James Scott (May 28, 1767 – March 2, 1855) was an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solici ...

, judge, and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

from the state of

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

. Scott served as one of the first Justices of the

Indiana Supreme Court The Indiana Supreme Court, established by Article 7 of the Indiana Constitution, is the highest judicial authority in the state of Indiana. Located in Indianapolis, the Court's chambers are in the north wing of the Indiana Statehouse. In Dece ...

from December 28, 1816 to December 28, 1830. He was also an important figure in the early history of

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. * Indiana Univers ...

Biography

Early life and career

Born in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

, the details of Scott's early life are not well recorded.Minde C. Browning, Richard Humphrey, and Bruce Kleinschmidt,
Biographical Sketches of Indiana Supreme Court Justices
, ''

Indiana Law Review The Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law (IU McKinney) is located on the campus of Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) in Indianapolis, Indiana, the urban campus of Indiana University. In the summer of 2 ...

'', Vol. 30, No. 1 (1997), section reproduced i
Indiana Courts Justice Biographies page
Scott left Pennsylvania and moved to Clark County,

. Scott lived in Charlestown, where he helped found a

Sunday school A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. S ...

, held inside the local courthouse. In 1810,

William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States. Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, and had the shortest pres ...

, Governor of the Indiana Territory, appointed Scott to be Clark County's

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal tria ...

. Scott was elected to the Indiana Territory's

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

in 1813, where he served briefly as the

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

of the House before resigning to become a

chancery Chancery may refer to: Offices and administration * Chancery (diplomacy), the principal office that houses a diplomatic mission or an embassy * Chancery (medieval office), responsible for the production of official documents * Chancery (Scotlan ...

judge. Scott was an unsuccessful candidate for United States senator in 1816. In 1816, Scott became one of forty-three delegate to Indiana's

constitutional convention Constitutional convention may refer to: * Constitutional convention (political custom), an informal and uncodified procedural agreement *Constitutional convention (political meeting), a meeting of delegates to adopt a new constitution or revise an e ...

to help draft the new state's

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 princip ...

. The convention was held in Corydon. At the convention, Scott served as the chairman for a committee to draft the constitution's article on

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. ...

. The committee would lay the groundwork for Indiana's

public education State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary schools that educate all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in pa ...

system. He also chaired a committee on the constitution's judicial provisions.

Judicial service

Jonathan Jennings Jonathan Jennings (March 27, 1784 – July 26, 1834) was the first governor of Indiana and a nine-term congressman from Indiana. Born in either Hunterdon County, New Jersey, or Rockbridge County, Virginia, he studied law before migrating to the ...

, Indiana's first state governor, appointed Scott to be a Justice on the newly-created

. Scott was present at the Supreme Court's first meeting in Corydon on May 5, 1817. Scott and his fellow Justices heard the case ''

Polly v. Lasselle Polly Strong (circa 1796–unknown) was an enslaved woman in the Northwest Territory, in present-day Indiana. She was born after the Northwest Ordinance prohibited slavery. Slavery was prohibited by the Constitution of Indiana in 1816. Two years ...

'' regarding slavery in Indiana. The case regarded the ownership of an enslaved woman, Polly, by General Hyacinth Laselle of

Vincennes Vincennes (, ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is next to but does not include the Château de Vincennes and Bois de Vincennes, which are attach ...

. The Supreme Court overturned a ruling by a Knox County court in favor of Laselles, demanding Polly be set free. Scott wrote the unanimous opinion of the court: "The framers of our constitution intended a total and entire prohibition of slavery in this State; and we can conceive of no form of words in which that intention could have been expressed more clearly". Scott was reappointed for a second term on the Supreme Court by Governor

William Hendricks William Hendricks (November 12, 1782 – May 16, 1850) was a Democratic-Republican member of the House of Representatives from 1816 to 1822, the third governor of Indiana from 1822 to 1825, and an Anti-Jacksonian member of the U.S. Senate from ...

. In 1827, while serving on the Supreme Court, 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 ...

made Scott president of a team of five observers to visit Indiana State Seminary in Bloomington and report back to legislature on the success of the school and its students. Scott requested the Assembly upgrade the Seminary into a college. His request was granted by the Assembly and Indiana State Seminary became Indiana College (now known as

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship campus of Indiana University and, with over 40,000 students, its largest camp ...

). In 1828, Scott was appointed to Indiana College's Board of Visitors, where he served as a liaison between the college and the Assembly. Scott would continue to be involved with the college after his tenure on the Supreme Court ended. Scott served on the college's

Board of Trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organ ...

from 1841 to 1850. In 1844, Scott received an honorary

LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the earl ...

from the college. Scott would serve on the Supreme Court until 1830, when he and his fellow Justice

Jesse Holman Jesse Lynch Holman (October 24, 1784 – March 28, 1842) was an Indiana attorney, politician and jurist, as well as a novelist, poet, city planner and preacher. He helped to found Indiana University, Franklin College and the Indiana Historical ...

were controversially replaced by Governor James B. Ray with Justices

Stephen Stevens Stephen C. Stevens (1793 – November 7, 1870)Minde C. Browning, Richard Humphrey, and Bruce Kleinschmidt,Biographical Sketches of Indiana Supreme Court Justices, ''Indiana Law Review'', Vol. 30, No. 1 (1997), section reproduced iIndiana Courts ...

and John T. McKinney, both state senators at the time. Many in the General Assembly were outraged by Scott and Holman's abrupt replacement, but both Stevens and McKinney were eventually confirmed by the legislature to serve on the Supreme Court. After leaving the Supreme Court, Scott returned to practice law in Charlestown. He also began to publish a local newspaper, the ''Comet''. Following William Henry Harrison's victory in the 1840 presidential election, Scott was hired as a registrar at the federal land office in Jeffersonville. He was fired following

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (18 ...

's victory in the

1844 presidential election The 1844 United States presidential election was the 15th quadrennial presidential election, held from Friday, November 1 to Wednesday, December 4, 1844. Democrat James K. Polk defeated Whig Henry Clay in a close contest turning on the contro ...

. Scott moved back to Charlestown and opened a girls' school.

Personal life and death

Scott married, but had no children of his own. He and wife adopted and raised a daughter. Shortly before his death, Scott moved

Carlisle, Indiana Carlisle is a town in Haddon Township, Sullivan County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 692 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Terre Haute Metropolitan Statistical Area. Carlisle is home to the Wabash Valley Correctional Fac ...

. He would die in Carlisle in 1855.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, James 1767 births 1855 deaths Members of the Indiana Territorial Legislature Justices of the Indiana Supreme Court People from Charlestown, Indiana Members of the Indiana House of Representatives American judges