James Duane
Encyclopedia
- Not to be confused with James Duane (professor)James Duane (professor)James Duane is a Regent University School of Law professor, former criminal defense attorney, and Fifth Amendment expert. He received some notoriety for his of a lecture he gave to a group of law students, which instructs citizens to never talk to police under any circumstances...
.
James Duane (February 6, 1733 – February 1, 1797) was an American lawyer, jurist, and Revolutionary
American 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...
leader from New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
, New York state senator, Mayor of New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and a U.S. District Judge
United States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...
, and was a signor of the Articles of Confederation
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation, formally the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was an agreement among the 13 founding states that legally established the United States of America as a confederation of sovereign states and served as its first constitution...
.
Family and early career
James was a natural born American son of an Anglo-IrishAnglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish was a term used primarily in the 19th and early 20th centuries to identify a privileged social class in Ireland, whose members were the descendants and successors of the Protestant Ascendancy, mostly belonging to the Church of Ireland, which was the established church of Ireland until...
colonial settler. His father, Anthony Duane
Anthony Duane
Anthony Duane was an Irish immigrant to New York who was the father of James Duane, later a congressman, Mayor of New York City, and U.S. judge....
(c. 1679-1747), was a Protestant Irishman from County Galway
County Galway
County Galway is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the city of Galway. Galway County Council is the local authority for the county. There are several strongly Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county...
in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and first came to New York as an officer of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
in 1698. Like others of colonial background, Anthony considered himself merely settling from one part of the British Empire to another as a free subject. Consequently, he maintained strong allegiance to the crown throughout his life, values which he later passed onto to his son. He met and courted Eva Benson, whose father, Dirck, was a local American merchant. In 1702 Anthony left the navy, settled in New York, and married Eva. They had two sons before her death. When Eva died, Anthony remarried, this time to Althea Ketaltas the daughter of wealthy Dutch merchant family. Anthony entered commerce and prospered, and the couple had a son, James.
James's mother, Althea, died in 1736, and his father married a third time in 1741 (to the widow of Thomas Lynch of Flushing, NY) and died in 1747. The young James became the ward of the prominent American aristocrat Robert Livingston
Robert Livingston (1708-1790)
Robert Livingston was the third Lord of Livingston Manor. He was son of Philip Livingston and was a member of the assembly for the manor from 1737 to 1758....
, who was known as the 3rd Lord of the Manor. He completed his early education at Livingston Manor
Livingston Manor
This article contains information related to Livingston Manor, the 18th century New York estate. Livingston Manor, New York is a town in Sullivan County...
, then read law in the offices of James Alexander
James Alexander (lawyer)
James Alexander was a lawyer and statesman in colonial New York. He served in the Colonial Assembly and as Attorney General of the colony in 1721-1723. His son William was later a Major General in the Continental Army during the American revolution...
. He was admitted to the bar in 1754. Then on October 21, 1759, James married Mary Livingston, the eldest daughter of his former guardian Robert. He was Clerk of the Chancery Court of New York in 1762, provincial Attorney General in 1767 and Indian commissioner for the Province of New York
Province of New York
The Province of New York was an English and later British crown territory that originally included all of the present U.S. states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Vermont, along with inland portions of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine, as well as eastern Pennsylvania...
in 1774.
American revolution
Duane was a member of the Committee of SixtyCommittee of Sixty
The Committee of Sixty was an extra-legal group formed in New York City, in 1775, by rebels to enforce the Continental Association, a boycott of British goods enacted by the First Continental Congress...
that began the revolution in New York. He was made a delegate to the Continental Congress
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
in 1774, and was continuously re-appointed through 1784, although he missed some sessions due to other duties. Duane, like many other Americans, had inherited their forefather's patriotism to the British crown as well as their instinctive jealousy for their own rights as Englishmen. Consequently, James wrestled with his ancient allegiance to British Empire and his desire to maintain and protect his ideals of English liberty and American self-government from what was perceived as encroachments upon their rights by an increasingly centralized imperial state. Thus, in the early Congress, he was one of the many who were most disposed to reconciliation with Britain. He supported the Galloway Plan
Joseph Galloway
Joseph Galloway was an American Loyalist during the American Revolution, after serving as delegate to the First Continental Congress from Pennsylvania.-Early life:...
, and opposed the Declaration of Independence
Declaration of independence
A declaration of independence is an assertion of the independence of an aspiring state or states. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another nation or failed nation, or are breakaway territories from within the larger state...
. However, as the British government sent the largest combined navy and army force yet seen in history in a bid to destroy the rebellion, Duane quickly saw the futility of any further concord with the British government and advocated independence.
Nonetheless, because of his vacillation in contrast to more ardent independence-minded delegates, as well as his noted familial loyalty to New York, it was considered a better use of his talents working on the frontier against British agitation amongst the Indian tribes. Thus, in 1775 he represented to Congress as an Indian commissioner at Albany, New York
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
. However, his local constituency later returned him to the new state constitutional convention from 1776-1777. Due to his excellent legal and political philosophical background, he served on the committee that drafted New York's constitution. Subsequently he was elected as a delegate by the State of New York to the Continental Congress. When the British occupied New York in 1776, he was forced from his home. With the British Army forces quick on his tail and those of other American leaders, he withdrew his wife and family to the relative safety of her father's home at Livingston Manor. In 1778 he signed the Articles of Confederation
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation, formally the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was an agreement among the 13 founding states that legally established the United States of America as a confederation of sovereign states and served as its first constitution...
in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. He remained active as a political leader throughout the war, and returned home to Gramercy Park
Gramercy Park
Gramercy Park is a small, fenced-in private park in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park is at the core of both the neighborhood referred to as either Gramercy or Gramercy Park and the Gramercy Park Historic District...
in 1783.
Later years
Duane served in the New York state Senate from 1783 to 1790. He became the Mayor of New York by appointment in 1784, serving until 1789. He was a delegate to the New York convention that ratified the Federal ConstitutionUnited States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
.
On September 25, 1789, President 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...
named him the first judge of the United States District Court for the District of New York, created by 1 Stat. 73. He was immediately confirmed by the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, and received his commission the following day. Richard Varick
Richard Varick
Richard Varick was an American lawyer and politician. He was born on 15 March 1753 at Hackensack in Bergen County, New Jersey, and he died on 30 July 1831 at Jersey City in Hudson County, New Jersey....
followed him as mayor.
Duane served on the Federal bench until March 17, 1794, when his health forced him to resign. Throughout his life, he had worked to establish his own estate, inherited from his father, and centered at Duanesburg, New York
Duanesburg, New York
Duanesburg is a town in Schenectady County, New York, USA. The population was 5,808 at the 2000 census. Duanesburg is named for James Duane, who held most of it as an original land grant. The town is in the western part of the county.-History:...
. He had started erecting a home there for himself, but did not live to see it completed. He died at Schenectady, New York
Schenectady, New York
Schenectady is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 66,135...
, and is buried at Christ Episcopal Church in Duanesburg.
It is believed that Duane Street in Manhattan was named in his honor, part of the namesake of the Duane Reade
Duane Reade
Duane Reade Inc., a subsidiary of the Walgreen Company, is a chain of pharmacy and convenience stores, primarily located in New York City, known for its high volume small store layouts in densely populated Manhattan locations...
pharmacy chain.
Portrayal
James Duane was portrayed by Ed Jewett in the 2008 H.B.O. John Adams (miniseries)John Adams (TV miniseries)
John Adams is a 2008 American television miniseries chronicling most of President John Adams's political life and his role in the founding of the United States. Paul Giamatti portrays John Adams. The miniseries was directed by Tom Hooper. Kirk Ellis wrote the screenplay based on the book John...
. He was featured in Part 2: Independence.
Further reading
- Edward Alexander, Revolutionary Conservative: James Duane of New York; 1978, AMS Press, New York, ISBN 0-404-00321-4.