Samuel Dillon Jackson (May 28, 1895March 8, 1951) was an American attorney and politician from

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. He was the

Attorney General of Indiana The Indiana Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of Indiana in the United States. Attorneys General are chosen by a statewide general election to serve for a four-year term. The forty-fourth and Attorney General is Todd Roki ...

from 1940 to 1941, and briefly served as a

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

in 1944.

Early life

Jackson was born in

Lafayette Township, Allen County, Indiana Lafayette Township is one of twenty townships in Allen County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,354. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, Lafayette Township covers an area of ; of this, is ...

on May 28, 1895, the son of Reverend Isaiah H. Jackson and Minnie (Whitterberger) Jackson. He attended the public schools of

Fort Wayne Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

and graduated from the city's Central High School in 1914. He then attended Indiana Law School (now

Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law The Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law (IU McKinney) is located on the campus of Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) in Indianapolis, Indiana, the urban campus of Indiana University. In the summer of 2001 ...

), from which he received his

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

degree in 1917. Later that year, Jackson was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

. He delayed the commencement of a law practice in order to enter the military for

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

World War I

Jackson enlisted in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

for

. He attended the officers' training camp held at

Fort Benjamin Harrison Fort Benjamin Harrison was a U.S. Army post located in suburban Lawrence Township, Marion County, Indiana, northeast of Indianapolis, between 1906 and 1991. It is named for the 23rd United States president, Benjamin Harrison. History In 1901, ...

and received his commission as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

Infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

in August 1917. He was subsequently assigned to legal duties in the office of the judge advocate at

Camp Zachary Taylor Camp Zachary Taylor was a military training camp in Louisville, Kentucky. It opened in 1917, to train soldiers for U.S. involvement in World War I, and was closed three years later. It was initially commanded by Guy Carleton and after the war it ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

. Jackson received promotion to

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

and

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

during the war, and was mustered out in April 1919.

Start of career

After leaving the Army, Jackson engaged in the practice of law at Fort Wayne as the head of a firm that eventually became known as Jackson, Longfellow and Jackson. In 1919 and 1920, Allen served as assistant supervisor of the U.S. census for Indiana's 12th Congressional District. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, Jackson served as prosecuting attorney of Allen County from 1924 to 1927. In 1928, he was the Democratic nominee for a seat in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

and was defeated by

David Hogg David Miles Hogg (born April 12, 2000) is an American gun control activist. He rose to prominence during the 2018 United States gun violence protests as a student survivor of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, helping lead several hig ...

, 55.3 percent to 44.7. Jackson remained active in politics as a Democrat and was head of Indiana's Democratic Party speaker's bureau in 1934 and permanent chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party's 1936 convention. In July 1940, Jackson received an interim appointment as

attorney general of Indiana The Indiana Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of Indiana in the United States. Attorneys General are chosen by a statewide general election to serve for a four-year term. The forty-fourth and Attorney General is Todd Roki ...

, and he completed the term of the late

Omer Stokes Jackson Omer Stokes Jackson (September 1884June 1, 1940) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the twenty-eighth Indiana Attorney General from January 1, 1937, to June 1, 1940. Biography Early life and education Jackson was born in Hancock ...

Later career

On January 28, 1944, Jackson was appointed to the U.S. Senate, filling the vacancy caused by the death of

Frederick Van Nuys Frederick Van Nuys (April 16, 1874 – January 25, 1944) was a United States senator from Indiana. Born in Falmouth, he attended the public schools and graduated from Earlham College ( Richmond, Indiana) in 1898 and from Indiana Law School ...

. He served from January 28, 1944, to November 13, 1944, and was not a candidate for election to the remainder of the term, or for the full term that began on January 3, 1945. Jackson was permanent chairman of the

1944 Democratic National Convention The 1944 Democratic National Convention was held at the Chicago Stadium in Chicago, Illinois from July 19 to July 21, 1944. The convention resulted in the nomination of President Franklin D. Roosevelt for an unprecedented fourth term. Senator Ha ...

. In 1944, he was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for

Governor of Indiana The governor of Indiana is the head of government of the State of Indiana. The governor is elected to a four-year term and is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of the functions of many agencies of the Indiana state government ...

, losing to Republican

Ralph F. Gates Ralph Fesler Gates (February 24, 1893 - July 28, 1978) was an American politician who served as the 37th governor of the U.S. state of Indiana from 1945 to 1949. A lawyer and veteran of World War I, he is credited with returning his party to pow ...

, 50.97 percent to 48.18. After losing the governor's race, Jackson resumed the practice of law in Fort Wayne. In 1946 he was hired for a three-year term as governor of the National Association of Commodity Exchanges and Allied Trades. In this position, Jackson oversaw the development of a comprehensive program of self-regulation for commodity exchanges and boards of trade in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

, and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Civic and fraternal memberships

Jackson participated in several organizations associated with

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, including the

York Rite The York Rite, sometimes referred to as the American Rite, is one of several Rites of Freemasonry. It is named for, but not practiced in York, Yorkshire, England. A Rite is a series of progressive degrees that are conferred by various Masonic ...

Shriners Shriners International, formally known as the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (AAONMS), is an American Masonic society established in 1870 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida. Shriners International describes itself ...

, and

Scottish Rite The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction in the United States often omits the ''and'', while the English Constitution in the United Kingdom omits the ''Scottish''), commonly known as simply the Sco ...

. He attained the 33rd degree of the Scottish Rite, was a member of Indiana's Supreme Council, and served as Deputy for the District of Indiana. As part of his career as an attorney, Jackson maintained memberships in the American Bar Association, Indiana Bar Association, and Allen County Bar Association. He served a term as a member of the state association's advisory board, and a term as president of the Allen County Bar Association. Jackson was an active member of the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

following his Army service. In the early 1920s he became a charter member of legion Post 47 in Fort Wayne. The

Izaak Walton League The Izaak Walton League is an American environmental organization founded in 1922 that promotes natural resource protection and outdoor recreation. The organization was founded in Chicago, Illinois, by a group of sportsmen who wished to protect fi ...

, an environmental conservation advocacy organization, included Jackson as a member. He was also a member of Fort Wayne's Quest Club, an organization created to provide members a forum for presenting original research on current events and social, economic, scientific, cultural, political, and historical subjects.

Death and burial

He died in Fort Wayne on March 8, 1951. Jackson was buried at

Lindenwood Cemetery Lindenwood Cemetery is a rural cemetery operated by Dignity Memorial in Fort Wayne, Indiana, established in 1859. With over 74,000 graves and covering , it is one of the largest cemeteries in Indiana. Famous interments include some of the most im ...

in Fort Wayne.

Family

In 1914, Jackson married Anna Fern Bennett. They were the parents of three children—James W., Robert I., and Samuel D. Jr.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Samuel D. 1895 births 1951 deaths People from Allen County, Indiana Indiana Democrats Democratic Party United States senators from Indiana Indiana Attorneys General Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law alumni United States Army personnel of World War I 20th-century American politicians