Alexander Wolcott

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President James Madison's appointment of Alexander Wolcott to the U.S. Supreme Court was a tribute to Wolcott's political loyalty, not his legal acumen. Nominated by Madison on February 4, 1811, Wolcott was a well-connected Republican regarded by Federalists and most historians as unqualified for the High Court. Unable to win support even among fellow Republicans, Wolcott saw his confirmation rejected by the U.S. Senate, 24-9.

Wolcott was born in Windsor, Connecticut, on September 15, 1758, to Dr. Alexander Wolcott and Mary Richards Wolcott. After attending Yale College, he studied law and eventually practiced in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Wolcott married Frances Burbank in 1785 and settled in Middletown, Connecticut, where he became a port customs collector and an influential Republican.

Wolcott was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1811 to fill a vacancy left by the death of Associate Justice William Cushing. He was not Madison's first choice for the bench. Before Wolcott, Madison nominated former U.S. attorney general Levi Lincoln. Lincoln refused the honor, even after winning confirmation by the U.S. Senate. Madison then turned to Wolcott, primarily for political reasons. Although Wolcott was a recognized leader among Republicans, few people believed he had the professional ability to serve on the Supreme Court. Lincoln supported Wolcott, but Federalists condemned his appointment, calling Wolcott depraved and his nomination abominable.

Opposition to the Connecticut customs official was unusually strong because of his public support of the Embargo Act of 1807. The act, signed by President Thomas Jefferson, prevented exports from England, France, and other countries from entering U.S. ports. The law was extremely unpopular with U.S. merchants and farmers whose profits were diminished by the reduced trade. Wolcott's endorsement of the embargo, as well as his undeniable lack of judicial talent, doomed his nomination.

After Wolcott's rejection by the U.S. Senate, Madison appointed John Quincy Adams to serve on the Court. Adams, later the nation's sixth president, also turned down the seat, despite a unanimous Senate confirmation. The position eventually went to Joseph Story, of Massachusetts, who at age thirty-two became the youngest person in U.S. history to sit on the Supreme Court.

After the confirmation defeat, Wolcott continued his political career, participating in the Connecticut state constitutional convention of 1818. At the convention, Wolcott sparked debate by supporting the expulsion of any judge who declared a legislative act unconstitutional. He also favored limitations on judicial review, the Supreme Court's power to interpret laws.

Wolcott died in Middleton on June 26, 1828, at age sixty-nine.

For the American critic, see Alexander Woollcott.

Alexander Wolcott (1758–1828) was a United States customs inspector and a nominee to the Supreme Court of the United States. A leader of the Democratic-Republican Party in Connecticut, he holds the dubious distinction of being defeated by the widest margin of any Supreme Court nominee in American history: 9–24. Nominated by President James Madison to the late William Cushing's seat in February 1811, he was unpopular because, while a United States customs inspector, he had robustly enforced the Embargo and Non-Intercourse Acts. He was also faulted as lacking legal and judicial experience.

References

• "Appointees Chart". Website of the Supreme Court Historical Society. Archived from the original on January 30, 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20060130153120/http://www.supremecourthistory.org/myweb/fp/courtlist.htm. Retrieved February 5, 2006. 
• "Highlights of Past Supreme Court Nominees". Website of PBS. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/supreme_court/alito/timeline.html. Retrieved February 5, 2006. 
• Hogue, Henry B.. "Supreme Court Nominations Not Confirmed, 1789–2004" (PDF). Website of the Foundation of American Scientists. http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL31171.pdf. Retrieved February 5, 2006. 

Persondata
Name	Wolcott, Alexander
Alternative names
Short description	American politician
Date of birth	1758
Place of birth
Date of death	1828
Place of death

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