Tapping Reeve
Tapping Reeve (born October 1, 1744 in Brookhaven , Long Island ; died December 13, 1823 in Litchfield , Connecticut ) was one of the foremost American lawyers of the early Republic. In 1784 he founded one of the first law schools in the United States.
Life
Reeve studied at the College of New Jersey, now Princeton University (AB 1763), where he taught from 1767 to 1770. At that time he was also the private tutor of the future American Vice President Aaron Burr and his sister Sally Burr, whom he married in 1771.
In 1772 he moved to Litchfield, Connecticut, where he opened a law firm. In 1784 Reeve opened a private law school there, where he trained prospective lawyers in class. Until well into the 19th century, prospective lawyers in the United States learned their subject mostly in private training with lawyers or judges. It was not until 1779 that the first university chair in law was established at the College of William & Mary , so Reeves' institution was only the young nation's second specialized law school. When Reeve was appointed as a judge at the Connecticut Supreme Court in 1798 , he hired James Gould and later other lawyers as lecturers to continue teaching, but also taught well into old age. The 1,000 or so lawyers who have studied with Reeve over the years include a number of prominent politicians, including John C. Calhoun and Noah Webster , a total of 16 future senators, ten governors and two US Supreme Court justices.
Reeve was a judge in the Connecticut Superior Court from 1798 and was promoted to Chief Justice of that state in 1814.
Works
- The Law of Baron and Femme, of Parent and Child, Guardian and Ward, Master and Servant, and of the Powers of Courts of Chancery with an Essay on the Terms Heir, Heirs, and Heirs of the Body (1816)
- Treatise on the Law of Descents in the Several United States of America (1825).
literature
- Christopher Collier: Tapping Reeve, The Connecticut Common Law, and America's First Law School. In: Connecticut Supreme Court History . Volume I. Connecticut Supreme Court Historical Society, Hartford 2006.
- Samuel H. Fisher: The Litchfield Law School, 1775-1833. Biographical Catalog of Students. Yale University Press, New Haven 1933.
- Marian C. McKenna: Tapping Reeve and the Litchfield Law School. Oceana, New York 1986.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Article Reeve, Tapping . In: Alexander Leitch: A Princeton Companion. Princeton University Press, 1978.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Reeve, tapping |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American lawyer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 1, 1744 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Brookhaven , Long Island |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 13, 1823 |
| Place of death | Litchfield , Connecticut |