Original Intent: The Courts, the Constitution, and Religion

by David Barton

  Rev. Samuel Cooper (1725-1783; Massachusetts) Clergyman; graduated from Harvard (1743); became pastor of the puritan Brattle Square Church in Boston (1747); member of the Corporation of Harvard (1767) and declined its presidency (1774); a strong advocate in behalf of American independence, and British authorities even ordered his arrest (1775); his church was seized and used as a British barracks, suffering damage from cannonade; was a close friend of Adams, Franklin, and other patriots; first vice-president of the Academy of Arts and Sciences (1780); patron of the Society for the Promotion of the Gospel Among the Indians and Others.

  William Cushing (1732-1810; Massachusetts) Attorney and jurist; graduated from Harvard (1751); admitted to the bar (1755); often associated in cases with John Adams; became judge of the Superior Court (1772); became Massachusetts’ Chief Justice after John Adams resigned (1777); member of the Convention which framed the first State constitution of Massachusetts (1779-80); vice-president of the State convention which ratified the federal Constitution (1788); appointed as an original Justice on the U. S. Supreme Court by President George Washington (1789-1810); administered the oath of office to President George Washington for his second term (1793); was the last American judge to wear the full-bottomed powdered judicial wig.

  Francis Dana (1743-1811; Massachusetts) Attorney, jurist, public official, and diplomat; graduated from Harvard (1762); studied law, and admitted to bar (1767), delegate to the Provincial Congress (1774); a “Son of Liberty” and member of the Massachusetts Council (1776-80); member of the Continental Congress (1777-78); a signer of the Articles of Confederation for the national government (1778); as chairman of a congressional committee of the army, he went to Valley Forge to cooperate with General Washington in making plans for a general reorganization of the American forces (1778); spent two years in England endeavoring to adjust differences between Great Britain and the American Colonies (1779); commissioned by Congress as Minister to Russia (1780) but was never received there as such; appointed by Governor John Hancock as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts (1785-1800); member of the State ratifying convention for the federal Constitution (1788); original member of the Society for Propagating the Gospel Among the Indians and Others (1787-1810).

  John Davenport (1752-1830; Connecticut) Attorney, soldier, and political leader; graduated from Yale (1770); tutored at Yale (1773-74); admitted to the bar (1773); member of the State House of Representatives (1776-96); Major in the Continental Army (1777); member of U. S. House of Representatives (1799-1817).

  Rev. Samuel Davies (1723-1761; Virginia) Clergyman and educator; educated at a Presbyterian “log college” in Pennsylvania; ordained as a minister (1747); influential in the Great Awakening revival; commissioned by the Presbyterian Synod of New York to go to the British Isles to raise funds for Princeton (1753); while in England and Scotland he delivered some sixty sermons, many of which were distributed and widely read; became President of Princeton (1759), succeeding his friend, the Rev. Jonathan Edwards.

  William Dawes (1745-1799; Massachusetts) Merchant; learned tanner’s trade and had a tanning yard; one of those who rode with Paul Revere in his famous midnight ride to warn of the invasion of British troops (April 18, 1775); he and Paul Revere warned John Hancock and John Adams in time for them to avoid capture; joined the Continental Army and fought at Bunker Hill (1775); Congress appointed him a Commissary to the Continental Army.

  Jonathan Dayton (1760-1824; New Jersey) Attorney, soldier and public official; graduated from Princeton in 1776; Captain in the Continental Army (1776-83); studied law after the war, and admitted to the bar; member of the State General Assembly (1786-88); youngest delegate to the Constitutional Convention (27 yrs. old) and a signer of the federal Constitution (1787); served in the State Council (1789); served in House of Representatives (1790-99); Speaker of the U. S. House of Representatives (1795-99); U. S. Senator (1799-1805); arrested on the charge of conspiring with Aaron Burr in treasonable projects (1807) but was never brought to trial; member of the New Jersey assembly (1814-15).

  Silas Deane (1737-1789; Connecticut) Attorney, diplomat, and public official; graduated from Yale (1758); taught school, studied law, and admitted to the bar (1761); opened his law office (1762); secretary of the legislative Committee of Correspondence (1773); member of the First Continental Congress (1774); sent as Minister to France (1776); along with Benjamin Franklin and Arthur Lee, negotiated several treaties with the French government (1778); accusations by Arthur Lee questioning his efforts in France, which Deane was unable to clarify, led to his recall by Congress (circa 1778); lost faith in the American cause and was accused of being a traitor after writing letters encouraging friends to seek reconciliation with England (1781).

  Henry Dearborn (1751-1829; Massachusetts) Physician, soldier, and public official; attended local common schools and then studied medicine; entered practice (1772); Captain of a militia company and participated in the Battle of Bunker Hill (1775); served in the military expedition to Quebec (1776); survived the infamous winter at Valley Forge (1777-78); participated in the battles of Stillwater, Saratoga, Monmouth, and Newton; joined Washington’s staff and served at the siege of Yorktown (1781); promoted to Brigadier-General and later to Major-General of the militia (1787); U. S. Marshal for the District of Maine (1790); U. S. Representative (1793-97); Secretary of War under President Thomas Jefferson (1801-09).

  Samuel Dexter (1761-1816; Massachusetts) Attorney and public leader; graduated from Harvard (1781); admitted to the bar (1784); member State House of Representatives (1788-90); member of the U. S. House of Representatives (1792-95); U. S. Senator (1799-1800); Secretary of War, under President John Adams (1800); also served under Adams as Secretary of the Treasury and Secretary of State; administered the oath of office to John Marshall on his appointment as Chief Justice of the U. S. Supreme Court (1801); was offered but declined appointment by President James Madison as Minister to Spain (1815); member of the Society for Propagating the Gospel Among the Indians and Others.

  John Dickinson (1732-1808; Pennsylvania, Delaware) Attorney, soldier, public official; home-schooled by a tutor; studied law in Philadelphia (1750); further studies in London (1753-57); returned to American and began his own practice (1757); member of the Pennsylvania Assembly from the “Lower Counties” (1760, 1762, 1764) [in 1776, the three “Lower Counties” separated from Pennsylvania to form the State of Delaware]; delegate to the Stamp Act Congress (1765); chairman of the Philadelphia Committee of Correspondence (1774); member of the Continental Congress (1774-76, 1779); Brigadier-General of Pennsylvania Militia (1775-77); President (Governor) of the State of Delaware (1781); President (Governor) of Pennsylvania (1782-85); delegate to the Constitutional Convention and a signer of the federal Constitution (1787); retired to private life and farming.

  Rev. Jonathan Dickinson (1688-1747; New Jersey) Clergyman; after his graduation from Yale College (1706) he turned his attention to theology; ordained pastor of the Congregational church at Elizabethtown, New Jersey (1709); persuaded his congregation to join the Presbyter of Philadelphia (1717); for nearly forty years he labored in behalf of the Presbyterian church, and when the College of New Jersey (Princeton) was formally opened, he became its first president (1747).

  William Orville Douglas (1898-1980; Maine, Minnesota) Attorney, author, and jurist; graduated from Whitman College (1920), and Columbia Law School (1925); professor at Columbia (1925-28); served on the Securities and Exchange Commission, to include Chairmanship (1936-39); appointed to the U. S. Supreme Court by President Franklin Roosevelt (1939-75); served on the Supreme Court longer than any other member in its history; traveled widely and authored numerous books, including Of Men and Mountains (1950), Strange Lands and Friendly People (1951), and An Almanac of Liberty (1954), and The Bible in Schools (1966); a supporter of increased government regulation of private enterprise.

  James Duane (1733-1797; New York) Attorney, jurist, and public official; admitted to the bar (1754); involved in
some of the pre-revolutionary activities in New York in which he attempted to subdue the Stamp Act mob (1765); Attorney General of New York (1767); member of the Committee of Correspondence (1774); member of the Continental Congress (1774-84); sat in the New York Provincial Convention (1776-77); helped write final draft of the Articles of Confederation (1781); member of State Senate (1782-85); appointed mayor of New York (1784-89); delegate to the State convention to ratify the federal Constitution (1788); appointed U. S. District Judge of New York by President George Washington (1789-94).

  Jacob Duché (1737/38?-1798; Pennsylvania) Anglican clergyman; graduated from the College of Philadelphia (1757); Assistant Rector of the united parishes of Christ Church and St. Peters (1759-77); strong and early supporter of American independence; authored political sermons, one of which was dedicated to George Washington (1775); chaplain of the Continental Congress (1776); after the British invaded Philadelphia, he was imprisoned by General Howe (1777); consequently, he advised General George Washington that Congress should recall the Declaration of Independence; was branded a traitor by Congress; fled to England (1777); later wrote President George Washington asking for permission to return to Philadelphia and it was granted by Congress (1792).

  Gabriel Duvall (1752-1844; Maryland) Public official, soldier, attorney, and jurist; received a classical education; Clerk of State convention (1774); member of Council of Safety (1774); served as militiaman in the Battle of Brandywine (1777); member of the State House (1777); admitted to the bar (1778); member of the State Council (1782-85); selected as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention but declined (1787); Chief Justice of the General Court of Maryland (1796); appointed by President Thomas Jefferson as first Comptroller of the United States Treasury, (1802); appointed to the U. S. Supreme Court by President James Madison (1811-35).

  William Eaton (1764-1811; Connecticut, Massachusetts) Soldier and public official; graduated from Dartmouth College (1790); Captain in the United States Army (1792); appointed Consul to Tunis by President John Adams (1798); appointed Naval Agent to the Barbary States by President Thomas Jefferson (1804); led a military attack against Tripoli (1804); had been closely affiliated with Aaron Burr and was summoned to witness in the Aaron Burr trial (1807) where Eaton cleared himself; elected to the Massachusetts legislature (1807).

  Rev. Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758; Connecticut) Congregational clergyman, theologian, and philosopher; graduated from Yale (1720); began ministry in a Presbyterian church in New York (1722); elected tutor at Yale (1724-25); pastored at a congregational church in Northampton (1726-1750); strong advocate of the Calvinist doctrine of absolute Divine sovereignty, and his preaching brought many to repentance, and started many revivals; a leading figure in the Great Awakening national revival (1740s); his famous sermon Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God had great effect during that revival; president of Princeton College (1757-58); he authored several writings and theological works.

  William Ellery (1727-1820; Rhode Island) Sailor, attorney, jurist, and public official; graduated from Harvard (1747); naval officer in Rhode Island (1754); Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas (1768-69); began law practice (1770); member of the Continental Congress (1776-79; 1781; 1783-85) where he signed the Declaration of Independence (1776); Chief Justice of Rhode Island (1785); Commissioner of the Continental Loan Office (1786); Collector of the Port of Newport (1790-1820).

  Oliver Ellsworth (1745-1807; Connecticut) Public official, jurist; graduated from Princeton (1766); studied theology and law; admitted to bar (1771); State’s attorney in 1775; member of the Continental Congress (1778-83); delegate to the Constitutional Convention but was called away before he could sign the federal Constitution (1787); member of the Governor’s Council (1780-85, 1801-07); judge of the Superior Court (1785-89); U. S. Senator (1789-96); appointed to the U. S. Supreme Court as its Chief Justice by President George Washington (1796-1800).

  Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882; New Hampshire) Unitarian clergyman; graduated from Harvard (1821); graduated from Harvard Divinity School (1826); assumed the pastorate of the Second Unitarian Church in Boston (1829); an abolitionist; formed the Transcendental Club (1836); was the leading figure in removing all vestiges of Christianity from Unitarianism by the introduction of mysticism and transcendentalism into that movement; the transcendentalist group published a periodical called The Dial of which Emerson was a regular contributor; was elected to their Hall of Fame in 1900.

  The Fairfaxes – The Honorable William Fairfax (1689-1781; England, Virginia) Agent for Thomas Lord Fairfax to lay out his lordship’s lands in the Shenandoah for leaseholders; President of the Council of Virginia and second in station only to the Governor; his own estate, Belvoir, was situated just below Mount Vernon. George William Fairfax (1725-87; Virginia) Oldest son of the Honorable William Fairfax; lived at Belvoir; grew up as a close friend of George Washington; Burgess for Frederick County (1748-49); Colonel of militia (1755-56); held various customs offices; pursued business interests in England (1773) and was there where the Revolution broke out (1776); member of His Majesty’s Council (1776) but was sympathetic to the Americans; died in Bath, England. Sarah Cary Fairfax (1730-1811; Virginia) Oldest daughter of Col. William Cary; she married George William Fairfax (1748); she is erroneously alleged to be the woman in Washington’s illicit love affair.

  William Few (1748-1828; Georgia) Attorney, jurist, and public official; born in Maryland and educated in North Carolina; studied law, and admitted to the bar in Georgia (1776); member of State Assembly, and appointed one of the Council (1776) member of Continental Congress (1780-82); Lieutenant-Colonel of the Richmond County Militia (1779); original trustee for establishing the University of Georgia (1785); delegate to the Constitutional Convention and a signer of the federal Constitution (1787); U. S. Federal District Judge (1796-99); inspector of State prisons; director and later President of the Manhattan Bank (1804-14).

  William Finley (1741-1821; Ireland, Pennsylvania) Public official, author; limited formal education; emigrated to America (1763); engaged in agricultural pursuits; served as a captain in the Continental Army; member of the elite Council of Censors responsible for monitoring violations of the State constitution (1783-90); delegate to the State constitutional convention (1789-90); member of the U. S. House of Representatives (1791-98; 1804-17); was in opposition to the government during the Whiskey Rebellion (1794) and wrote a book, The History of the Insurrection in the Four Western Counties of Pennsylvania (1796), defending his course; served in the State Senate (1799-1803).

  Rev. Samuel Finley (1715-1766; Ireland, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania) Clergyman, theologian, and educator; educated in Philadelphia; received advanced degrees from University of Glasgow; studied for the ministry and was ordained by the New Brunswick Presbytery (1742); settled in Maryland, and while pastoring a church he conducted an academy preparing young men for the ministry (1744); taught Signer of the Declaration Benjamin Rush and Jacob Rush in his academy; president of Princeton (1761-66); published numerous sermons and theological pieces.

  Charles Finney (1792-1875; New York, Ohio) Attorney, clergyman, and educator; prepared to enter Yale, but his schoolmaster convinced him to study privately; entered the study of law and was admitted to the bar (1818); underwent a traumatic religious conversion (1821); ordained as a minister in the Presbyterian church (1824); gave up law to devote himself to evangelism, and as a result revivals spread throughout New York, New England, and the Middle Atlantic States (1824-34); his lectures on revivals were printed weekly in the New York Evangelist and were later published in book form (1835); pastor at First Congregational Church in Oberlin (1837-72); president of Oberlin College (1851-66); was an abolitionist and an anti-Mason.

  Thomas FitzSimons (1741-1811; Ireland, Pennsylvania) Merchant, soldier, and public official; entered mercantile business in Philadelphia (1761); raised a company of militia and participated in several battles in the Revolution; helped build several military ships; influential in establishing the first bank
of America (1781); member of the Continental Congress (1782-83); member of the elite Council of Censors responsible for monitoring violations of the State constitution (1783); member of the State House of Representatives (1786-87); delegate to the Constitutional Convention where he signed the federal Constitution (1787); member of the U. S. House of Representatives (1789-95) where he helped frame the Bill of Rights; served on a committee of Philadelphia businessmen organized to induce Congress to recharter the United States Bank (1810); founder and a director of the Insurance Company of North America; trustee of the University of Pennsylvania.

  Felix Frankfurter (1882-1965; New York) Attorney and jurist; graduated from the College of New York City (1902); Professor of Administrative Law at Harvard (1914); participated in the founding of the American Civil Liberties Union (1920); close adviser to Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt; appointed to the U. S. Supreme Court by President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1939-62).

  Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790; Pennsylvania) State printer, author, inventor, scientist, philanthropist, statesman, diplomat, and public official; Clerk of the Pennsylvania General Assembly (1736-50); Postmaster of Philadelphia (1737); member of the Provincial Assembly (1744-54); first president of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery (1774); member of the Continental Congress (1775-76) where he signed the Declaration of Independence (1776); President of the Pennsylvania constitutional convention (1776); sent by the Continental Congress as a Minister to France (1776-85); a negotiator and signer of the final treaty of peace with Great Britain (1783); President of the Executive Council of Pennsylvania (1785-88); delegate to the Constitutional Convention where he signed the federal Constitution (1787); President of the trustees of the University of Pennsylvania; also served as Consul, Judge of Admiralty, and Director of Naval Affairs; some of his numerous inventions include the Franklin Stove (1740), the lightning rod (1752), and bifocal glasses (1789); his many discoveries concerning electricity were compiled in a small volume titled Experiments and Observations on Electricity (1751); was one of only six men who signed both the Declaration and the Constitution; wrote his own epitaph, which declared: “The body of Benjamin Franklin, printer, like the cover of an old book, its contents torn out, stripped of its lettering, and guilding, lies here, food for worms. But the work shall not be lost; for it will, as he believed, appear once more in a new and more elegant edition, revised and corrected by the Author.”