John Lowell

For other people named John Lowell, see John Lowell (disambiguation) .

John Lowell (June 17, 1743 – May 6, 1802) was a delegate to the Congress of the Confederation , a judge of the Court of Appeals in Cases of Capture under the Articles of Confederation , a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts and a United States circuit judge of the United States Circuit Court for the First Circuit .

Contents

• 1 Early life

• 2 Career

  • 2.1 Influence on abolition of slavery in Massachusetts

  • 2.2 Highlights of his congressional service

• 3 Federal judicial service

• 4 Membership

• 5 Personal life

• 6 Publications

• 7 See also

• 8 References

• 9 Sources

• 10 External links

Early life

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Born on June 17, 1743, in Newburyport , Province of Massachusetts Bay , British America ,

Lowell graduated from Harvard University in 1760 and read law in 1763.

Career

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He entered private practice in Newburyport from 1763 to 1771, 1773, and 1775. He was a selectman for Newburyport from 1771 to 1772, in 1774, and in 1776. In the spring of 1774, he signed addresses complimenting royal governors Thomas Hutchinson and Thomas Gage , but made a public apology for doing so at the end of the year. He served in the Massachusetts militia as a major in 1776 during the American Revolutionary War . He continued private practice in Boston , Massachusetts from 1777 to 1778, and from 1779 to 1781. After moving to Boston, Lowell became the leading attorney in Massachusetts representing privateer claims before the Admiralty Court, which formed the basis of his fortune. Of the 1100 privateering claims handled in Boston, Lowell was lead counsel in approximately 700, and assistant counsel in half the rest. He was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1778, and from 1780 to 1782. He was a delegate to the Massachusetts constitutional convention in 1780. He was a delegate to the Congress of the Confederation (Continental Congress ) from 1782 to 1783. He was a judge of the Court of Appeals in Cases of Capture under the Articles of Confederation starting in 1783.

He was a member of a commission on the boundary between Massachusetts and New York in 1784. He was a member of the Massachusetts Senate from 1784 to 1785, and a U.S. Senate candidate in 1788.

From his practice of the law and shipping ventures John was able to acquire a large estate and a considerable sum of money throughout his lifetime and despite not being from the richest family growing up he was able to raise the value of the Lowell name.

Influence on abolition of slavery in Massachusetts

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As a member of the Massachusetts constitutional convention of 1780, Lowell is best remembered for authoring Article I and his insistence upon its adoption into the Bill of Rights , "All men are born free and equal, and have certain natural, essential and inalienable rights, among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties..."

Lowell's son, the Rev. Charles Lowell, D.D., wrote in a personal letter eight decades later, "My father introduced into the Bill of Rights the clause by which Slavery was abolished in Massachusetts... and when it was adopted, exclaimed: 'Now there is no longer Slavery in Massachusetts, it is abolished and I will render my services as a lawyer gratis to any slave suing for his freedom if it is withheld from him...' and he did so defend the negro slave against his master under this clause of the constitution which was declared valid by the Massachusetts Supreme Court in 1783, and since that time Slavery in Mass. has had no legal standing."

Highlights of his congressional service

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During Lowell's service, the Congress of the Confederation met in the library of Nassau Hall at Princeton University and "congratulated George Washington on his successful termination of the war, received the news of the signing of the definitive treaty of peace with Great Britain , and welcomed the first foreign minister—from the Netherlands —accredited to the United States."

Federal judicial service

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Lowell was nominated by President George Washington on September 24

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