[2][3] In 1911, State Attorney General Thomas M. Honan appointed Jackson to the office of second deputy AG.
In 1934, Jackson was elected chairman of the party, leading the Democrats to several key victories in the state throughout the rest of the decade.
As chairman, Jackson helped to establish the party's first "colored bureau" and was known throughout his life as a friend to Black Hoosiers.
James P. Hughes, former Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court, served as Assistant Attorney General under Jackson.
[3] In 1940, while traveling to his farm in Hancock County with his son-in-law, Jackson died suddenly of a heart attack, in the middle of his term.