William paterson biography constitutional convention

When he was two years old, he moved to USA. At the age of 14, he joined Princeton University. He went through law education with Richard Stockton, a prominent lawyer, and later was admitted to the bar. The admission was done in the year He was a great supporter of the American Independence.

William paterson biography constitutional convention: William Paterson was an Irish-born

In his early age, he became a Somerset County, New Jersey delegate through selection. As a delegate, he served the first three Provincial Congresses where he came up with the New Jersey State Constitution in In this capacity he undertook the task of codifying the state's laws, which were published in He also worked closely with Hamilton in to form the generally unsuccessful "Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures"; the society created a small industrial city on the banks of the Passaic River, which became known as Paterson.

For the next decade he had an active career on the bench participating in almost all the important decisions rendered by the high court. These decisions reveal Paterson to have been, above all else, a firm advocate of the supremacy of the federal over the state governments. In Penhallow v. Doane's Administrators he expounded an extremely nationalist interpretation of the origins and nature of the Union, arguing that even during the s the Continental Congress represented the "supreme will" of the American people.

In the important and controversial case of ware v. Paterson also believed in a strong and independent judiciary. In while on circuit in Pennsylvania he delivered an opinion in van horne ' s lessee v. Although the case involved a state law that contradicted a state constitution, Paterson's argument had broader theoretical implications, and his remarks on the subject of judicial review are the fullest and most important statements by a Justice of the United States Supreme Court before John Marshall 's opinion in marbury v.

In hylton v. Because the key issue was whether the carriage tax was a direct tax or an excise tax, Paterson's opinion contained a long discussion of the intention of the Framers of the Constitution as to what kinds of taxes required apportionment among the states according to population. Paterson also expounded on the intention of the Framers in Calder v.

Bull when he concurred with the rest of the Court in interpreting the provision of Article I, section 10, prohibiting state legislatures from enacting ex post facto laws as extending only to criminal, not civil laws. Like so many Federalists, Paterson refused to recognize the legitimacy of the Republican opposition during the s.

William paterson biography constitutional convention: His long experience in state politics

When Congress passed the alien and sedition acts, inhe vigorously enforced them. While riding circuit in Vermont he urged a federal grand jury to indict Democratic-Republican Congressman Matthew Lyon for bringing the President and the federal government into disrepute with his various criticisms. Paterson also made clear his belief that the Supreme Court alone had the final authority to determine the constitutionality of laws of Congress, a position the Republican defense had denied.

Paterson's actions during the crisis ofalong with those of samuel chase, are among the clearest examples of the partisan nature of the Federalist judiciary during the late s. Many Jeffersonians were incensed by the proceedings, and had the attempt to remove Chase from the Supreme Court proven successful inthey probably would have gone after Paterson next.

William paterson biography constitutional convention: Justice William Paterson signed the

But by then President john adams had openly broken with the Hamiltonian wing of the party, and he appointed John Marshall instead. Paterson accepted this development graciously; in fact, he described the new Chief Justice as "a man of genius" whose "talents have at once the lustre and solidity of gold. When the judiciary act of was repealed, some of the more belligerent Federalists, including Justice Chase, wanted the Supreme Court to declare the repeal act unconstitutional.

His wife, expecting their third child, also became ill. Cornelia Paterson, weakened by the strain of childbirth, died four days later. Paterson immersed himself in his law practice and in married Euphemia White. His long experience in state politics and administration earned him a seat on the five-person delegation sent by New Jersey to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, where he played a pivotal role.

By a narrow margin, delegates approved the Virginia Plan, which provided for proportional representation, based on population, in two houses of government. Paterson introduced the New Jersey Plan, which called for a unicameral body with equal representation from each state. In the debate that followed, the delegates hammered out the Great Compromise, with proportional representation in the house of Representatives and equal representation in the Senate.

Paterson signed the Constitution in September During this time, he began work on the volume later published as Laws of the State of New Jersey and began to revise the rules and practices of the chancery and common law courts. During the yearsPaterson served as an associate justice of the U. Supreme Court. Riding the grueling circuit to which federal judges were subjected in those days and sitting with the full Court, he presided over a number of major trials.

In Septemberhis health failing, the year-old Paterson embarked on a journey to Ballston Spa, NY, for a cure but died en route at Albany in the home of his daughter, who had married Stephen Van Rensselaer. Paterson was at first laid to rest in the nearby Van Rensselaer manor house family vault, but later his body was apparently moved to the Albany Rural Cemetery, Menands, NY.

William C.