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Henry Baldwin (judge)

 

 
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Henry Baldwin (January 14, 1780 - April 21, 1844) was an Associate 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....
 of the Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal United States federal courts. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, who are nominated by the President of the United States and confirmed with th...
 from January 18, 1830, to April 21, 1844.

win was born in New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut

New Haven is the third largest municipality in Connecticut, after Bridgeport, Connecticut and Hartford, with a core population of about 124,000 people....
, the half-brother of Abraham Baldwin
Abraham Baldwin

Abraham Baldwin was an Politics of the United States, Patriot , and Founding Fathers of the United States from the U.S. state of Georgia . Baldwin was a Georgia representative in the Continental Congress and served in the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate after the adoption of the United States Constitution....
. He received a B.A at age 17 from Yale College
Yale College

Yale College was the official name of Yale University from 1718 to 1887. The name now refers to the undergraduate part of the university. Each undergraduate student is assigned to one of 12 residential colleges....
 in 1797, and read law in 1798. He was a Deputy state attorney general of Meadville, Pennsylvania
Meadville, Pennsylvania

Meadville is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, United States. The city is generally considered part of the Pittsburgh Tri-State and is within 40 miles of Erie, Pennsylvania....
  from 1799 to 1801. He was also the publisher of The Tree of Liberty, a Republican newspaper.

Baldwin was elected to the United States Congress
United States Congress

The United States Congress is the Bicameralism legislature of the Federal government of the United States of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
 as a member of the Democratic-Republican Party in 1816, representing Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a U.S. state located in the Northeastern United States and Mid-Atlantic States regions of the United States....
, but resigned after six years because of his declining health and failing finances.






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Henry Baldwin (January 14, 1780 - April 21, 1844) was an Associate 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....
 of the Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal United States federal courts. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, who are nominated by the President of the United States and confirmed with th...
 from January 18, 1830, to April 21, 1844.

Biography

Baldwin was born in New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut

New Haven is the third largest municipality in Connecticut, after Bridgeport, Connecticut and Hartford, with a core population of about 124,000 people....
, the half-brother of Abraham Baldwin
Abraham Baldwin

Abraham Baldwin was an Politics of the United States, Patriot , and Founding Fathers of the United States from the U.S. state of Georgia . Baldwin was a Georgia representative in the Continental Congress and served in the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate after the adoption of the United States Constitution....
. He received a B.A at age 17 from Yale College
Yale College

Yale College was the official name of Yale University from 1718 to 1887. The name now refers to the undergraduate part of the university. Each undergraduate student is assigned to one of 12 residential colleges....
 in 1797, and read law in 1798. He was a Deputy state attorney general of Meadville, Pennsylvania
Meadville, Pennsylvania

Meadville is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, United States. The city is generally considered part of the Pittsburgh Tri-State and is within 40 miles of Erie, Pennsylvania....
  from 1799 to 1801. He was also the publisher of The Tree of Liberty, a Republican newspaper.

Baldwin was elected to the United States Congress
United States Congress

The United States Congress is the Bicameralism legislature of the Federal government of the United States of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
 as a member of the Democratic-Republican Party in 1816, representing Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a U.S. state located in the Northeastern United States and Mid-Atlantic States regions of the United States....
, but resigned after six years because of his declining health and failing finances. He strongly supported the election of Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States . He was List of governors of Florida of Florida , commander of the American forces at the Battle of New Orleans , and eponym of the era of Jacksonian democracy....
 in the election of 1828. After the death of Bushrod Washington
Bushrod Washington

'Bushrod Washington' was a Supreme Court of the United States associate justice and the nephew of George Washington. While serving on the Marshall Court, he authored the opinion of Corfield v....
 in 1829, Jackson nominated Baldwin to the Supreme Court. Baldwin was confirmed by the Senate on January 6, 1830, and received commission the same day.

Baldwin considered resigning in 1831. In a letter to President Jackson, he complained about the Court’s extension of its powers. Some historian
Historian

A historian is an individual who studies and writes about history, and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, systematic narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all events in time....
s believe that Baldwin suffered from mental illness during this period. However, he continued to serve on the court until his death in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population city in the United States. It is the fifth-largest metropolitan area and fourth-largest urban area by population in the United States, the nation's fourth-largest consumer media market as ranked by the Nielsen Media Research, and the 49th-most...
.

Views


Justice Baldwin was personally opposed to slavery
Slavery

Slavery is a form of forced labor where a person is compelled to Labor for another . Slaves are held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase, or birth, and are deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to receive Remuneration in return for their labor....
. In the case of Johnson v. Tompkins, 13 F. Cas. 840 (C.C.E.D. Pa. 1833), he instructed the jury
Jury

A jury is a sworn body of people convened to render a rationalism, impartiality verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence or judgment....
 that although slavery's existence "is abhorrent to all our ideas of natural right and justice," the jury must respect the legal status
Legal status

In law legal status refers to the concept of individuals having a particular place in society, relative to the law, as it determines the laws which affect them....
 of slavery. He was the sole dissenter
Dissenter

The term dissenter , labels one who dissents or disagrees in matters of opinion, belief, etc. In the social and religious history of England and Wales, however, it refers particularly to a member of a religious body in England or Wales who has, for one reason or another, separated from the Established Church....
 in the Amistad Case
Amistad (1841)

The Amistad, also known as United States v. The Amistad Africans Case citation , was a Supreme Court of the United States case resulting from the rebellion of slavery on board the Spain schooner La Amistad in 1839....
, in which the Court decided to free a ship of illegally imported African slaves.

In another federal case, Justice Baldwin interpreted the Privileges and Immunities Clause
Privileges and Immunities Clause

The Privileges and Immunities Clause prevents a U.S. state from treating citizens of other states in a discriminatory manner, with regard to basic civil rights....
 of the Constitution. That case was Magill v. Brown, , in which Justice Baldwin stated: "We must take it therefore as a grant by the people of the state in convention, to the citizens of all the other states of the Union, of the privileges and immunities of the citizens of this state." This eventually became the view accepted by the Supreme Court, and remains so.

Justice Baldwin was a friend and admirer of Chief Justice John Marshall
John Marshall

John Marshall was an American statesman and jurist who shaped American constitutional law and made the Supreme Court a center of power. Marshall was Chief Justice of the United States, serving from February 4, 1801, until his death in 1835....
, and wrote of Marshall that "no commentator
Judicial interpretation

Judicial interpretation is a theory or mode of thought that explains how the judiciary should interpret the law, particularly constitutional documents and legislation ....
 ever followed the text more faithfully, or ever made a commentary more accordant with its strict intention and language." Baldwin was at Marshall's bedside when the old Chief Justice died in 1835.

In 1837, Justice Baldwin authored a treatise
Treatise

A treatise is a formal and systematic exposition in writing of the principles of a subject, generally longer and more detailed than an essay. A lengthy discourse on some subject....
 titled A General View of the Origin and Nature of the Constitution and Government of the United States: Deduced from the Political History and Condition of the Colonies and States. Baldwin opposed the two prevailing schools of Constitutional interpretation: the strict constructionists and the school of liberal
Liberalism

Liberalism is a broad class of political philosophy that considers individualism liberty and equality to be the most important political goals....
 interpretation. Likewise, his views followed a middle course between the extremes of states' rights
States' rights

States' rights refers to the idea, in politics of the United States and United States constitutional law, that U.S. states possess certain rights and political powers in relation to the federal government of the United States....
 on the one hand, and nationalism
Nationalism

Nationalism refers to an ideology, a feeling, a form of culture, or a social movement that focuses on the nation. While there is significant debate over the historical origins of nations, nearly all Expert accept that nationalism, at least as an ideology and social movement, is a Modernity phenomenon originating in Europe....
 on the other hand.

Death and legacy


Justice Baldwin suffered from paralysis in later years and died a pauper, aged 64. Historian William J. Novak of the University of Chicago
University of Chicago

The University of Chicago is a private university located principally in the Hyde Park, Chicago neighborhood of Chicago. Although an older university by the same name existed prior to its founding, the modern University of Chicago credits its founding to the oil magnate John D....
 has written that, "Baldwin’s jurisprudence
Jurisprudence

Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal philosophers, hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions....
 has been treated rather shabbily by historians."

Baldwin was a great-great-great-great-grandfather of actor Christopher Reeve
Christopher Reeve

Christopher D'Olier Reeve was an American actor, film director, film producer, and screenwriter. He established himself early as a The Juilliard School-trained stage actor before portraying Superman in four films, from 1978 to 1987....
.

Justice Baldwin's remains were initially interred at Kalorama
Kalorama

Kalorama may refer to:*Kalorama, Washington, D.C., a neighborhood near Dupont Circle.*Kalorama, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne in Australia*Kalorama Estate, in Washington, D.C....
 -- Oak Hill Cemetery
Oak Hill Cemetery

Oak Hill Cemetery is a historic twenty-two acre historic cemetery and botanical garden located in Georgetown, Washington, D.C.. It includes the Oak Hill Cemetery Chapel that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places....
 -- and were thereafter moved to Rock Creek Cemetery
Rock Creek Cemetery

Rock Creek Cemetery is an cemetery with a natural rolling landscape located at Rock Creek Church Road, NW, and Webster Street, NW, in the Petworth, Washington, D.C....
 a/k/a Greendale Cemetery

He was the half-brother of United States Constitution signatory Abraham Baldwin
Abraham Baldwin

Abraham Baldwin was an Politics of the United States, Patriot , and Founding Fathers of the United States from the U.S. state of Georgia . Baldwin was a Georgia representative in the Continental Congress and served in the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate after the adoption of the United States Constitution....
.

Further reading

    • Huebner, Timothy S.; Renstrom, Peter; Hall, Kermit L., coeditor. (2003) The Taney Court, Justice Rulings and Legacy. City: ABC-Clio Inc.ISBN 1576073688.**
  • White, G. Edward. The Marshall Court & Cultural Change, 1815-35. Published in an abridged edition, 1991.


Sources



External links

  • Crawford County Historical Society.
  • Find a Grave
    Find A Grave

    Find A Grave is a website providing access and input to an online database of cemetery records....
    .
  • Public Broadcasting System.