Roger Sherman Baldwin (January 4, 1793 – February 19, 1863) was an American politician who served as the 32nd Governor of

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

from 1844 to 1846 and a

United States senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

from 1847 to 1851. As a lawyer, his career was most notable for his participation in the 1841 '' Amistad'' case.

Early life

Baldwin was born in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...

, the son of

Simeon Baldwin Simeon Baldwin (December 14, 1761 – May 26, 1851) was son-in-law of Roger Sherman, father of Connecticut Governor and US Senator Roger Sherman Baldwin, grandfather of Connecticut Governor & Chief Justice Simeon Eben Baldwin and great-grandfa ...

and Rebecca Sherman. He was the maternal grandson of notable founding father

Roger Sherman Roger Sherman (April 19, 1721 – July 23, 1793) was an American statesman, lawyer, and a Founding Father of the United States. He is the only person to sign four of the great state papers of the United States related to the founding: the Con ...

(the only person to sign all four great state papers of the U.S.: the

Continental Association The Continental Association, also known as the Articles of Association or simply the Association, was an agreement among the American colonies adopted by the First Continental Congress on October 20, 1774. It called for a trade boycott against B ...

, the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...

, the

Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was an agreement among the 13 Colonies of the United States of America that served as its first frame of government. It was approved after much debate (between July 1776 and November 1777) by ...

and the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...

. Through his father he was descended from Robert Treat, Samuel Appleton and

Simon Willard Simon Willard (April 3, 1753 – August 30, 1848) was a celebrated American clockmaker. Simon Willard clocks were produced in Massachusetts in the towns of Grafton and Roxbury, near Boston. Among his many innovations and timekeeping improvement ...

. Through his mother he was descended from Samuel Stone and

William Blaxton Reverend William Blaxton (also spelled William Blackstone) (1595 – 26 May 1675) was an early English settler in New England and the first European settler of Boston and Rhode Island. Biography William Blaxton was born in Horncastle, Lincol ...

. He attended Hopkins School, and entered

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

at the age of fourteen, and graduated with high honors in 1811. At Yale, Baldwin was a member of the

Linonian Society Linonia is a literary and debating society founded in 1753 at Yale University. It is the university's second-oldest secret society. History Linonia was founded on September 12, 1753, as Yale College's second literary and debating society, af ...

. After leaving Yale he studied law in his father's office in New Haven, and also in the

Litchfield Law School The Litchfield Law School of Litchfield, Connecticut, was the first independent law school established in America for reading law. Founded and led by lawyer Tapping Reeve, the proprietary school was unaffiliated with any college or university. (Wh ...

, and was admitted to the bar in 1814. Although repeatedly called into public office, he devoted himself through life to the profession of his choice, attaining the highest distinction, especially in the discussion of questions of law. His defense in 1841, of the rights of the Africans of the ''Amistad'', is particularly celebrated, both for his ability and for the importance of the case. Notebook of Roger Sherman Baldwin on the Amistad case

Notebook of Roger Sherman Baldwin on the Amistad case

Political career

After having been a member of the city government in New Haven, in 1826 and 1828, Baldwin was elected in 1837 and again in 1838 as a member of the

Connecticut State Senate The Connecticut State Senate is the upper house of the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The state senate comprises 36 members, each representing a district with around 99,280 inhabitants. Sen ...

. In 1840 and 1841 he represented the town of New Haven in the General Assembly. He was elected Governor of Connecticut in

1844 In the Philippines, it was the only leap year with 365 days, as December 31 was skipped when 1845 began after December 30. Events January–March * January 15 – The University of Notre Dame, based in the city of the same name, receives ...

by the state legislature, and was re-elected in 1845. In 1844, Governor Roger Sherman Baldwin proposed legislation to end slavery, but the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of pres ...

did not pass it until it was reintroduced in 1848 as "An Act to Prevent Slavery".Dutton, Henry; Waldo, Loren Pinckney; Booth, David Belden (1866). "An Act to Prevent Slavery". ''Google Books''. On the death of Senator Jabez W. Huntington in 1847, Baldwin was appointed by Governor Clark Bissell to fill the vacancy in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

, and in December of that year he took his seat as a member of that body. He was elected by the Legislature in the following May to the same position, which he held until 1851. After that period he held no public office, except that he was one of the presidential electors in the canvass of 1860, and by appointment of Governor William Alfred Buckingham was a delegate to the Peace Convention which met in Washington, in 1861, by request of the State of Virginia. He was described as a devout Christian who studied the Bible every day. Baldwin died in New Haven, February 19, 1863; at the age of 70 and was interred at

Grove Street Cemetery Grove Street Cemetery or Grove Street Burial Ground is a cemetery in New Haven, Connecticut, that is surrounded by the Yale University campus. It was organized in 1796 as the New Haven Burying Ground and incorporated in October 1797 to replace the ...

. A biographical discourse was pronounced at his funeral by Rev. Dr. Dutton, which was printed in the ''New Englander'' for April 1863, and was also published as a pamphlet.

Family

He was grandson of

, son of

, nephew of

Ebenezer Baldwin Chaplain Ebenezer Baldwin (July 3, 1745 – October 1, 1776) was a religious leader in Connecticut in the years before the American Revolution. He was the eldest son of Captain Ebenezer Baldwin of Norwich, Connecticut; and grandson of Thomas and ...

, husband of Emily Pitkin Perkins, father of Connecticut Governor

Simeon Eben Baldwin Simeon Eben Baldwin (February 5, 1840 – January 30, 1927) was an American jurist, law professor, and politician who served as the 65th governor of Connecticut. Education The son of jurist, Connecticut governor and U.S. Senator Roger Sherma ...

, grandfather of New York Supreme Court Justice Edward Baldwin Whitney, and the great-grandfather of the famed

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

mathematics professor Hassler Whitney.

In popular culture

A simplified version of the events regarding the Amistad case were made into a movie called '' Amistad'' in 1997 in which Matthew McConaughey portrayed Roger Sherman Baldwin. In Greenwich, Connecticut, there is a town park called Roger Sherman Baldwin Park.

References

External links

*
Roger Sherman Baldwin
Litchfield Ledger - Student

from the Connecticut State Library
US Senator Roger Sherman Baldwin
US Congress
Baldwin Family Papers (MS 55).
Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library.
Roger Sherman Baldwin (1793–1863) Guide to Research PapersSherman Genealogy Including Families of Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk, England
By Thomas Townsend Sherman

at Political Graveyard
Sherman-Hoar family
at Political Graveyard
History of the Federal JudiciaryRoger Sherman Baldwin
Museum of Connecticut History
From Thomas Jefferson to Roger Sherman Baldwin, 9 March 1822To Thomas Jefferson from Roger Sherman Baldwin, 24 February 1822Roger Sherman Baldwin to Thomas Jefferson, February 24, 1822
Library of Congress {{DEFAULTSORT:Baldwin, Roger Sherman 1793 births 1863 deaths Connecticut state senators Governors of Connecticut Politicians from New Haven, Connecticut United States senators from Connecticut Yale College alumni Litchfield Law School alumni Burials at Grove Street Cemetery Connecticut Whigs Connecticut Republicans Whig Party United States senators Whig Party state governors of the United States 19th-century American politicians Sherman family (U.S.) Lawyers from New Haven, Connecticut La Amistad