Joseph Story

For other uses, see Joseph Story (disambiguation).
"Justice Story" redirects here. For other uses, see Judge Story.

Joseph Story
Story in 1844
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
In office
February 3, 1812[1] – September 10, 1845[1]
Nominated byJames Madison
Preceded byWilliam Cushing
Succeeded byLevi Woodbury
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Massachusetts's 2nd district
In office
May 23, 1808 – March 3, 1809
Preceded byJacob Crowninshield
Succeeded byBenjamin Pickman
Personal details
Born(1779-09-18)September 18, 1779
Marblehead, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedSeptember 10, 1845(1845-09-10) (aged 65)
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Political partyDemocratic-Republican
EducationHarvard College (AB)

Joseph Story (September 18, 1779 – September 10, 1845) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1812 to 1845. He is most remembered for his opinions in Martin v. Hunter's Lessee and United States v. The Amistad, and especially for his Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States, first published in 1833. Dominating the field in the 19th century, this work is a cornerstone of early American jurisprudence. It is the second comprehensive treatise on the provisions of the U.S. Constitution and remains a critical source of historical information about the forming of the American republic and the early struggles to define its law.

Story opposed Jacksonian democracy, saying it was "oppression" of property rights by republican governments when popular majorities began in the 1830s to restrict and erode the property rights of the minority of rich men.[2] R. Kent Newmyer presents Story as a "Statesman of the Old Republic" who tried to be above democratic politics and to shape the law in accordance with the republicanism of Alexander Hamilton and John Marshall, and the New England Whigs of the 1820s and 1830s, including Daniel Webster.[3] Historians generally agree that Story reshaped American law—as much or more than Marshall or anyone else—in a conservative direction that protected property rights.[4]

He was portrayed by retired justice Harry Blackmun in the film Amistad, reading the case the film was based on, United States v. The Amistad.[5]

  1. ^ a b "Justices 1789 to Present". supremecourt.gov. Washington, D.C.: Supreme Court of the United States. Archived from the original on April 15, 2010. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  2. ^ David Brion Davis, Antebellum American culture (1997), pp. 14–15
  3. ^ Newmyer, p. 4
  4. ^ Presser, p. 526
  5. ^ Amistad (1997) – IMDb, retrieved February 12, 2022