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.