John Martin (politician, around 1730)

John Martin

John Martin (* around 1730 in Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations , † January 1786 ) was an American politician and soldier. From 1782 to 1783 he was governor of Georgia .

Early years

The exact place and date of birth of John Martin are unknown. In one of his later letters, Martin mentions that he was born in Rhode Island. His birthday is believed to be around 1730. Together with his brother James he settled in 1767 in the parish of St. Philips south of Savannah in Georgia. In 1775 he was a delegate to the Provincial Congress, the first independent congress in Georgia. In the following years he took an active part in the American Revolutionary War as an officer . He went through all ranks from lieutenant to lieutenant colonel.

In 1778 Martin took over his first political office as mayor of Savannah; from 1778 to 1779 he served as sheriff in Chatham County .

Georgia Governor

On January 2, 1782, Martin was elected Governor of Georgia to succeed Nathan Brownson . His term of office was overshadowed by the effects of the war. At the beginning of his tenure, the British were on their final withdrawal from Georgia. Augusta and large parts of the country had already evacuated them under his predecessor. Now they also gave up Savannah and the rest of the country that was still occupied. Martin's main task now was to restore order. In addition, the country was impoverished by looting and other war effects. As a first step, 340 Tories, supporters of the British Crown who had committed crimes against the civilian population during the war, were expelled from the country. Your property has been confiscated. The confiscated assets could be used to buy rice from South Carolina and stem the famine. Rehabilitation was offered to other, less radical, loyalists who had fought for the British. The returning soldiers were able to work on their home farms immediately and increase food production to such an extent that at least the hunger problem was solved.

Even so, Georgia still had many unsolved problems such as: B. the Indian question in the west and south. This problem was only solved in the 1830s by the so-called Indian Removal Act with the expulsion of the last Indians from Georgia at the expense of the Indians. There were also serious problems in domestic politics because two groups fought each other to the extreme and did not shy away from murder. Former Governor John A. Treutlen was one such murder victim. Another later governor, James Jackson , dueled several times with his opponents, which also resulted in deaths. These domestic political tensions would also drag on into the first decades of the 19th century. While Martin failed to solve these problems, he was instrumental in helping Georgia overcome the immediate and severe aftermath of the war.

Old age and death

With the election of Lyman Hall as the new governor of Georgia on January 9, 1783, Martin's term ended. On January 30 of the same year, he became Secretary of the Treasury of Georgia. He held this post until March 17, 1784. An illness forced him to move. He hoped to find a cure in the west in a better climate. This hope was not to be fulfilled. A newspaper article of February 2, 1786 shows that he died the previous week on the way west. For this reason, the place and date of his death are as unknown as the dates of his birth.

literature

• Edward J. Cashin, Heard Robertson: Augusta and the American Revolution. Events in the Georgia Back Country. 1773-1783. Ashantilly Press for the Richmond County Historical Society, Darien GA 1975.
• James F. Cook: The Governors of Georgia. 1754-2004 . 3rd edition, revised and expanded. Mercer University Press, Macon GA 2005, ISBN 0-86554-954-0 .

Web links

• The New Georgia Encyclopedia (English)
• John Martin in the National Governors Association (English)