James Campbell (September 1, 1812 – January 27, 1893) was a politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He served as Attorney-General of Pennsylvania and United States Postmaster General during the presidency of Franklin Pierce.

Born in Philadelphia, his father was Anthony Campbell, and his grandfather was George Campbell, a native of Fintona, County Tyrone, Ireland. James was educated at the private school of Geraldus Stockdale, studied law with Hon. Robert D. Ingraham, and was admitted to the Bar on September 14, 1833. He was made a commissioner of the district of Southwark the day after his admission, and served until his appointment to the board of education. He offered on April 16, 1840, the resolution which established the Girls' High School of Philadelphia.

He served on the board of education until 1840, when he was appointed, by Governor David R. Porter, judge of the courts of common pleas, orphan's court, and courts of oyer and terminer, which position he filled until January 1, 1851, when the judicial positions in Pennsylvania became elective.

After the state's constitution was amended in 1850 to allow elected judges, he was nominated for the Supreme Court, at a period when Know-Nothingism and anti-Catholic feeling was rife. More than two-thirds of the party's state convention ratified the choice to nominate him, but he lost his election 179,238 to 176,101, although his four colleagues on the Democratic ticket were elected. James Buchanan remarked to a friend in Pennsylvania, "It would be a sad affair for the party, should Campbell fail & the remainder of the Judicial ticket be elected. He is the first Catholic, I believe, who has ever been upon a ticket for a State office & he is worthy & well qualified. Should he fail, this will be attributed to his religious faith; of course, [this would] very naturally exasperate the Catholic democrats. I hope our friends every where will bear this in mind. You exercise a potent influence & can do much to prevent such a catastrophe."

Governor William Bigler appointed him Attorney-General of Pennsylvania, in which office he served until March 4, 1853, when he entered President Pierce's Cabinet as Postmaster-General, serving until March 4, 1857. Campbell's Cabinet service was a reward to the faction of the Democratic Party that supported James Buchanan in the 1852 presidential nomination convention. Furthermore, as a Catholic, Campbell's nomination helped Pierce reach out to new voters from Ireland.

In 1863 he was a candidate for the United States Senate but lost the Democratic nomination to Charles R. Buckalew. In 1873 he was elected a member of the Constitutional Convention of Pennsylvania, but declined to serve, owing to the condition of his health.

For twenty-five years he was president of the board of trustees of Jefferson Medical College, and for forty-five years was vice-president of Saint Joseph's Orphan Asylum (the oldest incorporated Roman Catholic asylum in the United States, chartered in 1807.)

On September 3, 1869, he was appointed by the judges of Philadelphia County a member of the board of city trusts, which has under its care 42 city trusts, including Girard College and Wills Eye Hospital. He served in these positions until his death.