Samuel Nelson

US Supreme Court justice from 1845 to 1872

For the Northern Irish footballer, see Sammy Nelson . For the Irish businessman, see Samuel Neilson .

Samuel Nelson (November 10, 1792 – December 13, 1873) was an American attorney and appointed as judge of New York State courts. He was appointed as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States , serving from 1845 to 1872. He concurred on the 1857 _Dred Scott _ decision, although for reasons different from Chief Justice Taney's.

Early life

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Nelson was born in Hebron, New York , on November 10, 1792, the son of Scotch-Irish immigrants John Rodgers Nelson and his wife Jean McArthur. Nelson's family was upper middle class, with a prosperous family farm. Nelson was educated in the public schools of Hebron, with an additional three years in private schooling for college preparation. He entered Middlebury College in Vermont .

His initial intention was to pursue a career as a minister. Upon graduation in 1813, Nelson decided on a legal career. He read law as an apprentice at the firm of John Savage and David Woods in Salem, New York . Two years later, Savage and Woods dissolved their practice. Nelson moved to Madison County to enter into partnership with Woods. Nelson received his license to practice law in 1817, and entered private practice in Cortland . He developed a very successful practice, specializing in real estate and commercial law.

Career

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Nelson was a presidential elector in 1820 , voting for James Monroe and Daniel D. Tompkins . Nelson served as US Postmaster of Cortland from 1820 to 1823.

In 1821, Nelson served as a delegate to the New York Constitutional Convention , as one of the "Bucktails " faction led by Martin van Buren . Nelson argued for expansion of suffrage and for restructuring the state judiciary. The revised constitution was adopted, and the state created eight new Circuit Courts .

New York State judge

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In 1823, Governor Joseph Yates appointed Nelson as a justice of the new Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, beginning Nelson's judicial career. He became noted for his work in admiralty and maritime law, and his decisions were rarely appealed.

After eight years as a circuit court judge, Nelson was appointed in 1831 to the New York Supreme Court (then called the New York Supreme Court of Judicature) by Governor Enos Throop . In 1837, Governor William Marcy promoted him to the position of chief justice, succeeding John Savage.

As a justice of the New York Supreme Court, Nelson made his most notable decisions about commercial issues. But his ruling in the case of Jack v. Martin (1834), which touched New York state law in relation to the federal Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 and the Fugitive Slave Clause of the Constitution, may have foreshadowed his concurring opinion in Dred Scott. Nelson said that only the federal government had the right to legislate on the issue of fugitive slaves.

In 1845, Nelson was an unsuccessful candidate for U.S. Senator in a special New York State Legislature election to fill the seat of Silas Wright . At that time the New York state Democrats were split between factions known as Barnburners and Hunkers , and Nelson was identified with the Hunkers. His Barnburner opponent, John Adams Dix , won the party's nomination and the Senate seat.

Supreme Court

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Portrait of Nelson

On February 4, 1845, Nelson was nominated by President John Tyler as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States , to fill the vacant seat of Smith Thompson . The unpopular Tyler had failed repeatedly to fill the Thompson vacancy, with the Whig -controlled Senate rejecting his earlier nominations of John C. Spencer , Reuben Walworth , Edward King , and John M. Read .

Tyler's nomination of Nelson was a surprise, but proved to be a popular choice. Nelson was a highly respected chief justice on the New York Supreme Court, and had a reputation of staying out of partisan conflict. The Whigs found Nelson acceptable because, although he was a Democrat , he had a reputation as a careful and uncontroversial jurist. The Senate confirmed Nelson's appointment on February 14, 1845, after just ten days. Samuel Nelson was the only Supreme Court Justice to be appointed by President Tyler.

A diligent but politically neutral member of the Supreme Court, Nelson became an authority on international, admiralty, maritime, and patent law and often addressed himself primarily to the technical aspects of the cases before the court.

Nelson (left) administers oath to Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase for the [impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson](https

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