Father of U.S. jurisprudence ahead of his time
Two hundred years ago this week one of the nation’s most notable
and respected statesmen died from a poison deliberately induced by
a relative who hoped to inherit his estate.
George Wythe was born in Virginia in 1726 to a respectable
family. His father died when the boy was three so his mother tended
to his education, teaching him Latin, Greek and a number of
subjects to fit him for life.
Father of U.S. jurisprudence ahead of his time
Two hundred years ago this week one of the nation’s most notable and respected statesmen died from a poison deliberately induced by a relative who hoped to inherit his estate.
George Wythe was born in Virginia in 1726 to a respectable family. His father died when the boy was three so his mother tended to his education, teaching him Latin, Greek and a number of subjects to fit him for life.
She died while he was still in his teens and an older brother inherited the estate. Young George entered the College of William and Mary to study law but soon dropped out because he could not pay the fees.
Undaunted, he found work in the office of a sympathetic attorney and learned law with a hands-on approach. He did so well that the Crown was pleased to make him an attorney while he was still 20.
Wythe was later described by contemporaries as a “man of high intellect combined with a sweet-tempered disposition.” His early years in practice coincided with a tumultuous era, as Great Britain vied with France for the domination of North America, and later when colonials began protesting the stern laws by which England ruled them.
Wythe was named the colony of Virginia’s attorney general when he was 27, an appointment that even veteran attorneys applauded because of his meticulous fairness.
But still greater honors awaited him. He was appointed to the board of the College of William and Mary and became America’s first professor of law. Among his students over the years were Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe, future presidents of a yet unfounded nation; John Marshall, who served in its first Supreme Court; and Henry Clay, one of the foremost statesmen in the early 19th Century, as well as scores of others who took prominent places in government.
Because of his brilliance and reputation for fairness, Wythe was elected to the Continental Congress even as clouds of revolution were lowering.
He signed the Declaration of Independence and helped frame the new nation’s Constitution. He took to heart the term “all men are created equal” and freed his slaves. He also saw to their support until they could make their own living.
Wythe’s greatest passion was teaching law and it earned him the title of “Father of American Jurisprudence.” Some less formal historians have dubbed him “America’s father-in-law.”
When his great-nephew, George Wythe Sweeney, learned that he was making provisions in his will for the care of his former slaves, he became alarmed that his portion would be smaller than hoped, and hit upon a plan.
He poisoned a beverage in Wythe’s kitchen and speculated how many former slaves would drink it. Part of the beverage was inadvertently given to Wythe, who immediately sickened. Former slaves told him that they had seen Sweeney sneaking around in the kitchen, and Wythe changed his will, cutting him out altogether. He died on June 8, 1806, at 80.
Sweeney was tried for murder but was acquitted only because Blacks were not permitted to testify against Caucasians, and there were no other witnesses to the crime.
But George Wythe left a far greater legacy than his estate, and we still enjoy it two centuries after his death.
