William Paterson (judge)

William Paterson
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
In office
March 4, 1793 – September 8, 1806
Nominated by George Washington
Preceded by Thomas Johnson
Succeeded by Henry Livingston
2nd Governor of New Jersey
In office
October 29, 1790 – March 30, 1793
Preceded by Elisha Lawrence (Acting)
Succeeded by Thomas Henderson (Acting)
United States Senator
from New Jersey
In office
March 4, 1789 – November 13, 1790
Preceded by Seat established
Succeeded by Philemon Dickinson
Attorney General of New Jersey
In office
1776–1783
Governor William Livingston
Preceded by Position established
Succeeded by Joseph Bloomfield
Personal details
Born (1745-12-24)December 24, 1745
County Antrim, Ireland
(now United Kingdom)
Died September 9, 1806(1806-09-09) (aged 60)
Albany, New York, U.S.
Political party Federalist
Alma mater Princeton University
Religion Presbyterianism

William Paterson (December 24, 1745 – September 9, 1806) was a New Jersey statesman, a signer of the U.S. Constitution, and Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, who served as the second governor of New Jersey, from 1790 to 1793.

Early life

William Paterson was born in County Antrim, now in Northern Ireland, moved to what is now the United States at age 2, and entered the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) at age 14. After graduating, he studied law with the prominent lawyer Richard Stockton and was admitted to the bar in 1768. He also stayed connected to his alma mater and helped found the Cliosophic Society with Aaron Burr.[1]

Career

Early career

Paterson was selected as the Somerset County delegate for the first three provincial congresses of New Jersey, where, as secretary, he recorded the 1776 New Jersey State Constitution. After Independence, Paterson was appointed as the first Attorney General of New Jersey, serving from 1776 to 1783, maintaining law and order and establishing himself as one of the state's most prominent lawyers. He was sent to the 1787 Philadelphia Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where he proposed the New Jersey Plan for a unicameral legislative body with equal representation from each state. After the Great Compromise (for two legislative bodies: a Senate with equal representation for each state, and a House of Representatives with representation based on population), the Constitution was signed.

United States Senator

Paterson, who was a strong nationalist who supported the Federalist party, went on to become one of New Jersey's first U.S. senators (1789–90). As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he played an important role in drafting the Judiciary Act of 1789 that established the federal court system. The first nine sections of this very important law are in his handwriting.

Governor of New Jersey

In 1790, he became the first person ever to resign from the U.S. Senate, when he did so in order to succeed fellow signer William Livingston as governor of New Jersey. As governor, Paterson pursued his interest in legal matters by codifying the English statutes that had been in force in New Jersey before the Revolution in Laws of the State of New Jersey. He also published a revision of the rules of the chancery and common law courts in Paterson, later adopted by the New Jersey Legislature.

United States Supreme Court

President George Washington nominated Paterson for the Supreme Court of the United States on February 27, 1793, to the seat vacated by Thomas Johnson. Washington withdrew the nomination the following day, having realized that since the Judiciary Act of 1789 (the law creating the Supreme Court) had been passed during Paterson's current term as a Senator, the nomination was a violation of the Ineligibility Clause (Article I, Section 6) of the Constitution. Washington re-nominated Paterson to the Court on March 4, 1793, after his term as Senator had expired; Paterson was immediately confirmed by the Senate and received his commission.

He resigned the governorship to become an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1793–1806). On circuit he presided over the trials of individuals indicted for treason in the Whiskey Rebellion, a revolt by farmers in western Pennsylvania over the federal excise tax on whiskey, the principal product of their cash crop. Militia sent out by President Washington successfully quelled the uprising, and for the first time the courts had to interpret the provisions of the Constitution with regard to the use of troops in civil disturbances. Here, and in fact throughout his long career, Paterson extolled the primacy of law over governments, a principle embodied in the Constitution he helped write.[2] He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1801.[3]

Death

Paterson served on the Supreme Court until his death (from the lingering effects of a coach accident suffered in 1803 while on circuit court duty in New Jersey) on September 9, 1806, aged 60. He was on his way to the spa at Ballston Springs, New York, to "take the waters", when he died at the Albany, New York home of his daughter, Cornelia Paterson, and son-in-law, Stephen Van Rensselaer (1764–1839). He was laid to rest in the Van Renssalaer family vault in 1806. When the city acquired the property, Paterson's remains were relocated to Albany Rural Cemetery Menands in Albany County, New York. He shares this cemetery with Associate Justice Rufus W. Peckham and President Chester A. Arthur.[4][5][6]

Honors

Both the town of Paterson, New Jersey, and the college, William Paterson University, are named after him.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Daily Princetonian Special Class of 1991 Issue 27 July 1987 — Princeton Periodicals". princeton.edu.
  2. ↑ Wright, Jr., Robert K.; MacGregor, Jr., Morris J. (1987). Soldier-Statesmen of the Constitution. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Army Center of Military History. p. 166. LCCN 87001353. Retrieved July 28, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter P" (PDF). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved July 28, 2014.
  4. ↑ William Paterson at Find a Grave.
  5. ↑ Christensen, George A. (1983) Here Lies the Supreme Court: Gravesites of the Justices, Yearbook at the Wayback Machine (archived September 3, 2005) Supreme Court Historical Society at Internet Archive.
  6. ↑ See also, Christensen, George A., Here Lies the Supreme Court: Revisited, Journal of Supreme Court History, Volume 33 Issue 1, Pages 17 – 41 (Feb 19, 2008), University of Alabama.

Further reading

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Legal offices
New office Attorney General of New Jersey
1776–1783 		Succeeded by
Joseph Bloomfield
Preceded by
Thomas Johnson		 Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
1793–1806 		Succeeded by
Henry Livingston
United States Senate
New seat United States Senator (Class 2) from New Jersey
1789–1790
Served alongside: Jonathan Elmer		 Succeeded by
Philemon Dickinson
Political offices
Preceded by
Elisha Lawrence
Acting		 Governor of New Jersey
1790–1793 		Succeeded by
Thomas Henderson
Acting
 
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