John Rutledge

John Rutledge
Portrait by Robert Hinckley after John Trumbull
John Rutledge
Born	17 9, 1739
Birthplace	Charleston, South Carolina, British America
Died	Template:Death date and age Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Jurist, politician, statesman
Known for	Second Chief Justice of the United States; first president and first governor of South Carolina; chairman of the Committee of Detail at the Constitutional Convention
Education	Middle Temple, London
Children	10

John Rutledge (September 17, 1739 – June 21, 1800) was an American Founding Father, jurist, and statesman who played a central role in the establishment of the United States as an independent nation and in the drafting of its Constitution. A native of Charleston, South Carolina, Rutledge served as one of the original associate justices of the Supreme Court of the United States and as the second Chief Justice of the United States, appointed by President George Washington. He was the first president of South Carolina under its 1776 constitution and later its first governor under the 1778 constitution, guiding the state through much of the American Revolutionary War. At the 1787 Philadelphia Convention, he chaired the Committee of Detail, which produced the first complete draft of the Constitution. His tenure as chief justice remains the shortest in the history of that office, and his rejection by the Senate in December 1795 made him the first Supreme Court nominee to be denied confirmation. He remains the only justice to have served under a recess appointment without subsequent Senate confirmation.

Early Life

John Rutledge was born on September 17, 1739, in Charleston, South Carolina, which was then part of British America. He was born into a prominent and prosperous Charleston family. His father, Dr. John Rutledge Sr., was an Irish immigrant physician who had settled in the colony, and his mother, Sarah Hext Rutledge, came from a wealthy South Carolina family. His father died when Rutledge was still young, and his mother's subsequent remarriage to Henry Middleton, a prominent planter and future president of the Continental Congress, provided the family with continued social standing and political connections.

Rutledge was the elder brother of Edward Rutledge, who would go on to sign the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and later serve as governor of South Carolina. The Rutledge household was deeply embedded in the planter aristocracy of the South Carolina Lowcountry, and like other members of the colonial elite, the family's wealth was tied to the institution of slavery and the plantation economy.

Young Rutledge received his early education from his father and later from tutors in Charleston. He began reading law under James Parsons, a leading attorney in the colony, which set the trajectory for his future career in law and public service. Charleston in the mid-eighteenth century was one of the wealthiest and most cosmopolitan cities in British North America, and Rutledge's upbringing in this environment shaped his social sensibilities and political outlook.

Education

Rutledge traveled to London to complete his legal education at the Middle Temple, one of the four Inns of Court that served as the training ground for English barristers and, by extension, many aspiring colonial lawyers. Study at the Middle Temple was a mark of distinction among colonial American attorneys, and Rutledge's time in London exposed him to English common law traditions, parliamentary governance, and the intellectual currents of the Enlightenment. He was called to the English bar in 1760 before returning to Charleston, where he was admitted to the South Carolina bar and quickly established a thriving legal practice. His legal training at the Middle Temple gave him a sophistication and expertise that distinguished him among his peers in colonial South Carolina, and his practice soon became one of the most lucrative in the province.

Career

Colonial Political Career

Rutledge entered public life at a young age. In 1761, he was elected to the South Carolina Commons House of Assembly, where he served continuously until 1775. During this period, he also served briefly as Attorney General of South Carolina in 1764, succeeding James Moultrie in the position before being succeeded by Egerton Leigh.

Rutledge first came to prominence on the colonial stage as a delegate to the Stamp Act Congress in 1765, held in New York City from October 7 to October 25 of that year. The Congress was convened in response to the Stamp Act imposed by the Parliament of Great Britain on the Thirteen Colonies, which levied direct taxes on printed materials. Rutledge, at only twenty-six years of age, emerged as one of the younger but more influential voices at the gathering, helping to articulate the colonies' opposition to taxation without representation.

As tensions between the colonies and Britain escalated through the late 1760s and early 1770s, Rutledge continued to play an active role in South Carolina politics. His legal practice remained robust, and his growing reputation as both a lawyer and a political leader positioned him as a natural choice to represent South Carolina at the Continental Congress.

Continental Congress

Rutledge served as a delegate from South Carolina to the Continental Congress beginning on September 5, 1774, and continuing until October 26, 1776. During this period, he signed the Continental Association, a compact among the colonies to boycott British goods as a means of economic protest against Parliament's Intolerable Acts.

In Congress, Rutledge was known as a moderate who initially favored reconciliation with Britain. He played a role on several committees and was recognized for his legal acumen and oratorical skill. However, as the prospect of reconciliation dimmed, Rutledge aligned himself with the movement toward independence. He was a conservative figure within the revolutionary movement, primarily concerned with protecting the interests of the South Carolina planter class and maintaining social order during the upheaval of revolution.

President and Governor of South Carolina

Following the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, Rutledge assumed the role of the first president of South Carolina under the state's newly adopted 1776 constitution, serving from July 4, 1776, to March 7, 1778. His predecessor as president of the colony's provisional government had been Henry Laurens, and he was succeeded by Rawlins Lowndes.

Under the 1778 constitution, which replaced the earlier document, the title of the state's chief executive was changed from "president" to "governor." Rutledge served as governor from January 9, 1779, to January 16, 1782, making him the first person to hold the gubernatorial title in South Carolina. His lieutenant governors during this period included Thomas Bee and Christopher Gadsden.

Rutledge's tenure as governor coincided with some of the most difficult years of the American Revolutionary War in the southern theater. When Charleston fell to British forces in May 1780, Rutledge was not in the city, having left to coordinate the state's defense from the interior. He exercised extraordinary executive powers during this period, essentially governing the state as a wartime executive with near-dictatorial authority granted to him by the legislature. He organized militia forces, managed supplies, and worked to maintain civil governance in the portions of South Carolina not under British occupation.

His wartime leadership was marked by both decisiveness and controversy. Rutledge authorized the confiscation of Loyalist property and took aggressive measures to suppress Tory sympathizers within the state. He also played a key role in supporting the campaigns of American generals such as Nathanael Greene in the southern theater. His administration oversaw the gradual recovery of South Carolina from British occupation, though the state suffered enormous destruction during the war.

Constitutional Convention

After the war, Rutledge briefly returned to the Continental Congress before being appointed to the South Carolina Court of Chancery. He remained a leading figure in South Carolina politics and law throughout the 1780s.

In 1787, Rutledge was selected as a delegate to the Philadelphia Convention, convened to address the shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation and to draft a new framework of national government. At the convention, Rutledge served as chairman of the Committee of Detail, one of the most consequential bodies of the proceedings. The Committee of Detail was tasked with taking the resolutions and decisions that the convention had agreed upon in general terms and producing a coherent, complete draft of the Constitution. The committee's work, largely shaped by Rutledge's legal expertise, produced the first full draft of the United States Constitution and established much of the document's structure and language.

During the convention debates, Rutledge advocated for a strong national government while also defending the interests of the southern states, particularly with respect to the institution of slavery and the apportionment of representation. He played a role in the deliberations that led to the Three-Fifths Compromise and the provisions regarding the slave trade. Rutledge was a forceful presence at the convention, and his legal training and political experience made him one of the more influential delegates.

The following year, in 1788, Rutledge participated in the South Carolina convention called to ratify the Constitution. He supported ratification and helped secure South Carolina's approval of the document.

Supreme Court of the United States

Associate Justice

In 1789, President George Washington appointed Rutledge as one of the six inaugural associate justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, as established by the Judiciary Act of 1789. Rutledge was confirmed by the Senate and took his seat on the new Court. However, the early Supreme Court had relatively little business, as few cases came before it in its initial years. The justices also bore the burden of circuit riding, traveling to preside over cases in the federal circuit courts throughout the country, which was physically taxing and often unpopular among the justices.

Rutledge served as an associate justice until March 5, 1791, when he resigned from the Supreme Court to accept the position of chief justice of the South Carolina Court of Common Pleas and Sessions. He considered the state position more prestigious and consequential at the time, as the South Carolina court handled a far greater volume of significant cases than the fledgling federal judiciary. He was succeeded on the Supreme Court by Thomas Johnson.

Chief Justice

In June 1795, John Jay resigned as Chief Justice of the United States after being elected Governor of New York. Rutledge wrote to President Washington expressing his desire to be appointed to the vacancy. Washington, who valued Rutledge's legal abilities and his service to the nation, agreed and nominated him for the position.

Because the Senate was in recess at the time, Washington made a recess appointment, allowing Rutledge to assume the office of chief justice immediately without waiting for Senate confirmation. Rutledge was sworn in and presided over the August 1795 term of the Supreme Court, during which the Court heard two cases.

However, Rutledge's nomination encountered serious opposition when the Senate reconvened in December 1795. A significant factor in the opposition was Rutledge's public denunciation of the Jay Treaty, a controversial agreement between the United States and Great Britain negotiated by John Jay. In a public speech in Charleston in July 1795, Rutledge had harshly criticized the treaty, which was supported by the Federalist Party and by President Washington himself. His speech angered Federalist senators who were otherwise inclined to support Washington's nominees.

In addition to political opposition over the Jay Treaty, concerns were raised about Rutledge's mental and physical health. Reports circulated that Rutledge had exhibited erratic behavior, and some senators questioned his fitness for the office.

On December 15, 1795, the Senate rejected Rutledge's nomination by a vote of 10 in favor to 14 against. This made Rutledge the first nominee to the Supreme Court to be rejected by the Senate. Rutledge resigned his commission on December 28, 1795. He was succeeded as chief justice by Oliver Ellsworth, who was confirmed the following year. Rutledge holds the distinction of having the shortest tenure of any chief justice in the history of the Supreme Court, and he remains the only justice to have served under a recess appointment without being subsequently confirmed by the Senate.

Personal Life

John Rutledge married Elizabeth Grimké in 1763. The Grimké family was a prominent South Carolina family of Huguenot descent, and the marriage further solidified Rutledge's position within the Charleston elite. Together, the couple had ten children. Elizabeth Rutledge died in 1792, and her death is believed to have contributed significantly to the decline in Rutledge's mental health in subsequent years.

Following the Senate's rejection of his nomination as chief justice in December 1795, Rutledge reportedly attempted to take his own life by drowning himself in Charleston Harbor. He was rescued by two enslaved persons who witnessed the attempt. After this episode, Rutledge withdrew entirely from public life and spent his remaining years in seclusion in Charleston, cared for by family members.

John Rutledge died on June 21, 1800, in Charleston, South Carolina, at the age of sixty. He was buried in the churchyard of St. Michael's Church in Charleston, where his grave remains today. His brother Edward Rutledge survived him by only a few months, dying in January 1800 — though Edward actually predeceased John by just a short time in the same year.

Rutledge's Charleston residence, built in 1763, still stands at 116 Broad Street. The home was later converted into the John Rutledge House Inn, which operates as a historic bed-and-breakfast and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Recognition

John Rutledge's contributions to American constitutional government have been recognized in various forms over the centuries since his death. His role as chairman of the Committee of Detail at the Constitutional Convention is regarded by constitutional historians as one of the most consequential contributions to the drafting of the United States Constitution, as the committee's draft established the framework and much of the specific language of the final document.

The Supreme Court Historical Society has documented Rutledge's career extensively, noting his unique place in the history of the Court as both an original associate justice and as the only recess-appointed chief justice never to receive Senate confirmation. The Federal Judicial Center maintains a biographical entry on Rutledge as part of its records of all federal judges in American history.

In Charleston, Rutledge is memorialized through his historic home on Broad Street, which serves as both a hospitality establishment and an informal monument to his life and career. The Oyez Project, a multimedia archive of the Supreme Court, maintains a profile of Rutledge documenting his service on the Court.

The Post and Courier of Charleston published a detailed examination of Rutledge's life and legacy in 2025, exploring aspects of his biography that extend beyond the standard textbook treatment, including his role in the colonial slave economy and his wartime governance of South Carolina.

Legacy

John Rutledge occupies a distinctive position among the Founding Fathers of the United States. He was one of a small number of individuals who participated in virtually every major political gathering of the founding era: the Stamp Act Congress, the Continental Congress, the Constitutional Convention, and the early Supreme Court. His career spanned the entire arc of American independence, from colonial protest to the establishment of the federal judiciary.

His chairmanship of the Committee of Detail at the Constitutional Convention represents perhaps his most enduring contribution to American governance. The committee transformed the convention's disparate resolutions into a coherent constitutional text, and Rutledge's legal training and political acumen were instrumental in shaping that document. Constitutional scholars have credited the Committee of Detail with making critical decisions about the structure and powers of the federal government that survived into the final version of the Constitution.

As a wartime governor of South Carolina, Rutledge demonstrated executive leadership under extreme duress. His management of the state's government and military resistance during the British occupation of Charleston and much of the South Carolina Lowcountry was a significant contribution to the American war effort in the southern theater.

However, Rutledge's legacy is also inseparable from the institution of slavery. As a member of the South Carolina planter elite, he was a slaveholder, and his political career was shaped in significant part by the defense of slaveholding interests. At the Constitutional Convention, he advocated for provisions that protected the slave trade and the political representation of slaveholding states. Modern historical assessments have increasingly examined Rutledge's role in embedding protections for slavery into the constitutional framework of the United States.

The tragic conclusion of his career — the Senate's rejection of his nomination as chief justice, his subsequent mental decline, and his withdrawal from public life — adds a poignant dimension to his historical profile. Rutledge's case established early precedents regarding the Senate's power to reject Supreme Court nominations and the limitations of presidential recess appointments to the judiciary.