James Jackson letter
Descriptive Summary
Repository: Georgia Historical Society Creator: Jackson, James, 1757-1806. Title: James Jackson letter Dates: 1792 Extent: 0.05 cubic feet (1 folder) Identification: MS 2229
Biographical/Historical Note
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.
Scope and Content Note
This collection contains a letter dated 26 March 1792 from James Jackson of Savannah, Georgia to Edward Langworthy of Elkton, Maryland. In this letter, Jackson discussed the election of 1791, when he was defeated by Anthony Wayne, and his campaign to prove that the election was unfair. Also included in this collection are two typed transcriptions of the letter.
Index Terms
Georgia--History--1775-1865. Jackson, James, 1757-1806. Langworthy, Edward, 1738?-1802. Letters (correspondence) Politicians--Georgia.
Administrative Information
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Restrictions
Access Restrictions
The collection is open for research.
Sponsorship
Encoding funded by a 2008 Archives-Basic Projects grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.