Richard Bassett (Delaware politician)
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Richard Bassett | |
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File:Richard bassett.jpg | |
Judge of the United States Circuit Court for the Third Circuit | |
In office February 20, 1801 – July 1, 1802 |
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Appointed by | John Adams |
Preceded by | Seat established by 2 Stat. 89 |
Succeeded by | Seat abolished |
Governor of Delaware | |
In office January 9, 1799 – March 3, 1801 |
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Preceded by | Daniel Rogers |
Succeeded by | James Sykes |
Chief Justice of the Delaware Court of Common Pleas | |
In office March 4, 1793 – January 15, 1799 |
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Preceded by | Office established |
Succeeded by | James Booth |
United States Senator from Delaware |
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In office March 4, 1789 – March 3, 1793 |
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Preceded by | Office established |
Succeeded by | John Vining |
Personal details | |
Born | Richard Bassett April 2, 1745 Cecil County, Province of Maryland, British America |
Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. Cecil County, Maryland |
Resting place | Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery Wilmington, Delaware |
Political party | Federalist |
Education | read law |
Signature | Richard Bassett (Delaware politician)'s signature |
Richard Bassett (April 2, 1745 – September 15, 1815) was a Delaware slave owner[1] and later abolitionist, attorney and politician, veteran of the American Revolutionary War, delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, signer of the United States Constitution, and thus considered one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He also served as United States Senator from Delaware, chief justice of the Delaware Court of Common Pleas, governor of Delaware and a United States circuit judge of the United States Circuit Court for the Third Circuit.
Contents
Education and career
Born on April 2, 1745, in Cecil County, Province of Maryland, British America,[2] Bassett pursued preparatory studies, then read law.[2] He was admitted to the bar and practiced law in Delaware.[3] By concentrating on agricultural pursuits as well as religious and charitable concerns, he quickly established himself amongst the local gentry and "developed a reputation for hospitality and philanthropy."[4] He was a member of the Delaware constitutional conventions of 1776 and 1792.[3] He was a member of the Council of Safety in Dover, Delaware from 1776 to 1786.[2] He served in the Delaware State Militia as a company captain of the Dover Light Horse Regiment from 1777 to 1781.[2] He was a member of the Delaware Legislative Council (now the Delaware Senate) in 1782.[2] He was a member of the Delaware House of Representatives in 1786.[2] He was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1787,[3] and was a signer of the United States Constitution.[3] He was a member of the Delaware convention which ratified the United States Constitution in 1787.[3] He was in private practice in Wilmington, Delaware from 1787 to 1789.[2]
Bassett was elected to the United States Senate from Delaware and served from March 4, 1789, to March 3, 1793, first as a member of the Anti-Administration Party and later as a member of the Pro-Administration Party.[3][5] Bassett was chief justice of the Delaware Court of Common Pleas from 1793 to 1799.[2] He was governor of Delaware from 1799 to 1801.[2]
Bassett was nominated by President John Adams on February 18, 1801, to the United States Circuit Court for the Third Circuit, to a new seat authorized by 2 Stat. 89.[2] He was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 20, 1801, and received his commission the same day.[2] His service terminated on July 1, 1802, due to abolition of the court.[2]
Later life and death
After leaving the federal bench, Bassett became a planter in Cecil County.[2]
While he was a slave owner, after converting to Methodism in the 1780s, he freed his slaves and campaigned for the state of Delaware to abolish slavery.[6]
He died on September 15, 1815, on his estate Bohemia Manor in Cecil County.[Note 1][3][2] He was initially interred in Cecil County, and in 1865 his remains were re-interred in Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery in Wilmington, Delaware.
Legacy
Bassett was the grandfather of Richard H. Bayard and James A. Bayard Jr., both United States senators from Delaware.[3]
Bassett Street in Madison, Wisconsin, is named in Bassett's honor.[7]
Bassettown, now Washington, Pennsylvania, was named in Bassett's honor by his cousin David Hoge.[citation needed]
Note
- ↑ Some sources give his place of death as Kent County, Delaware.
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13
- Richard Bassett at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Richard Bassett at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Sources
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Images
- National Portrait Gallery; portrait courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery.
External links
- Richard Bassett at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States
- Richard Bassett at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Biography by Russell Pickett
- Delaware’s Governors
- The Political Graveyard
- Judges of the United States Courts
- National Archives
- Biography of Bassett in Soldier-Statesman of the Constitution at the United States Army Center of Military History
Party political offices | ||
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Preceded by | Federalist nominee for Governor of Delaware 1798 |
Succeeded by Nathaniel Mitchell |
United States Senate | ||
New seat | United States Senator (Class 2) from Delaware 1789–1793 |
Succeeded by John Vining |
Political offices | ||
Preceded by | Governor of Delaware 1799–1801 |
Succeeded by James Sykes |
Legal offices | ||
New title Seat established by 2 Stat. 89
|
Judge of the United States Circuit Court for the Third Circuit 1801–1802 |
Succeeded by Seat abolished |
- Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges
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- People from Cecil County, Maryland
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- Signers of the United States Constitution
- Anti-Administration Party United States senators from Delaware
- Pro-Administration Party United States senators from Delaware
- Delaware Federalists
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- Burials at Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery