David S. Terry
Overview
 
David Smith Terry was a California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 politician, who killed United States Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 David C. Broderick
David C. Broderick
David Colbreth Broderick was a Democratic U.S. Senator from California. He was a first cousin of Andrew Kennedy and Case Broderick.-Early life and education:...

 in the Broderick – Terry duel in 1859. He was then killed in 1889 by a bodyguard of United States Supreme Court Justice
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States are the members of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the Chief Justice of the United States...

 Stephen J. Field
Stephen Johnson Field
Stephen Johnson Field was an American jurist. He was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court of the United States Supreme Court from May 20, 1863, to December 1, 1897...

.
Terry was born in Christian County, Kentucky
Todd County, Kentucky
Todd County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population is 11,971. Its county seat is Elkton. The county is named after Colonel John Todd, who was killed at the Battle of Blue Licks in 1782...

. From 1855 to 1859 he was a California State Supreme Court
Supreme Court of California
The Supreme Court of California is the highest state court in California. It is headquartered in San Francisco and regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacramento. Its decisions are binding on all other California state courts.-Composition:...

 Justice, serving as the 4th Chief Justice of California from 1857.

Terry was always known for his fiery temper. In 1856, he stabbed Sterling A. Hopkins, a member of the San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

 Committee of Vigilance
Vigilance committee
A vigilance committee was a group formed of private citizens to administer law and order where they considered governmental structures to be inadequate. The term is commonly associated with the frontier areas of the American West in the mid-19th century, where groups attacked cattle rustlers and...

 and was arrested, but was not tried.

Terry was an advocate of the extension of slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...

 into California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, and the slavery issue proved to be divisive to the California Democratic Party.
 
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