William Cushing

1810. Personal Background

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William Сushing was born on March 1, 1732, Massachusetts.

He was a member of one of the oldest and most prominent families of colonial Massachusetts. He was descended on his mother’s side from John Cotton, the seventeenth - century Puritan minister. Both his father and grandfather served in the government of the Massachusetts Bay province

Cushing graduated from Harvard in 1751. After teaching for a year in Roxbury, Massachusetts, he began studying law under Jeremiah Gridley in Boston. In 1755 he set up a practice in his home town.

In 1760 Сushing moved to what is now Dresden, Maine, to become justice of the peace and judge of probates. He was not an accomplished lawyer and seemed unable to make decisions. It happened so that he had lost most of his corporate business to other lawyers. In 1774 Cushing married Hannah Phillips of Middletown, Connecticut.

Cushing is known as the last American judge to wear a full wig, a habit he did not abandon until 1790.

Public Career

When Cushing’s father, John Cushing, decided to retire from the provincial superior court in 1772, he insisted that his son should succeed him as a judge. Although William Cushing was not the colonial government’s first choice, he nonetheless was appointed to the position that year.

In 1774 Cushing refused to accept his salary from the British government. Although his decision did not come out until the state legislature began preparing impeachment proceedings against him, at that moment he began to be perceived as a supporter of the revolutionary cause. This belief was strengthened when he took a seat on the governor’s council .

In 1775 the new revolutionary government of Massachusetts reorganized the judicial system but retained Cushing as senior associate justice of the superior court. In 1777 he was elevated to chief justice.

Although Сushing played only a small role in the state constitutional convention or 1779, he actively supported ratification of the Constitution. He also served as a vice- president of the state convention that ratified the document in 1788.

Cushing was one of Washington’s original appointees to the Supreme Court in 1789. In 1794 he was persuaded to run against Samuel Adams for governor of Massachusetts - while retaining his Court seat - but lost by a two-to-one margin. In 1795 he declined an offer from Washington to succeed John Jay as a chief justice. As a senior associate justice, however, he presided over the court when Chief Justice Ellsworth was absent. Cushing remained on the bench until his death in 1810, the longest term of the original members of the Court.

Topical Vocabulary

• was descended from – происходил из

• province - провинция; сфера деятельности

• to set up a practice - открыть практику

• a justice of peace - мировой судья

• judge of probates - судья по вопросам завещаний

• to make decisions принять решения

• to abandon -бросать, покидать

• a wig - парик

• to succeed - перенять

• nonetheless - тем не менее

• to retire - уходить на пенсию

• to be perceived - считаться

• reluctantly - неохотно

• cause - сторона, причина

Answer the questions.

1.When and where was W.Cushing born?

2.What family did he come from?

3.Whom was he descended from?

4.What education did he get?

5.Where did he study law?

6.What university did he graduate from?

7.When did he set up his private business?

8.Why did he move to Dresden?

9.Why did he lose most of his corporate business to other lawyers?

10.What is he famous for?

11.Who insisted on his being a judge?

12.Why was he known as a supporter of the revolutionary cause?

13.What was he going to be impeached for?

14.What happened in 1775 in his life?

15.Why did he actively support the Constitution?

16.What can you say about his career since 1789?