James Z. George
| James George | |
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United States Senator from Mississippi |
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In office March 4, 1881 – August 14, 1897 |
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| Preceded by | Blanche Bruce |
| Succeeded by | Hernando Money |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
October 20, 1826 Monroe County, Georgia |
| Died | August 14, 1897 (aged 70) Gulfport, Mississippi |
| Political party | Democratic |
James Zachariah George (October 20, 1826 – August 14, 1897) was an American lawyer, writer, and politician and Confederate politician and military officer. He was known as Mississippi's "Great Commoner."
James Z. George was born in Monroe County, Georgia, but moved to Noxubee County, Mississippi at age eight when his widowed mother remarried, and two years later, to Carroll County, Mississippi, where he received his education in the common schools. He served as a private in the Mexican-American War under Colonel Jefferson Davis, and participated in the Battle of Monterey. On his return, George read law and was admitted to the bar. In 1854 he became a reporter of the Supreme Court of Mississippi and, over the next 20 years, George prepared a 10-volume digest of its cases.
As a member of the Mississippi Secession Convention, George signed the Ordinance of Secession. A Confederate colonel of the 5th Mississippi Cavalry during the Civil War, he was captured twice and spent two years in a prisoner of war camp, where he conducted a law course for his fellow captives. After the war, he returned to Mississippi and resumed the practice of law. In 1879 he was appointed to the Supreme Court of Mississippi and immediately was chosen chief justice by his colleagues.
From 1881 until his death, George represented Mississippi in the United States Senate, where he was recognized for his skills in debate, helped frame the future Sherman Anti-Trust Act, introduced the bill for agricultural college experiment stations, and encouraged the establishment of the Department of Agriculture. He also served as a member of the Mississippi Constitutional Convention of 1890 and successfully defended the constitution before the Senate and the Supreme Court.
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