Smith Thompson

Smith Thompson ( born January 17, 1768 in New York City; † December 18, 1843 ) was an American politician, lawyer and judge of the U.S. Supreme Court

Life

Thompson studied at Princeton University and then took over for a short time an apprenticeship. He then received his law degree and practiced law.

As a member of the Democratic-Republican Party, he was given a seat in the lower house of the State of New York (New York State Assembly ). Shortly thereafter, he was appointed as a judge of the New York Supreme Court, where he 16 years - worked - four of them as chairman.

His ambition, however, was directed at political office. He was from January 1, 1819 to August 30, 1823 to the Secretary of the Navy under President James Monroe. In the presidential elections in 1824, he wanted to stand as a candidate of his party, but could not prevail against Andrew Jackson himself.

A nomination as a judge of the Supreme Court he took, albeit reluctantly, to. From 1 September 1823 to his death he was an Associate Justice. However, his political ambitions, he did not give up and took the unusual step to apply for a position as a judge in politics. His candidacy as governor of New York in 1828 but was unsuccessful, so he almost completely withdrew from political life. Within the court he was a staunch opponent of the presiding judge John Marshall.

The USS Smith Thompson ( DD -212 ) was named after him.

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