St. George Tucker
Encyclopedia
St. George Tucker was a lawyer
, professor of law at the College of William and Mary
, and judge of Virginia's highest court. In 1813, upon the nomination of President James Madison
, he became the United States district judge for Virginia.
, near Port Royal. Tucker traveled to Virginia
in 1771 to study law at the College of William and Mary
, under George Wythe
. Wythe also instructed Thomas Jefferson and John Marshall, signed the Declaration of Independence and served as chief justice of Virginia. Tucker was a member of the F.H.C. Society
, and was approved for the bar on April 4, 1774, being admitted in 1775 at the age of twenty-three. He then settled permanently in Williamsburg and began practice in the county courts. During the American Revolutionary War
, he was elected colonel of the Chesterfield County militia which joined Nathaniel Green's army in North Carolina. He distinguished himself at the Battle of Guilford Court House
. In 1778, Tucker married Frances Bland Randolph, a wealthy widow, and assumed responsibility of large estates in Chesterfield County as well as her three sons, the youngest came to be known as John Randolph of Roanoke
. At the Siege of Yorktown
(1781), Tucker was wounded serving as a lieutenant colonel of cavalry and aide to Governor and General Thomas Nelson.
and the widowed mother of John Randolph of Roanoke
and his two older brothers. After the marriage, he moved to Chesterfield County and later fathered Henry St. George Tucker, Sr.
and Nathaniel Beverley Tucker
with her. After the war he returned to practice in the county courts but, after his wife died, returned to Williamsburg to live. His home was the St. George Tucker House
in Colonial Williamsburg
. Thomas Tudor Tucker
, a member of the Continental Congress
, was his brother; and George Tucker, a politician and author, was a relative.
"Tucker established a virtual dynasty of legal and constitutional talent that carried on Jeffersonian principles through successive generations."
His youngest step-son, John Randolph of Roanoke
(1773-1833) , served in the U.S. House of Representatives, and as President Thomas Jefferson's spokesman in the House until 1803, was a United States Senator, as well as a Minister to Russia. He also was a leader of the Tertium Quids
( a.k.a. "Old Republican") a minority wing of the Democratic-Republican Party.
His son, Henry St. George Tucker, Sr.
(1780-1848), "served in the state legislature and the U.S. House of Representatives, was chief justice of Virginia, conducted a successful law practice at Winchester, Virginia, declined President Andrew Jackson's appointment as attorney general of the United States, became professor of law at the University of Virginia, and published books on natural law, constitutional law, and the laws of Virginia."
Another son, Nathaniel Beverley Tucker
(1784-1851), "became professor of law at William and Mary and published three novels, [including, The Partisan Leader
(1836)], as well as a number of works on political economy and public issues. He is a major figure in the intellectual history of the Old South."
His grandson, John Randolph Tucker (1823-1897), "son of Henry St. George Tucker, was attorney general of Virginia, professor of law at Washington and Lee University, counsel in numerous cases before the United States Supreme Court, served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1875 to 1887, and published, among other works, The Constitution of the United States (2 vols., 1899)."
Another grandson, Nathaniel Beverley Tucker (1820-1890), son of Henry St. George Tucker, "edited an antebellum newspaper in Washington, D.C., was U.S. counsel at Liverpool, and served the Confederate States as an economic agent abroad."
His great-grandson, Henry St. George Tucker, III (1853-1932), "son of John Randolph Tucker, represented Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1876 to 1889 and again from 1922 to 1932, carrying on the states' rights, populist, anti-big business tradition of his family and state. He was also professor of law at Washington and Lee University, and published Limitations on the Treaty-Making Power Under the Constitution of the United States and Woman's Suffrage by Constitutional Amendment."
"Given the massive change in the extent and distribution of political power since the Civil War, and the resulting adjustments in accepted understandings of the Constitution, Tucker's principles of states' rights and limited government are likely to seem strange to Americans today, unless it is remembered that these principles were the prevailing ideas not only during Tucker's time but also for several generations after."
It goes on to outline a plan for the gradual freeing of slaves. With the vast majority of those of wealth and power being slave owners at the time, Tucker understood there was virtually no chance of abolishing slavery outright. Instead, he called for a measured approach that would eventually, over a period of generations, lead to freedom for all salves. In a striking parallel to political issues of today, 18th century abolitionists
felt Tucker's plan did not go nearly far enough while proponents of the status quo deemed it simply unacceptable. Ultimately, the pamphlet had little effect.
, from 1788 to 1803, with overlapping service as a professor of law and police at the College of William and Mary from 1800 to 1804. Upon the death of Judge Edmund Pendleton
, in 1803, Tucker was appointed to the state Court of Appeals
. He resigned this position in 1811, returning to private practice in Williamsburg, until 1813.
On January 18, 1813, Tucker was nominated by President James Madison
to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Virginia vacated by John Tyler, Sr.
Tucker was confirmed by the United States Senate
on January 19, 1813, and received commission the same day. On February 4, 1819, he was reassigned by operation of law
to the newly subdivided United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
, serving until his resignation on June 30, 1825.
Tucker's health began to fail several years later, and he died in November 1827 after a long illness. During his lifetime he published an edition of Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England
, supplying valuable annotations on the United States Constitution
and laws of Virginia, thus making the material relevant to an American readership. The papers of the Tucker-Coleman family, including the papers of St. George Tucker, are held by the Special Collections Research Center at the College of William & Mary.
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, professor of law at the College of William and Mary
College of William and Mary
The College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States...
, and judge of Virginia's highest court. In 1813, upon the nomination of President James Madison
James Madison
James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...
, he became the United States district judge for Virginia.
Early life
Born in St. George, BermudaBermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
, near Port Royal. Tucker traveled to Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
in 1771 to study law at the College of William and Mary
College of William and Mary
The College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States...
, under George Wythe
George Wythe
George Wythe was an American lawyer, a judge, a prominent law professor and "Virginia's foremost classical scholar." He was a teacher and mentor of Thomas Jefferson. Wythe's signature is positioned at the head of the list of seven Virginia signatories on the United States Declaration of Independence...
. Wythe also instructed Thomas Jefferson and John Marshall, signed the Declaration of Independence and served as chief justice of Virginia. Tucker was a member of the F.H.C. Society
Flat Hat Club
The Flat Hat Club is the popular name of a society founded after 1916 at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, and revived there in 1972. The organization was named after the F.H.C. Society, which had been founded at the College on November 11, 1750, and was itself known...
, and was approved for the bar on April 4, 1774, being admitted in 1775 at the age of twenty-three. He then settled permanently in Williamsburg and began practice in the county courts. During the American Revolutionary War
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...
, he was elected colonel of the Chesterfield County militia which joined Nathaniel Green's army in North Carolina. He distinguished himself at the Battle of Guilford Court House
Battle of Guilford Court House
The Battle of Guilford Court House was a battle fought on March 15, 1781 in Greensboro, the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, during the American Revolutionary War...
. In 1778, Tucker married Frances Bland Randolph, a wealthy widow, and assumed responsibility of large estates in Chesterfield County as well as her three sons, the youngest came to be known as John Randolph of Roanoke
John Randolph of Roanoke
John Randolph , known as John Randolph of Roanoke, was a planter and a Congressman from Virginia, serving in the House of Representatives , the Senate , and also as Minister to Russia...
. At the Siege of Yorktown
Siege of Yorktown
The Siege of Yorktown, Battle of Yorktown, or Surrender of Yorktown in 1781 was a decisive victory by a combined assault of American forces led by General George Washington and French forces led by the Comte de Rochambeau over a British Army commanded by Lieutenant General Lord Cornwallis...
(1781), Tucker was wounded serving as a lieutenant colonel of cavalry and aide to Governor and General Thomas Nelson.
Family
In 1778, Tucker married Frances (Bland) Randolph, the daughter of Theodorick Bland of CawsonsTheodorick Bland of Cawsons
Theodorick Bland , also known as Theodorick Bland, Sr. or Theodorick Bland of Cawsons, was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, a clerk of the court of Prince George County, Virginia, and the father of Congressman Theodorick Bland.-Biography:Bland was the son of Richard Bland and Elizabeth...
and the widowed mother of John Randolph of Roanoke
John Randolph of Roanoke
John Randolph , known as John Randolph of Roanoke, was a planter and a Congressman from Virginia, serving in the House of Representatives , the Senate , and also as Minister to Russia...
and his two older brothers. After the marriage, he moved to Chesterfield County and later fathered Henry St. George Tucker, Sr.
Henry St. George Tucker, Sr.
Henry St. George Tucker, Sr. was a Virginia jurist, law professor, and U.S. Congressman .-Biography:Tucker was born in Williamsburg, Virginia on December 29, 1780. As a young man, Tucker pursued classical studies at the College of William & Mary; he graduated in 1798...
and Nathaniel Beverley Tucker
Nathaniel Beverley Tucker
Nathaniel Beverley Tucker was an American author, judge, legal scholar, and political essayist.-Life and Politics:...
with her. After the war he returned to practice in the county courts but, after his wife died, returned to Williamsburg to live. His home was the St. George Tucker House
St. George Tucker House
The St. George Tucker House in one of the original colonial homes in Historic Williamsburg. It was built in 1718-19 for William Levingston . The house eventually came into the hands of St. George Tucker who had moved from Bermuda to Williamsburg...
in Colonial Williamsburg
Colonial Williamsburg
Colonial Williamsburg is the private foundation representing the historic district of the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, USA. The district includes buildings dating from 1699 to 1780 which made colonial Virginia's capital. The capital straddled the boundary of the original shires of Virginia —...
. Thomas Tudor Tucker
Thomas Tudor Tucker
Thomas Tudor Tucker was an American physician and politician from Charleston, South Carolina. He represented South Carolina in both the Continental Congress and the U.S. House. He later served as Treasurer of the United States.-Biography:Thomas was born in St...
, a member of 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....
, was his brother; and George Tucker, a politician and author, was a relative.
"Tucker established a virtual dynasty of legal and constitutional talent that carried on Jeffersonian principles through successive generations."
His youngest step-son, John Randolph of Roanoke
John Randolph of Roanoke
John Randolph , known as John Randolph of Roanoke, was a planter and a Congressman from Virginia, serving in the House of Representatives , the Senate , and also as Minister to Russia...
(1773-1833) , served in the U.S. House of Representatives, and as President Thomas Jefferson's spokesman in the House until 1803, was a United States Senator, as well as a Minister to Russia. He also was a leader of the Tertium Quids
Tertium quids
The tertium quids refers to various factions of the American Democratic-Republican Party during the period 1804–1812. In Latin, tertium quid means "a third something"...
( a.k.a. "Old Republican") a minority wing of the Democratic-Republican Party.
His son, Henry St. George Tucker, Sr.
Henry St. George Tucker, Sr.
Henry St. George Tucker, Sr. was a Virginia jurist, law professor, and U.S. Congressman .-Biography:Tucker was born in Williamsburg, Virginia on December 29, 1780. As a young man, Tucker pursued classical studies at the College of William & Mary; he graduated in 1798...
(1780-1848), "served in the state legislature and the U.S. House of Representatives, was chief justice of Virginia, conducted a successful law practice at Winchester, Virginia, declined President Andrew Jackson's appointment as attorney general of the United States, became professor of law at the University of Virginia, and published books on natural law, constitutional law, and the laws of Virginia."
Another son, Nathaniel Beverley Tucker
Nathaniel Beverley Tucker
Nathaniel Beverley Tucker was an American author, judge, legal scholar, and political essayist.-Life and Politics:...
(1784-1851), "became professor of law at William and Mary and published three novels, [including, The Partisan Leader
The Partisan Leader
The Partisan Leader; A Tale of The Future is a political novel by the antebellum Virginia author and jurist Nathaniel Beverley Tucker. A two-volume work published in 1836 in New York City and in 1837 in Washington, D.C...
(1836)], as well as a number of works on political economy and public issues. He is a major figure in the intellectual history of the Old South."
His grandson, John Randolph Tucker (1823-1897), "son of Henry St. George Tucker, was attorney general of Virginia, professor of law at Washington and Lee University, counsel in numerous cases before the United States Supreme Court, served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1875 to 1887, and published, among other works, The Constitution of the United States (2 vols., 1899)."
Another grandson, Nathaniel Beverley Tucker (1820-1890), son of Henry St. George Tucker, "edited an antebellum newspaper in Washington, D.C., was U.S. counsel at Liverpool, and served the Confederate States as an economic agent abroad."
His great-grandson, Henry St. George Tucker, III (1853-1932), "son of John Randolph Tucker, represented Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1876 to 1889 and again from 1922 to 1932, carrying on the states' rights, populist, anti-big business tradition of his family and state. He was also professor of law at Washington and Lee University, and published Limitations on the Treaty-Making Power Under the Constitution of the United States and Woman's Suffrage by Constitutional Amendment."
"Given the massive change in the extent and distribution of political power since the Civil War, and the resulting adjustments in accepted understandings of the Constitution, Tucker's principles of states' rights and limited government are likely to seem strange to Americans today, unless it is remembered that these principles were the prevailing ideas not only during Tucker's time but also for several generations after."
Anti-slavery pamphlet
In 1796, Tucker wrote a controversial pamphlet addressed to the General Assembly of Virginia which stated that the abolition of slavery was of "great importance for the moral character of the citizens of Virginia." The dissertation opens with a scathing denunciation of the practice: "Whilst America hath been the land of promise to Europeans and their descendants, it hath been the vale of death to millions of the wretched sons of Africa…Whilst we were offering up vows at the shrine of Liberty... whilst we swore irreconcilable hostility to her enemies... whilst we adjured the God of Hosts to witness our resolution to live free or die; we were imposing on our fellow men, who differ from us in complexion, a slavery ten thousand times more cruel than the utmost extremity of those grievances and oppressions, of which we complained."It goes on to outline a plan for the gradual freeing of slaves. With the vast majority of those of wealth and power being slave owners at the time, Tucker understood there was virtually no chance of abolishing slavery outright. Instead, he called for a measured approach that would eventually, over a period of generations, lead to freedom for all salves. In a striking parallel to political issues of today, 18th century abolitionists
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
felt Tucker's plan did not go nearly far enough while proponents of the status quo deemed it simply unacceptable. Ultimately, the pamphlet had little effect.
Judicial service
Tucker was a judge of the Virginia General District Court in Richmond, VirginiaRichmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, from 1788 to 1803, with overlapping service as a professor of law and police at the College of William and Mary from 1800 to 1804. Upon the death of Judge Edmund Pendleton
Edmund Pendleton
Edmund Pendleton was a Virginia politician, lawyer and judge, active in the American Revolutionary War. -Early years:...
, in 1803, Tucker was appointed to the state Court of Appeals
Supreme Court of Virginia
The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears appeals from the trial-level city and county Circuit Courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and administrative law cases that go through the Court of Appeals of Virginia. It is one of...
. He resigned this position in 1811, returning to private practice in Williamsburg, until 1813.
On January 18, 1813, Tucker was nominated by President James Madison
James Madison
James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...
to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Virginia vacated by John Tyler, Sr.
John Tyler, Sr.
John Tyler Sr. was a Virginia planter, judge, 15th Governor of Virginia and the father of the 10th President of the United States, John Tyler....
Tucker was 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...
on January 19, 1813, and received commission the same day. On February 4, 1819, he was reassigned by operation of law
Operation of law
The phrase "by operation of law" is a legal term that indicates that a right or liability has been created for a party, irrespective of the intent of that party, because it is dictated by existing legal principles. For example, if a person dies without a will, his heirs are determined by operation...
to the newly subdivided United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia is one of two United States district courts serving the Commonwealth of Virginia...
, serving until his resignation on June 30, 1825.
Tucker's health began to fail several years later, and he died in November 1827 after a long illness. During his lifetime he published an edition of Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England
Commentaries on the Laws of England
The Commentaries on the Laws of England are an influential 18th-century treatise on the common law of England by Sir William Blackstone, originally published by the Clarendon Press at Oxford, 1765–1769...
, supplying valuable annotations on the United States Constitution
United 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...
and laws of Virginia, thus making the material relevant to an American readership. The papers of the Tucker-Coleman family, including the papers of St. George Tucker, are held by the Special Collections Research Center at the College of William & Mary.
Suggested Reading
Tucker, St. George View of the Constitution of the United States with Selected Writings (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund 1999) (1803) Editor Clyde N. Wilson states that Views of the Constitution "was the first extended, systematic commentary on the Constitution after it had been ratified by the people of the several states and amended by the Bill of Rights. . . . [and] it was for much of the first half of the nineteenth century an important handbook for American law students, lawyers, judges and statesmen."External links
- Full text of Tucker's edition of Blackstone's Commentaries
- View of the Constitution of the United States with Selected Writings (1803) from the Online Library of LibertyLiberty FundLiberty Fund, Inc. is a private, educational foundation established and headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. It is dedicated to the study of the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals...
- Digitized version of St. George Tucker's law lectures
- Tucker-Coleman Papers, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary
- Digitized versions of St. George Tucker's law lectures