| Joseph Story |
Joseph Story (September 18, 1779 – September 10, 1845)
was an American lawyer and jurist who served on the
Supreme Court of the United States from 1811 to 1845. He
is most remembered today for his opinions in Martin v.
Hunter's Lessee and The Amistad, along with his
magisterial Commentaries on the Constitution of the
United States, first published in 1833. Dominating the field
in the 19th century, this work is one of the chief
cornerstones of early American jurisprudence. It is the
first comprehensive treatise ever written on the U.S.
Constitution, and remains a great source of historical
information of the formation and early struggles to define
the American republic. It also is organized in a way
antithetical to modern books on the subject; rather than
starting with judicial review and leapfrogging to areas of
main interest, Story methodically goes through the
Constitution phrase by phase, covering topics most other
constitutional commentaries ignore.
was an American lawyer and jurist who served on the
Supreme Court of the United States from 1811 to 1845. He
is most remembered today for his opinions in Martin v.
Hunter's Lessee and The Amistad, along with his
magisterial Commentaries on the Constitution of the
United States, first published in 1833. Dominating the field
in the 19th century, this work is one of the chief
cornerstones of early American jurisprudence. It is the
first comprehensive treatise ever written on the U.S.
Constitution, and remains a great source of historical
information of the formation and early struggles to define
the American republic. It also is organized in a way
antithetical to modern books on the subject; rather than
starting with judicial review and leapfrogging to areas of
main interest, Story methodically goes through the
Constitution phrase by phase, covering topics most other
constitutional commentaries ignore.