James Z. George

James Zachariah George (born October 20, 1826 in Monroe County , Georgia , † August 14, 1897 in Gulfport , Harrison County , Mississippi ) was an American politician . Between 1881 and 1897 he represented the state of Mississippi in the US Senate .

Career

As a child, James George came to Mississippi, where he attended public schools. In 1846 he took part in the Mexican-American War as a soldier in the Mississippi Rifles , a unit from his state . For health reasons, however, he soon retired from military service. After a subsequent law degree and his admission to the bar in 1847, he began to work in Carrollton , Mississippi in his new profession. From 1854 he was employed as a reporter (something like a chronicler) at the Supreme Court of Mississippi . Over the next 20 years, with an interruption during the American Civil War , he wrote 10 volumes describing the court's cases.

George was a supporter of the southern states. He was a delegate at the meeting at which the state of Mississippi decided to leave the Union. He was one of the signatories of the resignation. During the civil war that followed, he served in the Confederation Army . He achieved the rank of colonel. He was even brigadier general in the Mississippi State Forces. He was taken prisoner twice. He spent a total of two years in union detention. He later practiced as a lawyer again. Between 1872 and 1887 he lived in Jackson , the capital of his state. Then he moved back to Carrollton. From 1879 he was presiding judge on the Supreme Court of his state. Politically, he belonged to the Democratic Party .

In the elections of 1880, James George was elected as his party's candidate for the US Senate, where he succeeded Blanche Bruce on March 4, 1881 . After two re-elections, he was able to exercise his mandate until his death on August 14, 1897. In the meantime he was chairman of the Agriculture Committee. In 1890 he was also a member of a commission for the revision of the Mississippi Constitution. He died in Mississippi City, now a part of Gulfport.

literature

• Timothy B. Smith: James Z. George: Mississippi's Great Commoner. University Press of Mississippi, Jackson 2012, ISBN 978-1-61703-231-8 .

Web links

• James Z. George in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)