John Rutledge (1739-1800)

Born into a large family of Irish immigrants, Rutledge received his early education from his physician father. He was sent to London's prestigious Middle Temple for his legal training and was admitted to English practice in 1760. He returned soon afterward to his native Charleston, married, and began a successful legal career. He made his fortune, however, from hisplantations and slaves. By 1761 Rutledge had won a seat in the provincial assembly and remained in this legislative body until independence was declared. There he earned a reputation as one of the greatest orators of his day. As tensions increased between the colonies and Great Britian, Rutledge defended American rights but worked for a peaceful resolution of differences. In 1774 he was a delegate to the Continental Congress, and there, too, he pursued a moderate course. Once independence was declared, however, he played an active role in helping to reorganize his state government and in writing South Carolina's state constitution. Although a patriot, Rutledge was a political conservative, resigning his position in the state legislature when democratic revisions of the state constitution were passed. His views did not prevent his election to the governorship in 1779. When Charleston was taken by the British in 1780, Rutledge suffered severe financial losses. His extensive property holdings were confiscated, and Rutledge was forced to flee to North Carolina. He never recovered his fortune. Rutledge served in the Constinental Congress from 1782 to 1783 and then returned to state offices. At the Philadelphia convention, he was a moderate nationalist, speaking frequently on issues and serving on several important committees. His deepest concern at the convention was the protection of southern interests. President Washington appointed Rutledge as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, but he left that bench in 1791 to become chief justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court. Washington again called upon him to serve on the U.S. Court in 1795, this time to replace John Jay as chief justice. His appointment was not confirmed by the Federalist-dominated Senate, however, due in part to his vocal opposition to the Jay Treaty of 1794 and in part to signs of mental illness brought on by the death of his wife. The rejection led Rutledge to retire from public life.

A Brilliant Solution: Inventing the American Constitution by Carol Berkin

Rutledge was largely responsible for denying the Supreme Court the right to give advisory opinions. Being a judge himself, he strongly believed that a judge’s sole purpose was to resolve legal conflicts; he held that a judge should only hand down an opinion when ruling on an actual case.

Rutledge also argued that if either house of the legislature was to have the sole authority to introduce appropriation bills, it should be the Senate. He noted that the Senate, by nature of its lengthier terms of office, would tend to be more leisurely in its actions. Because of this, Rutledge felt that the Senate would be better able to clearly think about what the consequences of a bill would be. And since the bills could not become law without the consent of the House of Representatives, he concluded that there would be no danger of the Senate ruling the country.

When the proposal was made that only landowners should have the right to vote, Rutledge opposed it perhaps more strongly than any other motion in the entire convention. He stated that making a rule like this would divide the people into "haves" and "have nots". It would create an undying resentment against the landowners and could do nothing but cause discord. Benjamin Franklin agreed with Rutledge, saying that such a law would suppress the ambitions of the common people. Franklin also observed that if only people who actually owned land could vote, the sons of a substantial farmer, not having land in their own names, would be denied the right to vote.

J. Rutledge Wikipedia