Samuel Nelson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Samuel Nelson
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
In office February 14, 1845 – November 28, 1872
Nominated by	John Tyler
Preceded by	Smith Thompson
Succeeded by	Ward Hunt
Personal details
Born	(1792-11-10)November 10, 1792 Hebron, New York, U.S.
Died	December 13, 1873(1873-12-13) (aged 81) Cooperstown, New York, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouses	Pamela Woods ​ ​ (m. 1819; her death 1825)​ Catherine Russell ​ ​ (m. 1825; his death 1873)​
Children	8, including Rensselaer
Education	Middlebury College (BA)
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Samuel Nelson (born November 10, 1792 – died December 13, 1873) was an American attorney and a judge. He served as a Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1845 to 1872. He is known for his role in the 1857 Dred Scott decision, where he agreed with the outcome but for different reasons than the main opinion.

Early Life and Education

Samuel Nelson was born in Hebron, New York, on November 10, 1792. His parents, John Rodgers Nelson and Jean McArthur, were immigrants from Scotland and Ireland. His family had a successful farm, which meant they were well-off.

Nelson went to public schools in Hebron. He also had three years of private schooling to get ready for college. He then attended Middlebury College in Vermont. After graduating in 1813, Nelson decided to become a lawyer. He learned law by working as an apprentice at a law firm in Salem, New York. In 1817, he became a licensed lawyer and started his own practice in Cortland, New York. He became very successful, especially in cases about land and business.

Beginning His Public Service

In 1820, Samuel Nelson was chosen as a presidential elector, and he voted for James Monroe. He also worked as the U.S. Postmaster for Cortland from 1820 to 1823.

In 1821, Nelson was a delegate at the New York Constitutional Convention. Here, he argued for more people to have the right to vote. He also pushed for changes to the state's court system. His ideas helped shape the new constitution, which led to the creation of eight new circuit courts in New York.

Becoming a New York State Judge

In 1823, Governor Joseph Yates made Nelson a judge in one of the new circuit courts. This was the start of his long career as a judge. He became known for his work in cases about shipping and sea law. His decisions were almost always accepted and rarely appealed to higher courts.

After eight years as a circuit court judge, Nelson was appointed to the New York Supreme Court in 1831. At that time, this court handled trials, not appeals. Six years later, in 1837, he was promoted to chief justice of that court.

As a New York Supreme Court Justice, Nelson made important decisions, especially in business cases. He also made a notable ruling in the Jack v. Martin case (1834). This case was about a person claimed as a slave in New York. Nelson ruled that only the federal government could make laws about people who had escaped slavery. This idea was important later in his career.

Serving on the Supreme Court

On February 4, 1845, President John Tyler nominated Samuel Nelson to be a Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States. President Tyler had tried several times to fill this spot, but the Senate had rejected his earlier choices.

Nelson's nomination was a surprise, but people liked it. He was a respected chief justice in New York and was known for staying out of political fights. Even though he was a Democrat, the Whig-controlled Senate found him acceptable. They saw him as a careful and fair judge. The Senate approved his appointment quickly, on February 14, 1845. Samuel Nelson was the only Supreme Court Justice appointed by President Tyler.

Nelson served on the Supreme Court for 27 years, until he retired in 1872. He was known for being a careful judge who often took a moderate approach. He believed in interpreting the law in a small, specific way for each case. He also strongly believed in following past legal decisions. Nelson supported the Union during the Civil War, but he often disagreed with President Lincoln's actions. He did not believe that the Union could be saved by force.

Important Cases and Opinions

One of Justice Nelson's most important opinions was in the case of Pennsylvania v. Wheeling and Belmont Bridge Company in 1855. The state of Pennsylvania sued the company that built a suspension bridge over the Ohio River. Pennsylvania argued that the bridge blocked steamboats and hurt trade.

The case went to the Supreme Court three times. In the final ruling, written by Nelson, the Court decided that the bridge was a problem. However, the U.S. Congress then passed a law saying the bridge was allowed at its height. Nelson's opinion then said that because Congress had approved the bridge, it was no longer considered a problem under the law. He explained that Congress's new law changed how the bridge should be seen legally.

Nelson also wrote the opinion for Hotchkiss v. Greenwood, a case about patent law. This decision established an important rule: inventions that are "obvious" should not be given patents. This idea has been a key part of patent law in the U.S. and around the world ever since.

Views on Slavery and States' Rights

Justice Nelson wrote many opinions during his time on the Supreme Court. However, few of his opinions directly dealt with the big questions of the day: slavery and states' rights.

In the 1834 case of Jack v. Martin, a woman claimed that Jack, a black man in New York, was her slave from Louisiana. Jack argued that he was free because he and the woman lived in New York, which had abolished slavery. Nelson, writing for the New York Supreme Court, ruled that only Congress had the power to make laws about people who had escaped slavery. He said that New York's law on the matter was not valid. This position was later supported by the U.S. Supreme Court in Prigg v. Pennsylvania (1842).

The Dred Scott Case

Justice Nelson was originally supposed to write the main opinion for the famous Dred Scott case. His opinion would have focused only on whether Dred Scott was freed by living temporarily in a free state. Nelson wanted to avoid political arguments and keep his decision very narrow.

However, other Justices decided to write strong opposing opinions. Because of this, Chief Justice Taney decided to write the main opinion himself. Taney's opinion took a much broader view, stating that black people could not be citizens and that Congress could not ban slavery in new territories.

Even with this change, Justice Nelson's views stayed the same. On March 6, 1857, the Court ruled 7–2 that Dred Scott and his family remained enslaved. Justice Nelson agreed with the decision but wrote his own separate opinion. He explained that the question of slavery was something each state should decide for itself. He believed that federal courts should follow the laws of the state on this issue. So, he concluded that the federal courts had no power to decide if Dred Scott was free, and the case should have been dismissed. While his reasons were different from Taney's, he still supported the ruling that Dred Scott was enslaved. Nelson was from the North and supported the Union, and some believed he was against slavery.

Before the Civil War, Nelson tried to find a way to avoid war. In 1861, he worked with another Justice to try and find a compromise between the Southern states that were leaving the Union and President-elect Lincoln. He was very upset when these efforts failed. Even though he was against the war and disagreed with many of Lincoln's policies, he remained loyal to the Union.

The Prize Cases

Another important opinion by Justice Nelson was his disagreement in the Prize Cases. During the Civil War, President Lincoln declared a blockade of Southern ports. Navy ships captured ships that tried to break the blockade. The owners of these captured ships sued, saying the blockade was illegal because the President did not have the power to declare it.

In 1863, the Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 that the blockade was legal. Justice Nelson wrote the dissenting opinion, meaning he disagreed with the majority. He argued that blocking ports and taking enemy property were war powers. He believed these powers could only be used after Congress formally declared war. Nelson wrote that war could not legally begin without an act of Congress. Therefore, he believed President Lincoln's blockade was unconstitutional. Nelson was criticized for this opinion.

After the war, Nelson urged the government to be less harsh on the defeated Southern states. Some people questioned his loyalty to the Union because of his views.

Later Career and Retirement

In 1871, President Ulysses S. Grant appointed Nelson to a special commission. This group was formed to settle the Alabama Claims, which were claims for damages caused by British-built ships used by the Confederacy during the Civil War. Nelson took a break from his judge duties to serve on this commission. Soon after, he became ill. He resigned from the commission in 1872, shortly before his death.

Personal Life

In 1819, Samuel Nelson married Pamela Woods. They had two children together before she passed away. In 1825, he married again to Catharine Ann Russell. She was the daughter of a U.S. Representative. Nelson brought his two children from his first marriage to this new family, and he and Catharine had six more children. Their son, Rensselaer Russell Nelson, also became a lawyer and later a U.S. District Court Judge in Minnesota.

Samuel Nelson passed away in Cooperstown, New York, on December 13, 1873. He was buried in Cooperstown's Lakewood Cemetery.

Legacy and Honors

Nelson received several honorary degrees during his life. He was awarded a Doctor of Law (LL.D.) degree from Geneva College in 1837 and from Middlebury College in 1841. He also received honorary LL.D. degrees from Columbia University and Hamilton College in 1870. His old law office has been preserved and is now part of the Farmers' Museum in Cooperstown.

Images for kids

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  Nelson (left) gives the oath to Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase during the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson.