Jared Irwin (1750 – March 1, 1818) served twice as elected Governor of Georgia (1796–1798) and (1806–1809). He first was elected to office as a reformer based on public outrage about the

Yazoo land scandal The Yazoo land scandal, Yazoo fraud, Yazoo land fraud, or Yazoo land controversy was a massive real-estate fraud perpetrated, in the mid-1790s, by Georgia governor George Mathews and the Georgia General Assembly. Georgia politicians sold large ...

. He signed a bill that nullified the Yazoo Act, which had authorized the land sales. Challenges to land claims purchased under the former act led to the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

's hearing the case '' Fletcher v. Peck'' (1810). In a landmark decision, the Court upheld the

land contract A land contract, often described by other terminology listed below, is a contract between the buyer and seller of real property in which the seller provides the buyer financing in the purchase, and the buyer repays the resulting loan in installmen ...

s, and ruled that the state law was unconstitutional in trying to nullify valid contracts.

Early life and education

Jared Irwin was born in 1750 in what was then

Anson County, North Carolina Anson County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,055. Its county seat is Wadesboro. History The county was formed in 1750 from Bladen County. It was named for George Anson, Ba ...

. (His birthplace is now located in Mecklenburg County, which was formed from the western portion of Anson County in 1762.) His family moved to

Burke County, Georgia Burke County is a county located along the eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia in the Piedmont. As of the 2020 census, the population was 24,596. The county seat is Waynesboro. Burke County is part of the Augusta-Richmond County, GA ...

when he was young.

Career

Irwin fought in the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

, in which he entered the army as a private. During the war, he demonstrated leadership and was promoted to the rank of colonel. He was a member of the state convention that adopted the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

of 1789. Soon after the end of the war, Georgia and other states rapidly tried to develop their frontier lands. It was an environment ripe for scandal and speculation, which took place in Georgia and other states. Because of public outrage about millions of acres of state lands' being sold for low prices to insider speculators, Irwin was elected Governor in 1795 to clean up the

. On February 13, 1796, less than two months after taking office, Irwin signed the bill nullifying the Yazoo Act. To make a public statement, he burned a copy of the Yazoo Act on the grounds of the capital. The legislature had just moved the capital to

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

in response to the scandal. During his second term, Irwin administered the state's second

land lottery A land lottery is a method of allocating land ownership or the right to occupy land by lot. Some examples are: * Moses' allocation of Promised Land territory to the Israelite tribes by lot, as mandated in Numbers 26:55 and 33:54 and effected by h ...

, as land sales and development were still a priority for the state. In September 1794, 1,200 Georgia militiamen, led by General Irwin acting in conjunction with federal troops stationed on the Oconee, surrounded and isolated General

Elijah Clarke Elijah Clarke (1742 – December 15, 1799) was an American military officer and Georgia legislator. Career Elijah Clarke was born near Tarboro in Edgecombe County, Province of North Carolina, the son of John Clarke of Anson County, North Car ...

's fortifications on the Oconee called the Trans-Oconee Republic. After some negotiation, Clarke agreed to surrender, provided that he and his men would not face prosecution for their actions. Clarke and his followers departed, and the militia burned down the new settlements and fortifications. Irwin died on March 1, 1818, aged approximately 68 years. A resident of Washington County, Irwin was buried near Ohoopee Baptist Church.

Legacy

* The towns of Irwinville and Irwinton, and the county of

Irwin Irwin may refer to: Places ;United States * Irwin, California * Irwin, Idaho * Irwin, Illinois * Irwin, Iowa * Irwin, Nebraska * Irwin, Ohio * Irwin, Pennsylvania * Irwin, South Carolina * Irwin County, Georgia * Irwin Township, Venango County ...

were named after him.

References

External links

Obituary
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Irwin, Jared Governors of Georgia (U.S. state) 1750 births 1818 deaths Georgia (U.S. state) Democratic-Republicans Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States People from Mecklenburg County, North Carolina People from Burke County, Georgia People from Washington County, Georgia