jury presentments and newspapers, Jackson secured a seat in the legislature and subsequently oversaw the ouster of Wayne's campaign manager from a state judgeship. Jackson then took his struggle to Congress, where he convinced the House that Wayne had not won fairly. He failed, however, to regain his seat, the Federalist Speaker casting a tie-breaking vote against seating him.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lamplugh|first1=George R.|title=James Jackson (1757-1806)|date=2014|publisher=New Georgia Encyclopedia|url=http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/government-politics/james-jackson-1757-1806|access-date=11 May 2016}}</ref>

Meanwhile, the state of Georgia [[Yazoo land scandal|sold millions of acres]] in the [[Yazoo lands|Yazoo]] region at extremely low prices to a group of investors. Jackson, believing that the sale was influenced by bribery, resigned his post in the Senate to run for a seat in the Georgia legislature in 1795. He won the election and led a campaign to repeal the Yazoo land sale. In 1798, he was elected governor of Georgia and implemented legislation repealing the Yazoo land sale.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hobson |first1=Charles F. |title=The Yazoo Lands Sale Case: Fletcher v. Peck (1810) |journal=Journal of Supreme Court History |date=2017 |volume=42 |issue=3 |page=239 |doi=10.1111/jsch.12152 |s2cid=149170188 }}</ref> Jackson blamed the Yazoo land fraud on his political enemies, including [[James Gunn (Georgia politician)|James Gunn]] and the [[Federalist Party (United States)|Federalists]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Lamplugh|first1=George R.|title=James Gunn: Georgia Federalist, 1789-1801|journal=Georgia Historical Quarterly|date=Fall 2010|volume=94|issue=3|url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=54613494&site=eds-live&scope=site|access-date=9 June 2016}}</ref> He built the Georgia [[Democratic-Republican party]] and led it to statewide dominance.

He was a [[United States Electoral College|presidential elector]] in the [[1796 United States presidential election|1796 presidential election]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Georgia 1796 Electoral College |url=https://elections.lib.tufts.edu/catalog/j9602101m |access-date=2022-08-20 |website=A New Nation Votes}}</ref>

Jackson was re-elected to the Senate in 1801 and served until his death in 1806.


==Legacy==
==Legacy==
He is buried in the [[Congressional Cemetery]], a [[National Historic Landmark]] in [[Washington, DC]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/government-politics/james-jackson-1757-1806 | title=James Jackson (1757-1806) | author=George R. Lamplugh | publisher=[[New Georgia Encyclopedia]]| date=December 8, 2003| access-date=October 10, 2013}}</ref>
Jackson was the start of a political dynasty in Georgia. His son, [[Jabez Young Jackson]], was a Representative from Georgia in the [[Twenty-fourth United States Congress|Twenty-fourth]] and [[Twenty-fifth United States Congress]]. James Jackson's grandson, also named [[James Jackson (congressman)|James Jackson]], was a U.S. Representative from Georgia, a judge advocate on the staff of General [[Thomas J. Jackson|Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson]], and a trustee of the [[University of Georgia]].


Jackson was the patriarch of a political dynasty in Georgia. His son, [[Jabez Young Jackson]], was a representative from Georgia in the [[Twenty-fourth United States Congress|Twenty-fourth]] and [[Twenty-fifth United States Congress]].
==External link==
*[http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6984044 James Jackson on Find-A-Grave]


His grandson, also named [[James Jackson (congressman)|James Jackson]], was a U.S. Representative from Georgia, a judge advocate on the staff of General [[Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson]] and a trustee of the [[University of Georgia]].
==References==
{{bioguide}}
{{CongBio|J000017}}


Jackson is the namesake of [[Jackson County, Georgia]],<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | last=Gannett | first=Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n166 167]}}</ref> [[Jackson, Georgia]], James Jackson Parkway Northwest in [[Atlanta]]. [[Fort James Jackson]], which protected the city of Savannah from attack by sea during most of the nineteenth century, is today a museum and restored garrison. The [[ghost town]] of [[Jacksonboro, Georgia]] is also named for Jackson.
*Lamplugh, George. 2003. "James Jackson". The New Georgia Encyclopedia. Georgia Humanities Council. [http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-1087]


==See also==
{{Portal|Georgia (U.S. State)}}
* [[List of U.S. state governors born outside the United States]]
* [[List of United States senators born outside the United States]]
* [[List of United States Congress members who died in office (1790–1899)]]


==References==
{{start box}}
*Jackson, James. [http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/harg/turningpoint/id:harg2345-022-073 Documents.] E. Merton Coulter manuscript collection II. MS 2345. Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries. From America's Turning Point: Documenting the Civil War Experience in Georgia. Web. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
{{succession box|
*Jackson, James. [https://archive.org/details/collectionsofgeo11jack Papers of James Jackson, 1781-1798]. From Collections of the Georgia Historical Society, Georgia Historical Society, 1955, Georgia Historical Society. Web. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
before=[[Jared Irwin]]|
{{reflist}}
title=[[Governor of Georgia]]|

years=[[1798]]&ndash;[[1801]]|
==External links==
after=[[David Emanuel (Governor of Georgia)|David Emanuel]]
{{NIE Poster|Jackson, James (soldier)|James Jackson (Georgia politician)}}
*{{Find a Grave|6984044|James Jackson}}

{{S-start}}
{{s-par|us-hs}}
{{US House succession box
| state = Georgia
| district = 1
| before= New seat
| after= [[Anthony Wayne]]
| years= March 4, 1789 – March 3, 1791
}}
{{s-par|us-sen}}
{{U.S. Senator box|class=2|state=Georgia| before = [[William Few]]| after = [[George Walton]] | years =1793&ndash;1795| alongside=[[James Gunn (senator)|James Gunn]] }}
{{U.S. Senator box|class=3|state=Georgia| before = [[James Gunn (senator)|James Gunn]]| after = [[John Milledge]] | years =1801&ndash;1806| alongside=[[Abraham Baldwin]] }}
{{s-off}}
{{Succession box
|before=[[Jared Irwin]]
|title=[[Governor of Georgia]]
|years=1798–1801
|after=[[David Emanuel (Governor of Georgia)|David Emanuel]]
}}
}}
{{end box}}
{{S-end}}
{{USSenGA}}
{{Governors of Georgia}}


{{Authority control}}
{{GAGovernors}}


[[Category:1757 births|Jackson, James]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, James}}
[[Category:1806 deaths|Jackson, James]]
[[Category:1757 births]]
[[Category:Governors of Georgia|Jackson, James]]
[[Category:1806 deaths]]
[[Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia|Jackson, James]]
[[Category:People from Moretonhampstead]]
[[Category:United States Senators from Georgia|Jackson, James]]
[[Category:British emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies]]
[[Category:American militiamen in the American Revolution|Jackson, James]]
[[Category:American people of English descent]]
[[Category:People from Savannah, Georgia|Jackson, James]]
[[Category:American Congregationalists]]
[[Category:Anti-Administration Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Jackson County, Georgia|Jackson, James]]
[[Category:Anti-Administration Party United States senators from Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Democratic-Republican Party United States senators from Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States]]
[[Category:Governors of Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers]]
[[Category:Politicians from Savannah, Georgia]]
[[Category:People from Jackson County, Georgia]]
[[Category:18th-century American lawyers]]
[[Category:Georgia (U.S. state) militiamen in the American Revolution]]
[[Category:People of Georgia (U.S. state) in the American Revolution]]
[[Category:Burials at the Congressional Cemetery]]
[[Category:1796 United States presidential electors]]
[[Category:United States senators who owned slaves]]
[[Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives who owned slaves]]
[[Category:19th-century United States senators]]
[[Category:18th-century United States senators]]
[[Category:18th-century members of the United States House of Representatives]]

Latest revision as of 02:30, 12 December 2024

For other people named James Jackson, see James Jackson (disambiguation).
James Jackson
United States Senator
from Georgia
In office
March 4, 1793 – October 31, 1795[1]
March 4, 1801 – March 19, 1806
Preceded byWilliam Few
James Gunn
Succeeded byGeorge Walton
John Milledge
23rd Governor of Georgia
In office
January 12, 1798 – March 3, 1801
Preceded byJared Irwin
Succeeded byDavid Emanuel
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Georgia's 1st district
In office
March 4, 1789 – March 3, 1791
Preceded bydistrict created
Succeeded byAnthony Wayne
Personal details
BornSeptember 21, 1757
Moretonhampstead, Devon, England
DiedMarch 19, 1806(1806-03-19) (aged 48)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political partyAnti-Administration
Democratic-Republican
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/serviceGeorgia Militia
Unit1st Brigade Georgia Militia
Battles/warsAmerican Revolutionary War

James Jackson (September 21, 1757 – March 19, 1806) was an early British-born Georgia politician of the Democratic-Republican Party. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1789 until 1791. He was also a U.S. Senator from Georgia from 1793 to 1795, and from 1801 until his death in 1806. In 1797 he was elected 23rd Governor of Georgia, serving from 1798 to 1801 before returning to the senate.[2]

Early life

[edit]

Jackson was born in Moretonhampstead, Devonshire, England. He migrated at age 15 to Savannah, Georgia in 1772, and it was then that he became a ward of Savannah lawyer, John Wereat.[3] As a young man, Jackson became well known as a duelist[4] with a fiery temper;[5] in February 1780 he killed Georgia governor George Wells in a duel.[6] In 1785, he married Mary Charlotte Young, with whom he had five sons, four of whom later became prominent in the state's public affairs.[7]

Revolutionary War

[edit]

During the American Revolutionary War, he served in the 1st Brigade Georgia Militia at the defense of Savannah,[1] the Battle of Cowpens, and the recapture of Augusta and Savannah.[8]

When the British left Savannah in July 1782, General Anthony Wayne gave Jackson the privilege of receiving the keys to the city.[9] Even after the Revolutionary War, Jackson remained an important and influential figure in the Georgia Militia; he participated in the expansionist drive against the Creek Nation in Georgia.[3] Jackson eventually thus rose to the rank of brigadier general of Georgia's militia in 1786 and major general in 1792.[3]

Political career

[edit]

After the war, he built up his law practice in Savannah. Jackson was elected to the first Georgia state legislature in 1777 after he had been clerk of court in the Provincial Congress.[3] His interest in the military was rekindled when he joined the Georgia militia in the defense of Georgia frontier settlers against Indian inhabitants.[10][11] In 1788, Jackson was elected governor of Georgia but declined the position, citing his inexperience.[3]

In 1789, Jackson was elected to the First United States Congress in one of Georgia's most competitive districts. The First District was the least populated district in the state; because of the three-fifths rule for counting slaves, the district was deemed to have a population of over 16,000.[3] It was also one of the most contested districts in the state.[12] Jackson ran against William Houston and Henry Osborne, the former a veteran of the Confederation Congress, the latter of the Continental Congress.[3] Jackson won by a narrow margin, and the result was unsuccessfully challenged by Osborne.[12] As a Jeffersonian Republican,[13] he vigorously opposed Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton's plans for federal assumption of the states' debts from the Revolutionary War.[14]

One of Hamilton's first proposals was to tax spirits. Jackson opposed that proposal, saying it would "deprive the mass of the people of almost the only luxury they enjoy, that of distilled spirits."[15] It was originally suggested that the tax be 15¢ a gallon, but Jackson backed a competing proposal for a tax of 12¢ a gallon.[16] The higher tax was passed despite Jackson's opposition.[15]

The next bill over which Jackson and Hamilton fought concerned the assumption of states' debts from the Revolutionary War. Hamilton wanted to collapse all of the states' debts from the war into one national debt, which would spread the burden of repayment ratably across the union. Jackson, by contrast, believed that states like Georgia that accumulated little debt during the war should not bear the burden of repayment at the same rate as the higher-debt states.[17] He also opposed efforts to curtail slavery. He warned that ending slavery would "light up the flame of civil discord for the people of the Southern States" who "will never suffer themselves to be divested of their property without a struggle."[18]

While serving in the House of Representatives, Jackson served on over twenty committees and reported on many more.[19] During his first term, Jackson became known for his fiery temper and personality; he once became so impassioned that the senators who were meeting above the House chamber had to close the windows to muffle the sound of Jackson's voice.[19]

Defeated for re-election in 1791 by his former Revolutionary commander, Anthony Wayne (for whom Wayne County is named), in a campaign rife with charges of irregularity against Wayne's supporters, Jackson contested the outcome and succeeded in removing Wayne from Congress. Making effective use of grand jury presentments and newspapers, Jackson secured a seat in the legislature and subsequently oversaw the ouster of Wayne's campaign manager from a state judgeship. Jackson then took his struggle to Congress, where he convinced the House that Wayne had not won fairly. He failed, however, to regain his seat, the Federalist Speaker casting a tie-breaking vote against seating him.[20]

Meanwhile, the state of Georgia sold millions of acres in the Yazoo region at extremely low prices to a group of investors. Jackson, believing that the sale was influenced by bribery, resigned his post in the Senate to run for a seat in the Georgia legislature in 1795. He won the election and led a campaign to repeal the Yazoo land sale. In 1798, he was elected governor of Georgia and implemented legislation repealing the Yazoo land sale.[21] Jackson blamed the Yazoo land fraud on his political enemies, including James Gunn and the Federalists.[22] He built the Georgia Democratic-Republican party and led it to statewide dominance.

He was a presidential elector in the 1796 presidential election.[23]

Jackson was re-elected to the Senate in 1801 and served until his death in 1806.

Legacy

[edit]

He is buried in the Congressional Cemetery, a National Historic Landmark in Washington, DC.[24]

Jackson was the patriarch of a political dynasty in Georgia. His son, Jabez Young Jackson, was a representative from Georgia in the Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth United States Congress.

His grandson, also named James Jackson, was a U.S. Representative from Georgia, a judge advocate on the staff of General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson and a trustee of the University of Georgia.

Jackson is the namesake of Jackson County, Georgia,[25] Jackson, Georgia, James Jackson Parkway Northwest in Atlanta. Fort James Jackson, which protected the city of Savannah from attack by sea during most of the nineteenth century, is today a museum and restored garrison. The ghost town of Jacksonboro, Georgia is also named for Jackson.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  • Jackson, James. Documents. E. Merton Coulter manuscript collection II. MS 2345. Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries. From America's Turning Point: Documenting the Civil War Experience in Georgia. Web. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  • Jackson, James. Papers of James Jackson, 1781-1798. From Collections of the Georgia Historical Society, Georgia Historical Society, 1955, Georgia Historical Society. Web. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  1. ^ a b "JACKSON, James, (1757 - 1806)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  2. ^ "Georgia Governor James Jackson". National Governors Association. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Debates in the House of Representatives. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press. 1995. pp. 555–556.
  4. ^ Foster, William Omer (1960). James Jackson, Duelist and Militant Statesman, 1757-1806. Athens: University of Georgia Press. p. 6. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  5. ^ Fleming, Thomas (Spring 2011). "When Politics Was Not Only Nasty … but Dangerous". American Heritage. 61 (1). Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  6. ^ Cashin, Edward J. (1974). "'The Famous Colonel Wells': Factionalism in Revolutionary Georgia". The Georgia Historical Quarterly. 58 (Supplement): 137–156. JSTOR 40579633.
  7. ^ Lambremont, Marie Sauer (1999). 'Rep. James Jackson of Georgia and the Establishment of the Southern States' Rights Tradition in Congress.' In Inventing Congress : Origins and Establishment of the First Federal Congress. Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press. p. 192. ISBN 9780821412718.
  8. ^ George R. Lamplugh (December 8, 2003). "James Jackson (1757-1806)". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
  9. ^ Lawrence, Alexander A. (June 1950). "James Jackson: Passionate Patriot". The Georgia Historical Quarterly. 34 (2): 85. JSTOR 40577222.
  10. ^ Jackson, James. "Letter [with enclosures], 1788 Mar. 28, Savannah, [Georgia to] George Handley, Governor of Georgia / General James Jackson". Southeastern Native American Documents, 1730-1842. Digital Library of Georgia. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  11. ^ Jackson, James. "[Letter with] brigade orders, 1787 Nov. 17, Liberty County [Georgia to] Major Carter / Brig[adier] Gen[era]l James Jackson". Southeastern Native American Documents, 1730-1842. Digital Library of Georgia. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  12. ^ a b Debates in the House of Representatives. The Johns Hopkins University Press. 1995. p. 556. ISBN 0-8018-5015-0.
  13. ^ Lamplugh, George R. (Autumn 1989). "'Oh the Colossus! The Colossus!': James Jackson and the Jeffersonian Republican Party in Georgia, 1796-1806". Journal of the Early Republic. 9 (3): 315–334. doi:10.2307/3123592. JSTOR 3123592.
  14. ^ Claude G. Bowers, Jefferson and Hamilton: The Struggle for Democracy in America, p.49 (Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin 1953) (retrieved Aug. 25, 2024).
  15. ^ a b Annals of the Congress of the United States. New York. 1791. pp. 1891–1892.
  16. ^ Foster, William Omer (1960). James Jackson: Duelist and Militant Statesman 1757-1806. Athens: University of Georgia Press. p. 75.
  17. ^ Taylor, George (1950). Hamilton and the National Debt. Amherst: D.C. Heath and Company. p. 52.
  18. ^ Hirschfeld, Fritz (1997). George Washington and slavery : a documentary portrayal. Missouri University Press. Columbia : University of Missouri Press. p. 183. ISBN 978-0-8262-1135-4. (...) light up the flame of civil discord for the people of the Southern States (...) they will never suffer themselves to be divested of their property without a struggle.
  19. ^ a b Debates in the House of Representatives. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press. 1995. p. 557. ISBN 0-8018-5015-0.
  20. ^ Lamplugh, George R. (2014). James Jackson (1757-1806). New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  21. ^ Hobson, Charles F. (2017). "The Yazoo Lands Sale Case: Fletcher v. Peck (1810)". Journal of Supreme Court History. 42 (3): 239. doi:10.1111/jsch.12152. S2CID 149170188.
  22. ^ Lamplugh, George R. (Fall 2010). "James Gunn: Georgia Federalist, 1789-1801". Georgia Historical Quarterly. 94 (3). Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  23. ^ "Georgia 1796 Electoral College". A New Nation Votes. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
  24. ^ George R. Lamplugh (December 8, 2003). "James Jackson (1757-1806)". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
  25. ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 167.
[edit]
Wikisource has the text of a 1905 New International Encyclopedia article about "James Jackson (Georgia politician)".
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
New seat
 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Georgia's 1st congressional district
March 4, 1789 – March 3, 1791 		Succeeded by
U.S. Senate
Preceded by U.S. senator (Class 2) from Georgia
1793–1795
Served alongside: James Gunn 		Succeeded by
Preceded by U.S. senator (Class 3) from Georgia
1801–1806
Served alongside: Abraham Baldwin 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Governor of Georgia
1798–1801 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=James_Jackson_(Georgia_politician)&oldid=1262572360"