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Smith Thompson
Smith Thompson (January 17, 1768 – December 18, 1843) was a US Secretary of the Navy from 1819 to 1823 and a US Supreme Court Associate Justice from 1823 to his death.
Born in Amenia, New York, Thompson graduated from Princeton University (then known as the College of New Jersey) in 1788, taught for a short period thereafter, then studied law under James Kent and subsequently set up a law practice. He practiced in Troy, New York from 1792 to 1793, and in Poughkeepsie, New York from 1793 to 1802.
Smith Thompson's father Ezra Thompson (1738–1816) and grandfather Samuel Thompson (1696–1768) were part of a family group that moved from New Haven, Connecticut to Dutchess County, New York by the time of the Revolution. His father's first cousins Israel Thompson and Jesse Thompson were both prominent citizens who served multiple terms in the New York State Assembly.
Smith Thompson was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1800, and attended the New York Constitutional Convention of 1801. He was appointed to the New York State Supreme Court in 1802, serving as associate justice from 1802 to 1814, and chief justice from 1814 to 1818.
In 1819, Thompson achieved national prominence when he was appointed the 6th Secretary of the Navy by U.S. President James Monroe, and then again in 1823–1824, when he campaigned for the Democratic-Republican Party presidential nomination for the 1824 U.S. presidential election. He would withdraw from his presidential campaign when outcompeted by other candidates.
Thompson only reluctantly accepted his recess appointment to the United States Supreme Court from President James Monroe on September 1, 1823. He was to fill a seat vacated by Henry Brockholst Livingston. Formally nominated on December 5, 1823, Thompson was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 9, 1823, and received his commission the same day. Throughout his time on the court he was a staunch opponent of Chief Justice John Marshall.
In a move now considered unusual, but then quite common, Thompson continued his political ambitions by running for other political offices while still on the bench. However, his 1828 bid for Governor of New York was unsuccessful, unlike the example of Chief Justice John Jay, who successfully ran a three-year campaign while still a Justice, ultimately winning election as New York State governor in 1795. Thereafter, Thompson mostly exited political life.
His dissent protesting the State of Georgia invading the lands of the Cherokee Nation, in Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, 30 U.S. 1 (1831), is important to understanding the history of Native American rights. Chief Justice Marshall began the main opinion sympathetic to the Cherokee Nation's legal claim:
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Smith Thompson
Smith Thompson (January 17, 1768 – December 18, 1843) was a US Secretary of the Navy from 1819 to 1823 and a US Supreme Court Associate Justice from 1823 to his death.
Born in Amenia, New York, Thompson graduated from Princeton University (then known as the College of New Jersey) in 1788, taught for a short period thereafter, then studied law under James Kent and subsequently set up a law practice. He practiced in Troy, New York from 1792 to 1793, and in Poughkeepsie, New York from 1793 to 1802.
Smith Thompson's father Ezra Thompson (1738–1816) and grandfather Samuel Thompson (1696–1768) were part of a family group that moved from New Haven, Connecticut to Dutchess County, New York by the time of the Revolution. His father's first cousins Israel Thompson and Jesse Thompson were both prominent citizens who served multiple terms in the New York State Assembly.
Smith Thompson was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1800, and attended the New York Constitutional Convention of 1801. He was appointed to the New York State Supreme Court in 1802, serving as associate justice from 1802 to 1814, and chief justice from 1814 to 1818.
In 1819, Thompson achieved national prominence when he was appointed the 6th Secretary of the Navy by U.S. President James Monroe, and then again in 1823–1824, when he campaigned for the Democratic-Republican Party presidential nomination for the 1824 U.S. presidential election. He would withdraw from his presidential campaign when outcompeted by other candidates.
Thompson only reluctantly accepted his recess appointment to the United States Supreme Court from President James Monroe on September 1, 1823. He was to fill a seat vacated by Henry Brockholst Livingston. Formally nominated on December 5, 1823, Thompson was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 9, 1823, and received his commission the same day. Throughout his time on the court he was a staunch opponent of Chief Justice John Marshall.
In a move now considered unusual, but then quite common, Thompson continued his political ambitions by running for other political offices while still on the bench. However, his 1828 bid for Governor of New York was unsuccessful, unlike the example of Chief Justice John Jay, who successfully ran a three-year campaign while still a Justice, ultimately winning election as New York State governor in 1795. Thereafter, Thompson mostly exited political life.
His dissent protesting the State of Georgia invading the lands of the Cherokee Nation, in Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, 30 U.S. 1 (1831), is important to understanding the history of Native American rights. Chief Justice Marshall began the main opinion sympathetic to the Cherokee Nation's legal claim:
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