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In Founding Fathers
Who was William Paterson?
You've definitely heard of the Supreme Court, the highest court in the United States of America. But did you know that a man named William Paterson came up with the Supreme Co…urt? Although most people don't know who he is, Paterson was a very important character in the founding of our country, and the writing of our Constitution. He was born on December 24, 1745 in Country Antrim, what is now Northern Ireland. He liked simple language, loved his family and his work, and was a "social climber", or a person who made friends hoping they would help him in later life. Paterson was a delegate for NJ at the Constitutional Convention, where he proposed the New Jersey Plan and came up with the Supreme Court. He was also the second governor of NJ and served as a justice of the Supreme Court. Paterson's family started out not very wealthy, but through hard work Paterson was able to become a successful man. He moved to America with his parents, Richard and Mary, in 1747, and settled in Princeton, NJ in 1750. Richard Paterson worked hard and was eventually able to send his son to private school in 1757. Paterson attended college at Princeton University (then called the College of New Jersey), where he obtained his bachelor's degree in 1763 and his master's in 1766. At college, he began liking simple language, "[which] would make him a very effective writer and speaker". (Hauptley, 56.) He married Cornelia Bell in February 1779, and she had their first child, Cornelia in 1780. Their second daughter, Frances, was born in January 1782. Unfortunately, in June 1783 Frances died, and Paterson's wife became ill with grief. A difficult childbirth brought their first son, William into the world in October, but Cornelia died four days later. Paterson remarried Euphemia White, Cornelia's friend, in 1785. In 1803 or 1804 (the actual date is unknown), he suffered a carriage accident and never fully recovered. He died on September 9th, 1806 at his daughter's house in Albany, NY. Although his family was not wealthy, Paterson received a good education that would affect his views for the rest of his life. Paterson was known publicly for being a leader of New Jersey. He had many elected positions. In 1775 he was a delegate to the First Provincial Congress of New Jersey, and in that year he was also the secretary of the New Jersey State Congress. He helped write New Jersey's constitution at the convention in 1776. Also in 1776, he was appointed to the high honor of first attorney general of the New Jersey. He strongly supported independence and as attorney general, he prosecuted and seized people who remained Loyalists. In 1777 he began in the Council of Safety, which ran the state of New Jersey during the war. In both 1778 and 1781 he was asked to serve in the Continental Congress, but declined both times because of his family and his career. He was elected to the Senate in 1789, where he supported immigrants because of his Irish roots and helped draft the Judiciary Act of 1789. He had to resign from the Senate in 1790 because he was elected 2nd governor of New Jersey. He was appointed to become a Supreme Court Justice by President Washington in 1793. As Justice he judged many cases that affect the way our country is today. "Paterson's opinions are also important because as a member of the federal convention that framed the United States Constitution, he was able to speak with authority on what the 'original intention' of the framers was on a number of issues." ("William Paterson: Biography from Answers.com") He also revised New Jersey's laws, which he completed as "Laws of the State of New Jersey" in 1800. Paterson was also a Federalist, or a person that supported a strong national government for the new country. Hamilton told Paterson his plan to build a city for industry in New Jersey. Paterson signed the contract to support and fund this city in 1792, and it was named Paterson, NJ because of him. William Paterson had a big public life and was very involved in the new nation's politics. Paterson was so involved in politics that he didn't have a big life outside of it. The way to become a lawyer in Paterson's time was that you had to get an experienced lawyer to let you read their books and talk with them about the law. When the lawyer thought you understood the law, he would propose you to court as a lawyer. Paterson studied under Richard Stockton (a signer of the Declaration of Independence), and became a lawyer in 1768. In 1769, he became a surrogate, which was someone paid by the government to represent it in will cases, or cases when a person dies without heirs or a will. His law practice gave him a different view on judicial, or law aspects of our government. Not all of Paterson's work involved the law, though. In 1772 he moved to Raritan, NJ and opened a branch of his father's general store. He also published a pamphlet in 1773 arguing that doctors were purposely spreading smallpox. "Paterson's career was a great one, but that does not change the fact that he was a pretty odd character." (Hauptley, 60) Paterson's professional life gave him more knowledge of the law of our country, which would help him at the Constitutional Convention. Paterson's greatest accomplishment at the Constitutional Convention was the New Jersey Plan. He submitted the plan on June 15th, 1787 after the Virginia Plan was proposed. The New Jersey Plan favored smaller states and said that each state would have one vote in Congress to make sure that the smaller states had an equal stay. The New Jersey Plan was voted against on June 19th. "While no one from the large states was talking about a compromise, many of them must have known that a compromised would be necessary." (Hauptley, 67) And it was. But the Great Compromise, written by Roger Sherman, fulfilled Paterson's interests for the smaller states, and he left the Convention in late July 1787. Although he wasn't completely pleased with the final Constitution, he returned to Philadelphia in September to sign it. He also helped New Jersey ratify the Constitution at their convention. William Pierce of Georgia said of Paterson, "one of those men whose men whose powers break in on you and create astonishment...of a disposition so favorable that everyone seemed ready to exalt him with their praises." That basically means he had such a friendly personality and was so convincing that you had to support him. Paterson was a very important person who helped guide our country through its first years. Not only did he attend the Constitutional Convention, but he was very involved in the politics of his time and achieved many honors. As James Meisner, Jr. and Amy Ruth said well, "Paterson demonstrated that through hard work and dedication, he could not only succeed, but also make a special contribution to the pages of history." ( Full Answer )