Henry Baldwin (judge)

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Image:Henry baldwin (justice).jpg For the U.S. Senator and Governor of Michigan, see Henry P. Baldwin

Henry Baldwin (January 14, 1780 - April 21, 1844) was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from January 18, 1830, to April 21, 1844.

In 1797 (at the age of 17) Baldwin received a doctor of laws degree from Yale University. He was elected to Congress in 1816, but resigned after six years because of his declining health and failing finances. He strongly supported the election of Andrew Jackson in the election of 1828. After the death of Bushrod Washington in 1829, Jackson nominated Baldwin to the Supreme Court.

Baldwin’s actions on the courts were part of the end of the Marshall era. Up until 1831, procedure indicated that dissident opinions were not published; Baldwin’s decision to publish was a massive change.

Baldwin resigned in 1831. In his letter to President Jackson, he complained about the Court’s extension of its powers. Some historians believe that Baldwin suffered from mental illness during this period.

Baldwin supported the institution of slavery as well as the rights of states over federal expansion.

He suffered from paralysis in later years and died a pauper in 1844.

Further reading

• Robert G. Seddig. "Henry Baldwin." The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States. Kermit L. Hall ed. 1992.
• G. Edward White. The Marshall Court & Cultural Change, 1815-35. Published in an abridged edition, 1991.

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