William Cushing

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William Cushing

William Cushing (born March 1, 1732 in Scituate , Plymouth County , Province of Massachusetts Bay , † September 13, 1810 ibid) was an American lawyer and from 1789 to 1810 judge at the Supreme Court of the United States .

family

The Cushings family emigrated from England to the United States in 1638 and initially settled in Hingham , Massachusetts. Already Cushing's grandfather John, and father John Jr. worked as judges. The latter rose to the position of judge at the Supreme Court of Massachusetts and should even be presiding judge after Thomas Hutchinson's departure , which he refused. Cushing's mother, Mary Cotton, was from Plymouth and was the second wife of John Cushing.

Cushing himself married Hannah Phillips from Middletown in 1774, with whom he was married until his death.

Training and activity as a lawyer

Cushing began studying at Harvard College in 1747, graduating in 1751. After a brief stint as a teacher in Roxbury and a Masters of Arts from Yale University , he returned to Harvard to study theology. However, he gave up this study in 1754 and began working in the law firm of Jeremiah Gridley , a well-known Boston attorney. In 1758 he personally campaigned for Cushings to be admitted to the bar in Boston. A short time later, he first settled in his hometown of Scituate, before moving his office to Pownalborough , Maine . There he mainly advised large companies on the purchase and sale of land and thus came into contact with John Adams , who was active in the same field.

Served as a judge in Maine and Massachusetts

When in 1760 the division of the administrative district in the area east of the Piscataqua River Lincoln County with Pownalborough as capital was created, Cushing was appointed probate and justice of the peace for the newly created district. In this position he was responsible, among other things, for the administration of property of the deceased and was able to use his experience as a lawyer.

After his father resigned his post as judge at the Massachusetts Supreme Court in 1771, Cushing returned to Boston and took up the vacant judge's post. Even at the beginning of his term in office, the tensions that ultimately led to the American Revolution were palpable. Cushing always tried to be neutral in the decisions to be made and was highly valued by his colleagues and friends for this. During the Revolutionary War , he was the only judge on the Massachusetts Supreme Court to side with the rebels. For this reason he was confirmed as a judge by the Provincial Congress in 1775 . After Adam resigned as presiding judge in February 1777, Cushing took over this position, which he accompanied for twelve years. In 1780 he was one of the first members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences . In 1783 he served as the presiding judge in the widely acclaimed Walker case against Jennison and ruled that slavery contravened the Massachusetts Constitution, passed in 1780, and was therefore illegal. During his tenure as chairman, Cushing was often exposed to the anger of the population, as they were obliged to pay enormous taxes after the end of the civil war - which had resulted in considerable debts for cities and towns - which had to be enforced by the courts. Cushing met the hostility calmly and continued his work undeterred.

United States Supreme Court Justice

Associate Judge (1789–1810)

In 1788, Cushing was vice president of the state- approved assembly of the United States . After the Constitution was passed and the new Supreme Court of the United States was created, George Washington nominated Cushing as associate judge on September 24, 1789; the Senate confirmed it two days later. During the first session of the new court, the judges traveled through the states assigned to them to hold hearings there. Cushing's responsibilities included the states of Maine, Massachusetts and Virginia . With his cooperation, fundamental decisions such as Chisholm v. Georgia , declaring a citizen's lawsuit against a state admissible in federal court. Again, Cushing earned the respect of his colleagues for his calm, mediating manner and hard work. He was also considered a close confidante of Washington.

Chief Justice (1794/95; nomination 1796)

During John Jay's travels to England, where he negotiated the Jay Treaty named after him in 1794/95 , Cushing held the position of Chief Justice of the United States as his deputy. After Jay's resignation in 1796 and after John Rutledge was not confirmed by the Senate , Washington named Cushing Chief Justice on January 26, 1796. For health reasons, Cushing had to reject the appointment, which was unanimously approved by the Senate, on February 2, 1796. Whether Cushing can be seen as the third Chief Justice after John Rutledge and before Oliver Ellsworth is still controversial. From the point of view of some historians, this question should be answered in the affirmative. You refer to the minutes of the Court's session of February 3 and 4, 1796, in which Cushing was named Chief Justice. Others argue that the fact that Cushing continued to serve as associate judge until his death in 1810 without going through the appointment process again suggests that he rejected the office of chief justice in his letter to Washington, rather than as such is to be seen.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b William Cushing (1732-1810). ( Memento from April 20, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) at: michaelariens.com
  2. ^ Henry Flanders: The Lives and Times of the Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, Volume II: William Cushing - Oliver Ellsworth - John Marshall. Lippincott & Co., Philadelphia 1858, p. 11.
  3. ^ Henry Flanders: The Lives and Times of the Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, Volume II: William Cushing - Oliver Ellsworth - John Marshall. Lippincott & Co., Philadelphia 1858, p. 13.
  4. ^ Henry Flanders: The Lives and Times of the Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, Volume II: William Cushing - Oliver Ellsworth - John Marshall. Lippincott & Co., Philadelphia 1858, p. 14.
  5. ^ Henry Flanders: The Lives and Times of the Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, Volume II: William Cushing - Oliver Ellsworth - John Marshall. Lippincott & Co., Philadelphia 1858, p. 18.
  6. ↑ a b James R. Perry, Maeva Marcus: The Documentary History of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1789-1800. Volume 1, Pt. 1, Columbia University Press, New York 2003, ISBN 0-231-08867-1 , p. 25.
  7. ^ Matthew P. Harrington: Jay and Ellsworth, the first courts - justices, rulings, and legacy. ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara 2008, ISBN 978-1-57607-841-9 , p. 45.
  8. ^ Henry Flanders: The Lives and Times of the Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, Volume II: William Cushing - Oliver Ellsworth - John Marshall. Lippincott & Co., Philadelphia 1858, p. 17.
  9. ↑ a b William Cushing. on: supremecourthistory.org
  10. ^ Henry Flanders: The Lives and Times of the Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. Volume II: William Cushing - Oliver Ellsworth - John Marshall. Lippincott & Co., Philadelphia 1858, pp. 33-35.
  11. ^ Cushing, William. on: fjc.gov
  12. ^ Henry Flanders: The Lives and Times of the Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. Volume II: William Cushing - Oliver Ellsworth - John Marshall. Lippincott & Co., Philadelphia 1858, p. 38.
  13. ↑ CHISHOLM v. STATE OF GA., (1793). at: caselaw.lp.findlaw.com
  14. ↑ Scott Douglas Gerber (Ed.): Seriatim: The Supreme Court before John Marshall. New York University Press, New York 1998, ISBN 0-8147-3114-7 , p. 98.
  15. ^ Maeva Marcus, James R. Perry: The Documentary History of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1789-1800. Volume 1, Pt. 1, Columbia University Press, New York 2003, ISBN 0-231-08867-1 , p. 26.
  16. ^ Matthew P. Harrington: Jay and Ellsworth, the first courts - justices, rulings, and legacy. ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara 2008, ISBN 978-1-57607-841-9 , p. 47.
  17. ^ Ross E. Davies: William Cushing, Chief Justice of the United States. In: University of Toledo Law Review. Vol. 37, No. 3, Spring 2006, ISSN  0042-0190 , p. 597.
  18. ^ Maeva Marcus, James R. Perry: The Documentary History of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1789-1800. Vol. I, Columbia University Press, New York 1985, p. 103.

See also

literature

  • Arthur Prentice Rugg: William Cushing. Yale Law Journal Company, New Haven 1920.
  • Henry J. Abraham: Justices and Presidents: A Political History of Appointments to the Supreme Court. 3rd edition. Oxford University Press, New York 1992, ISBN 0-19-506557-3 .
  • Clare Cushman, The Supreme Court Justices: Illustrated Biographies, 1789-1995. 2nd Edition. Supreme Court Historical Society, Congressional Quarterly Books, Washington DC 2001, ISBN 1-56802-126-7 .
  • John P. Frank, Leon Friedman, Fred L. Israel: The Justices of the United States Supreme Court: Their Lives and Major Opinions. Chelsea House Publishers, New York 1995, ISBN 0-7910-1377-4 .
  • Kermit L. Hall: The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States. Oxford University Press, New York 1992, ISBN 0-19-505835-6 .
  • Fenton S. Martin, Robert U. Goehlert: The US Supreme Court: A Bibliography. Congressional Quarterly Books, Washington, DC 1990, ISBN 0-87187-554-3 .
  • Melvin I. Urofsky: William Cushing. In: Biographical encyclopedia of the Supreme Court: the lives and legal philosophies of the justices. CQ Press, Washington, DC 2006, ISBN 1-933116-48-X , pp. 151-154.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Cushing, William
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American lawyer
DATE OF BIRTH March 1, 1732
PLACE OF BIRTH Scituate , Massachusetts
DATE OF DEATH September 13, 1810
Place of death Scituate , Massachusetts