David Brearley
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Constitutional Convention
Philadelphia Convention
The Constitutional Convention took place from May 14 to September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to address problems in governing the United States of America, which had been operating under the Articles of Confederation following independence from...
and signed the U.S. Constitution on behalf of New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
.
American Revolution
With the outbreak of the American Revolutionary WarAmerican Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, Brearley was at first a captain in the Monmouth County
Monmouth County, New Jersey
Monmouth County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey, within the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 630,380, up from 615,301 at the 2000 census. Its county seat is Freehold Borough. The most populous municipality is Middletown Township with...
militia
Militia (United States)
The role of militia, also known as military service and duty, in the United States is complex and has transformed over time.Spitzer, Robert J.: The Politics of Gun Control, Page 36. Chatham House Publishers, Inc., 1995. " The term militia can be used to describe any number of groups within the...
after having spent many years speaking out against the Parliamentary absolutism. He eventually rose to the rank of colonel in Nathaniel Heard's New Jersey militia brigade. From 1776 to 1779 he served in the New Jersey Line
New Jersey Line
The New Jersey Line was a formation within the Continental Army. The term "New Jersey Line" referred to the quota of numbered infantry regiments assigned to New Jersey at various times by the Continental Congress. These, together with similar contingents from the other twelve states, formed the...
of the Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
, seeing action at Brandywine, Germantown
Battle of Germantown
The Battle of Germantown, a battle in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War, was fought on October 4, 1777, at Germantown, Pennsylvania between the British army led by Sir William Howe and the American army under George Washington...
, and Monmouth
Battle of Monmouth
The Battle of Monmouth was an American Revolutionary War battle fought on June 28, 1778 in Monmouth County, New Jersey. The Continental Army under General George Washington attacked the rear of the British Army column commanded by Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton as they left Monmouth Court...
.
Government service
Brearley resigned from the army in 1779 to serve as the New Jersey Supreme CourtNew Jersey Supreme Court
The New Jersey Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It has existed in three different forms under the three different state constitutions since the independence of the state in 1776...
Chief Justice, succeeding Robert Morris
Robert Morris (judge)
Robert Morris was a New Jersey attorney and judge, serving in both state and federal courts.Morris was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey and read law to enter the Bar in 1770. He engaged in private practice in New Brunswick through 1776. In 1777, he was named Chief justice of the Supreme Court of...
. He decided on the famous Holmes v. Walton case where he ruled that the judiciary had the authority to declare whether laws were unconstitutional or not. He held the seat until 1789.
While at the Constitutional Convention in 1787, he chaired the Committee on Postponed Parts, which played a substantial role in shaping the final document. The committee addressed questions related to the taxes, war making, patents and copyrights, relations with Indian tribes, and Franklin's compromise to require money bills to originate in the house. The biggest issue they addressed was the presidency, and the final compromise was written by Madison with the committee's input. They adopted the earlier plan for choosing the president by electoral college, and settled on the method of choosing the president if no candidate had an electoral college majority, which many such as Madison thought would be "nineteen times out of twenty". The committee also shorted the president's term to seven years to four years, freed him to seek reelection, and moved impeachment trials from the courts to the senate. They also created the vice president, whose only role was to succeed the president and preside over the senate. This also transferred important powers from the senate to the president, who was given the power (which had been given to the senate by Rutledge's committee) to make treaties and appoint ambassadors. After signing the Constitution in 1787, he headed up the New Jersey committee that approved the Constitution. In 1789, he was a Presidential elector and on September 25, 1789 he was nominated by President George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
to be the first federal district judge for the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of New Jersey....
, a newly created seat. He was confirmed by the Senate on September 25, 1789, and received his commission the following day. He died in that office a few months later.
Legacy
Brearley was the first Grand Master of the New Jersey Masonic Lodge.He is buried in the churchyard of Saint Michael's Episcopal Church in Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...
.
David Brearley High School
David Brearley High School
David Brearley High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Kenilworth in Union County, New Jersey, United States, as part of the Kenilworth Public Schools...
in Kenilworth, New Jersey
Kenilworth, New Jersey
Kenilworth is a Borough in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 7,914.Kenilworth was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on May 13, 1907, from portions of Cranford and Union Township, based on the...
, was named in his honor.
Brearly Street in Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
is named in his honor.
Brearly Crescent in Waldwick, NJ is named in his honor.