John Rutledge

John Rutledge
Robert C. Hinckley / After John Trumbull · Public domain · source
Name	John Rutledge
Caption	Portrait by John Trumbull, 1791
Office	2nd Chief Justice of the United States
Termstart	June 30, 1795
Termend	December 28, 1795
Nominator	George Washington
Predecessor	John Jay
Successor	Oliver Ellsworth
Office1	Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Termstart1	February 15, 1790
Termend1	March 5, 1791
Nominator1	George Washington
Predecessor1	Seat established
Successor1	Thomas Johnson
Office2	31st Governor of South Carolina
Termstart2	January 9, 1779
Termend2	January 31, 1782
Predecessor2	Rawlins Lowndes
Successor2	John Mathews
Office3	1st President of South Carolina
Termstart3	March 26, 1776
Termend3	March 5, 1778
Predecessor3	Office established
Successor3	Rawlins Lowndes
Birth date	September 17, 1739
Birth place	Charleston, Province of South Carolina
Death date	July 23, 1800 (aged 60)
Death place	Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.
Party	Federalist
Spouse	Elizabeth Grimké
Children	10
Alma mater	Middle Temple

John Rutledge. A foundational Founding Father and influential jurist from South Carolina, John Rutledge played a critical role in the early American Revolution and the formation of the United States Constitution. He served as the first President of South Carolina and later as its Governor during the Revolutionary War, helped draft the U.S. Constitution at the Philadelphia Convention, and was appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States by President George Washington. His tenure as the second Chief Justice of the United States was brief and marked by controversy, concluding a career dedicated to the establishment of American legal and political institutions.

Early life and education

Born in 1739 in Charleston within the British colony of South Carolina, John Rutledge was the eldest son of Dr. John Rutledge and Sarah Hext. He received his early education from notable tutors, including David Rhind and a Church of England clergyman, before studying law under the guidance of his uncle, Andrew Rutledge, a prominent local attorney and Speaker of the South Carolina House of Commons. In 1754, he traveled to London to further his legal studies at the Middle Temple, one of the Inns of Court, where he was exposed to English common law and the workings of the British Parliament. He was admitted to the English bar in 1760 and returned to Charleston, where he quickly established a successful legal practice, representing wealthy planters and merchants in the South Carolina Court of Common Pleas.

Legal and political career

Rutledge's political career began with his election to the South Carolina Commons House of Assembly in 1761. He emerged as a leading voice against British imperial policies, serving as a delegate to the Stamp Act Congress in 1765, where he served on the committee that drafted petitions to King George III and the House of Lords. He served in the First Continental Congress and the Second Continental Congress, advocating for colonial rights while initially seeking reconciliation with Great Britain. As the revolution progressed, he was elected President of South Carolina under its 1776 constitution, effectively serving as head of state, and later as Governor during the critical war years, coordinating the state's defense against British Army invasions, including the Siege of Charleston.

Role in the Constitutional Convention

At the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Rutledge was a pivotal and active delegate. He served as chairman of the Committee of Detail, which was responsible for producing the first full draft of the U.S. Constitution based on the resolutions passed by the convention. A strong advocate for Southern and planter interests, he argued forcefully for the protection of slavery, supporting the Fugitive Slave Clause and opposing export taxes. He also championed a strong central government and, alongside fellow South Carolinian Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, insisted on a requirement that only a natural-born citizen could serve as President of the United States. His pragmatic negotiations were essential to the document's final form and its subsequent ratification.

Supreme Court service

President George Washington appointed Rutledge as an Associate Justice in 1789, and he took his seat in 1790. However, he served only briefly, resigning in 1791 to become chief justice of the South Carolina Court of Common Pleas and General Sessions. In 1795, after the resignation of John Jay, Washington nominated Rutledge as the second Chief Justice of the United States via a recess appointment. He presided over the August term of the Court, but his vocal and bitter public opposition to the Jay Treaty, including a speech in Charleston denouncing it, aroused fierce criticism from the Federalist Party. When his formal nomination reached the Senate in December 1795, it was rejected by a significant margin, making him the first Supreme Court nominee to be rejected. He thus served only five months as Chief Justice before his commission was revoked.

Later life and death

The Senate rejection and the death of his wife, Elizabeth Grimké, in 1792 plunged Rutledge into profound depression and financial decline. He returned to his legal practice in Charleston but struggled with mental and physical health. His final years were spent in relative obscurity, a stark contrast to his earlier national prominence. He died on July 23, 1800, in Charleston and was interred at St. Michael's Church. Despite the tragic end to his judicial career, Rutledge is remembered as a key architect of the Constitution and a significant, if complex, figure in the early history of the United States.

Category:1739 births Category:1800 deaths Category:Chief Justices of the United States Category:Governors of South Carolina Category:Signers of the United States Constitution