had to run to keep his mayoral seat). In the coming weeks after the new legislature convened in September 1795, the newly elected officials attempted to pass legislation that would lead to further expansion. However, Whitfield and Jones still chaired the representative body; one by one the bills were rejected. The new officials represented a young, passionate minority; the officials were highly charismatic. After weeks of growing tension, the leader of the new coalition, Thomas Bailey, managed to squeak through a bill that stationed the majority of the militia on the eastern border. 1796 brought a change in the political tide of Georgia as well. Many Democratic-Republicans were elected to the state legislature along with new governor, Jared Erwin. One of those new legislators was former governor and avid opponent of the Yazoo act, James Jackson. In February Jackson pushed through the Rescinding Act which cancelled the Yazoo Act. However, Jackson proceeded to move Georgia in the direction of native extermination from the Yazoo territory. With the legislation of Bluffton in uproar, Thomas Bailey introduced a bill to sanction the capture of Albany. Although the proposal was met with ridicule, Bailey sent a message to the military forces on the eastern border led by Generals Menewa and Oliver Herald that the bill had in fact passed, that they were to March on Albany immediately. The large force of approximately 300 Creek and Clay soldiers were eager to fight and easily defeated the small force of Georgian militia stationed at Albany. Herald and his men wanted to continue to conquer the surrounding towns of Sasser and Dawson. But, one of Menewa's lieutenants convinced him that they should wait for further orders. The Declaratory Committee of Bluffton The Bluffton Council was furious at Bailey's treasonous actions, but Bailey and his allies heralded the victory at Albany and tied the hands of the Bluffton legislators. In the wake of victory at Albany, the nearby town of Blakley sent a letter to the Bluffton council asking to join the DCC. They were accepted in June 1796. In July, King George III sent a personal letter to the Bluffton council offering financial assistance if the DCC declared its independence. Though many of the original writers of the Bluffton Treatise felt that this change would derail the DCC from its original [purpose]. Debate in the committee lasted 2 months. Whitfield and Jones aimed to take control