Alfred Moore (May 21, 1755 – October 15, 1810) was an American judge, lawyer, planter and military officer who became an

associate justice An associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some ...

of the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

. Moore Square, a park located in the Moore Square Historic District in Raleigh, North Carolina, was named in his honor, as was Moore County, North Carolina. He was also a founder and trustee of the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

. Moore is noted for having written just one opinion for the Court during his term of service: '' Bas v. Tingy'', a minor case of

maritime law Maritime law or admiralty law is a body of law that governs nautical issues and private maritime disputes. Admiralty law consists of both domestic law on maritime activities, and private international law governing the relationships between pri ...

. Although a member of the Court for nearly four years, poor health kept Moore from the Court's business during much of his tenure. In particular he did not participate in ''

Marbury v. Madison ''Marbury v. Madison'', 5 U.S. (1 Cranch) 137 (1803), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court that established the principle of judicial review, meaning that American courts have the power to strike down laws and statutes they find ...

'', a landmark case decided while he was on the Court. Moore was one of the least effective justices in the history of the Court, his career having "made scarcely a ripple in American judicial history."

Family and education

Alfred Moore was born May 21, 1755, in New Hanover County, North Carolina, to Anne (Grange) and Maurice Moore. The Moore family had a long history in the area. His great grandfather, James Moore, served as

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of Carolina from 1700 to 1703. Alfred Moore's father, Maurice, was a colonial judge in North Carolina and published an essay denouncing the Stamp Act. Around 1764, following the death of his mother and his father's remarriage, Alfred was sent to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

to complete his education. Later, he returned to North Carolina and read law as an

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in ...

to his father and was admitted to the bar in April 1775.

Military service and political career

On September 1, 1775, at the outset of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, Moore became a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the 1st North Carolina Regiment of the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

, of which his uncle, James Moore, was

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

. He fought in the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge, and took part in the Siege of Charleston, South Carolina, after

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

forces attempted to capture Sullivan's Island. On March 8, 1777, following the deaths of his father, brother and uncle, Moore resigned his

commission In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...

to care for the family

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

. Even so, he continued to be involved in

irregular military Irregular military is any military component distinct from a country's regular armed forces, representing non-standard militant elements outside of conventional governmental backing. Irregular elements can consist of militias, private armie ...

activities against British and Loyalist forces, becoming a colonel in the

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

from 1777 to 1782. When

Lord Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805) was a British Army officer, Whigs (British political party), Whig politician and colonial administrator. In the United States and United Kingdom, he is best kn ...

moved through southeastern North Carolina after the Battle of Guilford Court House, his troops plundered all Patriot slave plantations in their path. British forces under the command of Major James Craig burnt Moore's slave plantation and "carried off the stock and slaves". Following the war, Moore was elected to the

North Carolina General Assembly The North Carolina General Assembly is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Government of North Carolina, state government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the North Carolina Senate, Senate and the North Ca ...

, which eventually elected him to serve as

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

, a position he held from 1782 to 1791. By 1790, Moore enslaved 48 people on his slave plantation. As Attorney General, in 1787, he argued the State's case in ''Bayard v. Singleton'', 1 N.C. (Mart) 5, a decision of the North Carolina Court of Conference (the precursor of the North Carolina Supreme Court) that became an important early instance of the application of

judicial review Judicial review is a process under which a government's executive, legislative, or administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. In a judicial review, a court may invalidate laws, acts, or governmental actions that are in ...

. Moore, an ardent

Federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters call themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of deep ...

favoring a strong national government, took a leading role in securing North Carolina's ratification of the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

after the state had initially rejected it in 1788. He also played a role in the founding of the

. He was among those who selected the site for the university, and he served on its board of trustees from 1789 until 1807. Moore was again elected to the state House of Representatives in 1792, and served one term. In 1794, he was the Federalist candidate for

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

; he lost by one vote to

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party (also referred to by historians as the Republican Party or the Jeffersonian Republican Party), was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early 1790s. It championed l ...

Timothy Bloodworth. In 1798, Moore was again the Federalist candidate for U.S. Senate; he lost again, this time to Jesse Franklin. That same year, the General Assembly elected Moore to a seat on the North Carolina Superior Court.

Supreme Court justice

On December 4, 1799, President

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

nominated Moore as an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court, to succeed

James Iredell James Iredell (October 5, 1751 – October 20, 1799) was one of the first justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was appointed by President George Washington and served from 1790 until his death in 1799. His son, James Iredel ...

. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on December 10, 1799, and was sworn into office on April 21, 1800. He served until his resignation on January 26, 1804. Due to poor health, Moore's contribution to the court was abbreviated. In his four years of service, he wrote only one opinion, '' Bas v. Tingy'', upholding a conclusion that

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

was an enemy in the undeclared

Quasi-War The Quasi-War was an undeclared war from 1798 to 1800 between the United States and the French First Republic. It was fought almost entirely at sea, primarily in the Caribbean and off the East Coast of the United States, with minor actions in ...

of 1798–1799. Moore's scant contribution has led Court observers to place him on lists of the worst justices in the history of the Court.

Personal life

In 1777, he married Susanne Elizabeth Eagles. They had several children, including Alfred, Augusta, and Sara Louisa. He died October 15, 1810, in Bladen County, North Carolina, and is buried at St. Philip's Church, in Brunswick County. His summer home, Moorefields, which he built after the Revolutionary War, located in Orange County, North Carolina, near Hillsborough, still stands, and is listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

References

External links

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Alfred 1755 births 1810 deaths 18th-century American Episcopalians 19th-century American Episcopalians 18th-century American judges 19th-century North Carolina state court judges American revolutionaries American slave owners Continental Army officers from North Carolina Members of the North Carolina House of Representatives North Carolina attorneys general North Carolina Federalists North Carolina lawyers North Carolina state court judges North Carolina state senators O'Moore family People from New Hanover County, North Carolina People from Orange County, North Carolina United States federal judges appointed by John Adams Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States United States Supreme Court justices who owned slaves United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law Candidates in the 1794 United States elections