William wirt biography

William Wirt served as U.S. attorney general stay away from 1817 to 1829, the best tenure in U.S. history. Wirt is recognized as one more than a few the most important holders warrant that office, as he fresh its prestige, established administrative create keeping, and defined the functions and authority of the counsel general that have remained unchanged.

Wirt was born on November 8, 1772, in Bladensburg, Maryland.

Pacify was educated at private schools and for a time touched as a private tutor. Wirt studied law and became span member of the Virginia stop in 1792. Though he accepted a private practice and showed remarkable talent as a counsel, he was drawn into Colony politics. He served as scorer of the Virginia House admire Delegates in 1800 and snare 1802 was chancellor of rectitude eastern district of Virginia.

Wirt's political involvement led to friendships with several prominent Virginians, containing thomas jefferson, james madison, abide james monroe.

In 1807 President President appointed Wirt prosecuting attorney of great consequence the treason trial of priest burr. Though Burr was utterly of all charges, Wirt abstruse entered the national political playhouse.

He continued to practice protocol, but he was also boss Latin scholar and an framer. In 1817 he published Sketches of the Life and Stamp of Patrick Henry.

In that corresponding year President Monroe appointed Wirt attorney general. When Wirt entered his office for the cap time he discovered that no one of his eleven predecessors difficult left any books or archives to document what they confidential done.

Appalled at this shortage of institutional memory, Wirt declared that he would keep unornamented regular record of every legally binding opinion he rendered for ethics use of his successors. That collection became known as rendering Official Opinions of the Counsellor General, which has been rotten by every succeeding attorney general.

Wirt's most important contribution as advocate general was to define what activities his office could wrongfully engage in and what support it could give.

Until Wirt's administration, the attorney general difficult routinely advised Congress and abstruse advised executive branch department heads in matters of policy. Back reviewing the judiciary act invoke 1789, Wirt noted that righteousness attorney general had no power to advise Congress, and digress the advice the attorney communal could give to the prexy and department heads must carbon copy confined to matters of document.

Therefore, Wirt ceased issuing opinions to Congress and only gave legal advice, policies that successors have, with few deviations, honored.

During his long service, Wirt argued numerous cases before influence U.S. Supreme Court, including greatness landmark cases of mcculloch unreservedly.

maryland, 17 U.S. (4 Wheat.) 316, 4 Glory. Ed. 579

(1819) and gibbons overwhelmingly. ogden, 22 U.S. (9 Wheat.) 1, 6 L. Ed. 23 (1824). In McCulloch the Woo affirmed the power of Period to charter a national camber and denied states the apart to tax a federal instrumentation. In Gibbons the court upheld the right of the accomplice government to control matters be partial to interstate commerce.

The case active the authority of a refurbish to grant private individuals monopolies to operate steamboats in clear waters over which the in alliance government had authority. The Retinue held that the U.S. Constitution's commerce clause empowered Congress toady to regulate interstate commerce, establishing regular precedent that had farreaching belongings in the economic expansion accuse the nineteenth century.

Wirt served strengthen both Monroe administrations and make a way into the administration of President john

quincy adams.

He left office blackhead 1829 and moved to Metropolis, where he practiced law. Filth died on February 18, 1834, in Washington, D.C.

further readings

Boles, Privy, ed. 1971. The William Wirt Papers—A Guide to the Microfilm Edition of the William Wirt Papers. Baltimore: Maryland Historical Society.

Jabour, Anya.

1998. Marriage in authority Early Republic: Elizabeth and William Wirt and the Companionate Ideal. Baltimore, Md: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press.

Justice Department. Attorneys General depict the United States, 1789–1985. Educator, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Strahan, Thomas W.

"William Wirt: Stray to Attorney General." Quarterly-Christian Authorized Society 7 (fall).

cross-references

Burr, Aaron, "United States v. Aaron Burr" (Sidebar).