Bushrod Washington
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
- ↑ George W. Goble, "Bushrod Washington," in Dictionary of American Biography, ed. Dumas Malone (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1964), 10:315.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ David Leslie Annis, "Mr. Bushrod Washington, Supreme Court Justice on the Marshall Court" (PhD diss., University of Notre Dame, 1974), 26.
- ↑ Ibid., 27.
- ↑ Ibid., 29.
- ↑ Ibid, 31.
- ↑ Ibid., 34.
- ↑ Ibid., 38.
- ↑ George W. Goble, "Bushrod Washington," 508.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Ibid., 509.
- ↑ David Leslie Annis, "Mr. Bushrod Washington," 2.
- ↑ Ibid., 3.
- ↑ George W. Goble, "Bushrod Washington," 509.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Ibid.
