Difference between revisions of "Bushrod Washington"

Revision as of 13:39, 15 April 2014

Bushrod Washington (1762-1829), Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States and nephew of George Washington, was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia to John and Hannah Washington.^[1] He was named after the Bushrod family, a prestigious lineage considered to be one of the first families of Virginia, of which his mother was a member.^[2] He received his early education under the guidance of a tutor in the home of Richard Henry Lee, a prominent Virginian and eventual Declaration of Independence signer.^[3] Washington gained admittance to the College of William & Mary in 1775 and graduated in 1778.^[4] He returned two years later in order to study under the newly appointed law professor, George Wythe.^[5] It was during this period that Washington became acquainted with John Marshall, who was also studying under Wythe.^[6] Although it is unclear how long Washington studied law under Wythe, records indicate that by December 1780, he was no longer at William & Mary.^[7] In 1781, he became a private in the Continental Army and was present at Yorktown for Cornwallis’ surrender later that year.^[8]

In 1782, following his stint in the Continental Army, Washington departed for Philadelphia to continue his legal education as an apprentice under James Wilson, a distinguished attorney and future member of the United States Supreme Court.^[9] He returned to Virginia in 1784.^[10] Shortly after his return, Washington was admitted to the bar and started practicing in Alexandria, Virginia.^[11] In 1787 he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates and earned a seat in the Virginia State Convention the following year.^[12] In 1790, Washington moved to Richmond because of the demands of his growing practice.^[13]

In 1798, President John Adams appointed Washington to the Supreme Court to replace the seat vacated by the death of Justice James Wilson, his former mentor.^[14] Washington served on the Court until his death in 1829.^[15] His twenty-eight years on the Marshall Court was longer than any of his colleagues.^[16] John Marshall was a close friend of Washington’s and the two generally agreed on constitutional issues.^[17] Washington was a "diligent student of the law" and possessed the admirable judicial traits of being "mild and conciliatory" by nature yet "prompt and firm in decision."^[18] Washington wrote the opinion for several notable cases, including Dartmouth College v. Woodward.^[19] After his death, he was buried in Mount Vernon, the estate he had inherited years earlier from his uncle George Washington.^[20]

References

1. ↑ George W. Goble, "Bushrod Washington," in Dictionary of American Biography, ed. Dumas Malone (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1964), 10:315.
2. ↑ Ibid.
3. ↑ Ibid.
4. ↑ Ibid.
5. ↑ David Leslie Annis, "Mr. Bushrod Washington, Supreme Court Justice on the Marshall Court" (PhD diss., University of Notre Dame, 1974), 26.
6. ↑ Ibid., 27.
7. ↑ Ibid., 29.
8. ↑ Ibid, 31.
9. ↑ Ibid., 34.
10. ↑ Ibid., 38.
11. ↑ George W. Goble, "Bushrod Washington," 508.
12. ↑ Ibid.
13. ↑ Ibid.
14. ↑ Ibid.
15. ↑ Ibid., 509.
16. ↑ David Leslie Annis, "Mr. Bushrod Washington," 2.
17. ↑ Ibid., 3.
18. ↑ George W. Goble, "Bushrod Washington," 509.
19. ↑ Ibid.
20. ↑ Ibid.