John Wereat was appointed to the Council of Georgia on April 14, 1766. In the early years of the American Revolution, Wereat was a member of the Provincial Congress and the Council of Safety. From 1776 through the end of the war, he served as Georgia's Continental agent, representing the state in dealings with Congress. Wereat was a delegate for Georgia in the Continental Congress and Governor of Georgia in 1779. During his term as governor, he fought against the Yazoo land fraud, organizing the Georgia Union Company in an attempt to buy western lands and prevent them from inclusion in the Yazoo sales. The Yazoo land fraud left a stain on Georgia politics for years, finally being resolved under the governorship of James Jackson.