James Iredell

James Iredell
James Iredell
Born	5 10, 1751
Birthplace	Lewes, England, Great Britain
Died	Template:Death date and age Edenton, North Carolina, United States
Nationality	American (born British)
Occupation	Jurist, lawyer, public official
Known for	Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States; Attorney General of North Carolina
Spouse(s)	Hannah Johnston Iredell
Children	3

James Iredell (October 5, 1751 – October 20, 1799) was a British-born American lawyer, statesman, and jurist who served as one of the original Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. Born in Lewes, England, Iredell emigrated to colonial North Carolina as a teenager and rose through the ranks of the legal profession to become one of the most prominent lawyers and legal thinkers in the state during the era of the American Revolution. He served as the third Attorney General of North Carolina from 1779 to 1782, playing an instrumental role in shaping the new state's legal framework during the turbulent years of the Revolutionary War. A firm advocate for the ratification of the United States Constitution, Iredell was a leading voice at the North Carolina ratifying conventions. In 1790, President George Washington nominated him to the Supreme Court, where he served until his death in 1799 at the age of forty-eight. His legal opinions, particularly his dissent in Chisholm v. Georgia, proved to be among the most consequential in early American jurisprudence and influenced the passage of the Eleventh Amendment. His son, James Iredell Jr., later served as Governor of North Carolina.

Early Life

James Iredell was born on October 5, 1751, in Lewes, a port town in Sussex, England. He was the eldest son of Francis Iredell, a merchant of Bristol, and Margaret McCulloh Iredell. The Iredell family had ties to Ireland; Francis Iredell's father had been a prosperous merchant in Dublin. James's early years were shaped by his father's declining health and financial circumstances. Francis Iredell suffered a stroke that left him incapacitated, placing significant financial pressure on the family.

Through the influence of his mother's family connections—particularly his kinsman Henry Eustace McCulloh, who held extensive landholdings in North Carolina—the young Iredell secured a position as a customs officer in the colony. In 1768, at the age of seventeen, Iredell arrived in Edenton, North Carolina, to take up the post of comptroller of the customs for the port of Edenton. This position, obtained through family patronage, provided the young Englishman with both a livelihood and an entry into colonial society.

Edenton was at the time one of the most important towns in North Carolina, serving as a center of commerce and political life. Iredell quickly adapted to his new surroundings and began to study law under the tutelage of Samuel Johnston, a prominent Edenton lawyer and political leader who would later serve as governor of North Carolina and as a United States senator. Johnston became both a mentor and, eventually, a family member. While continuing to discharge his customs duties, Iredell devoted himself to an intensive course of legal study, reading the works of William Blackstone, Edward Coke, and other authorities on English common law.

In 1771, Iredell was licensed to practice law in North Carolina. He established himself as one of the colony's most capable attorneys, and his legal acumen, combined with his growing social connections in Edenton, positioned him for a career of public service. As tensions between the American colonies and Great Britain escalated in the early 1770s, Iredell's loyalties shifted decisively toward the patriot cause, despite his English birth and his employment in the royal customs service.

Education

Iredell received his early education in England before his emigration to North Carolina. While the precise details of his schooling are not extensively documented, he was clearly well-read and classically educated, as evidenced by the literary and philosophical references that pervade his surviving correspondence and legal writings. His legal education was undertaken in Edenton through a private course of study under the direction of Samuel Johnston. This apprenticeship model was the standard means of legal training in colonial America, where formal law schools did not yet exist. Iredell was admitted to the bar in 1771 and soon distinguished himself through the depth and sophistication of his legal reasoning.

Career

Early Legal and Political Career

Following his admission to the bar, Iredell built a thriving law practice in Edenton and across the northeastern counties of North Carolina. He resigned from his position as customs comptroller as the political situation with Great Britain deteriorated, committing himself fully to the colonial cause. By the mid-1770s, Iredell had emerged as one of the most articulate advocates for American independence in North Carolina.

In 1776, Iredell played an active role in the establishment of North Carolina's independent government. He contributed to the drafting of legal reforms and helped shape the state's judicial system during a period of rapid institutional change. That same year, he was appointed a judge of the Superior Court of North Carolina, a position he held briefly before returning to private practice due to the financial demands of the office and the need to support his growing family.

Iredell's published essays and pamphlets during this period demonstrated his ability to articulate complex constitutional principles in accessible language. He wrote extensively on questions of sovereignty, the nature of written constitutions, and the relationship between judicial authority and legislative power. His 1786 essay on the doctrine of judicial review, in which he argued that courts had the authority and duty to declare void any act of the legislature that was inconsistent with the constitution, was one of the earliest and most fully developed arguments for this principle in American legal thought.

Attorney General of North Carolina

On July 8, 1779, Iredell was appointed as the third Attorney General of North Carolina, succeeding Waightstill Avery. He served in this capacity under Governors Richard Caswell, Abner Nash, and Thomas Burke, during some of the most difficult years of the Revolutionary War. As attorney general, Iredell was responsible for representing the state in legal proceedings, advising the governor and legislature on legal matters, and overseeing prosecutions on behalf of the state.

During his tenure, Iredell handled cases arising from the confiscation of Loyalist property, disputes over wartime contracts, and the enforcement of new state laws. He served in this office until April 22, 1782, when he was succeeded by Alfred Moore—who would, by a notable coincidence, also later succeed Iredell on the United States Supreme Court.

After leaving the attorney general's office, Iredell returned to his private law practice in Edenton and continued to be active in North Carolina's political and legal affairs. He served as a commissioner to codify and revise the laws of North Carolina, a project that resulted in the publication of Iredell's Revisal in 1791, a compilation of the state's statutes that remained an important legal reference for years.

Ratification of the Constitution

Iredell's most prominent political role in the 1780s was as a leading advocate for the ratification of the United States Constitution in North Carolina. When the proposed Constitution was submitted to the states for ratification in 1787, North Carolina was among the states where significant opposition existed. Anti-Federalist sentiment was strong, particularly in the state's western counties, and critics raised concerns about the absence of a bill of rights, the powers granted to the federal government, and the potential for federal authority to override state sovereignty.

Iredell took up his pen in defense of the Constitution, publishing a series of essays under the pseudonym "Marcus" that systematically addressed the objections raised by Anti-Federalists. These essays, published in 1788, responded in particular to the objections articulated by George Mason and other opponents of ratification. Iredell's "Marcus" essays were among the most cogent Federalist arguments produced outside of the more famous Federalist Papers authored by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay.

At the first North Carolina ratifying convention, held in Hillsborough in July 1788, Iredell served as the principal spokesman for the Federalist cause. Despite his efforts, the convention voted not to ratify the Constitution, instead proposing a series of amendments as conditions for eventual ratification. Iredell continued to press for ratification, and at the second convention, held in Fayetteville in November 1789, his arguments prevailed. North Carolina became the twelfth state to ratify the Constitution.

Iredell's role in securing North Carolina's ratification brought him to national attention and drew the favorable notice of President George Washington, who was seeking qualified candidates for the newly created federal judiciary.

Supreme Court of the United States

On February 10, 1790, President George Washington nominated James Iredell to serve as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Iredell was Washington's second choice for the seat; Robert Harrison of Maryland had previously been nominated and confirmed but declined to serve due to ill health. The Senate confirmed Iredell's nomination, and he took his oath of office on May 12, 1790, becoming one of the original members of the Supreme Court at the age of thirty-eight—the youngest of the initial justices.

During the Court's earliest years, the justices had relatively few cases to decide at the Supreme Court level. A significant portion of their work consisted of "riding circuit," traveling to preside over cases in the federal circuit courts across the country. The circuit-riding duties were physically grueling, requiring justices to travel hundreds or thousands of miles over poor roads and through difficult terrain. Iredell, who was assigned to the Southern Circuit—the largest and most demanding—bore a disproportionate share of this burden. The Southern Circuit encompassed the states from Virginia to Georgia, and Iredell frequently complained about the toll the travel took on his health.

Despite the hardships of circuit riding, Iredell produced a body of legal opinions that proved to be of lasting significance. His most consequential opinion came in the case of Chisholm v. Georgia (1793), one of the first major cases decided by the Supreme Court. The case involved the question of whether a private citizen of one state could sue another state in federal court. The majority of the Court, led by Chief Justice John Jay, ruled that the Constitution permitted such suits. Iredell was the lone dissenter, arguing that the states retained their sovereign immunity from suit under the Constitution and that federal judicial power did not extend to actions brought by private citizens against a state without that state's consent.

Iredell's dissent in Chisholm proved to be more influential than the majority opinion. The decision provoked a strong backlash from the states, which saw it as a threat to their sovereignty. Within five years, the Eleventh Amendment was ratified, effectively overturning the Chisholm majority and adopting the principle of state sovereign immunity that Iredell had articulated in his dissent. This represented one of the earliest instances in which a Supreme Court dissent shaped a constitutional amendment.

Iredell also delivered notable opinions while riding circuit. In Calder v. Bull (1798), a case concerning the constitutional prohibition on ex post facto laws, Iredell offered a significant contribution to the ongoing debate about the scope of judicial review and the nature of natural law in constitutional interpretation. While Justice Samuel Chase argued that courts could strike down laws that violated fundamental principles of natural justice even if those laws did not contravene any specific constitutional provision, Iredell rejected this view. He maintained that the authority of the judiciary was limited to enforcing the written text of the Constitution and that judges had no authority to invalidate laws based on their own conceptions of natural rights or justice. This debate between Chase and Iredell anticipated one of the central tensions in American constitutional law—the question of whether constitutional adjudication should be guided solely by the text and original understanding of the Constitution or whether broader principles of justice and natural law may also inform judicial decision-making.

Throughout his tenure on the Court, Iredell maintained his commitment to the principles of federalism and limited government that had animated his support for the Constitution. He was generally aligned with the Federalist political perspective, though the Supreme Court during this era did not exhibit the degree of partisan division that would characterize later periods.

The physical demands of circuit riding continued to erode Iredell's health throughout the 1790s. He repeatedly petitioned Congress for relief from the circuit-riding requirement, or at least for a more equitable distribution of circuit assignments among the justices. These pleas went largely unheeded during his lifetime, though Congress eventually reformed the circuit system in subsequent years.

Personal Life

On July 18, 1773, James Iredell married Hannah Johnston, the sister of his legal mentor and friend Samuel Johnston. The marriage deepened Iredell's connections to one of the most prominent families in North Carolina and provided him with a stable domestic life during the turbulent years of the Revolution and the early Republic. The couple settled in Edenton, where they raised three children.

Iredell's correspondence with his wife, preserved in the collection of his papers at Duke University, reveals a devoted family man who was often separated from his family by the demands of his legal and judicial career. His letters describe the loneliness and physical hardship of riding circuit, as well as his concern for the welfare and education of his children.

Their son, James Iredell Jr., followed his father into law and politics, eventually serving as Governor of North Carolina from 1827 to 1828, and subsequently as a United States senator.

Iredell's health, which had never been robust, deteriorated significantly during his years on the Supreme Court. The exhausting circuit-riding schedule, which required him to spend months away from home traveling through the Southern states, contributed to a general decline. He suffered from recurring illness during the late 1790s.

James Iredell died on October 20, 1799, at his home in Edenton, North Carolina, at the age of forty-eight. He was buried in the Johnston family cemetery in Edenton. His early death was mourned by his colleagues on the bench and by the broader legal community. He was succeeded on the Supreme Court by Alfred Moore, his fellow North Carolinian and successor as attorney general.

Recognition

The Iredell House in Edenton, North Carolina, where James Iredell lived with his family, has been preserved as a historic site. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is maintained as part of the Edenton State Historic Sites.

Iredell County, North Carolina, established in 1788, was named in his honor, reflecting his prominence in the state during the period of constitutional ratification.

Iredell's papers have been preserved and collected at the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Duke University, which holds a significant collection of his correspondence, legal papers, and other documents spanning the years 1767 to 1799. A scholarly edition of his papers, The Papers of James Iredell, has been published, making his writings and correspondence accessible to historians and legal scholars.

Iredell has been the subject of entries in numerous reference works on the Supreme Court and its justices, including The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States and various biographical compilations of Supreme Court justices.

Legacy

James Iredell's contributions to American constitutional law, though made during a brief judicial career cut short by his early death, have been recognized as significant by legal historians and constitutional scholars. His dissent in Chisholm v. Georgia stands as one of the most consequential dissenting opinions in the history of the Supreme Court, having directly influenced the adoption of the Eleventh Amendment and shaped the doctrine of state sovereign immunity that remains a central feature of American federalism.

His debate with Justice Samuel Chase in Calder v. Bull over the proper basis for judicial review—whether judges may invoke principles of natural law to invalidate legislation, or whether they are confined to the text of the written Constitution—anticipated a fundamental and enduring tension in American constitutional interpretation. Iredell's insistence on textual fidelity and judicial restraint has been cited by subsequent jurists and scholars as an early articulation of originalist and textualist approaches to constitutional interpretation.

As a political figure, Iredell played a decisive role in securing North Carolina's ratification of the Constitution. His "Marcus" essays represented one of the most significant bodies of Federalist advocacy produced outside of the better-known Federalist Papers, and they demonstrated his ability to translate complex legal and political arguments into persuasive public discourse.

Iredell's career also illustrates the demanding nature of judicial service in the early Republic. His experience riding the Southern Circuit, with its thousands of miles of travel over rough roads, helped to build the case for the eventual reform of the federal circuit system and the creation of separate circuit court judges. His complaints about the inequitable distribution of circuit-riding duties among the justices were echoed by other members of the early Court and contributed to an ongoing dialogue about the proper structure and administration of the federal judiciary.

Despite the brevity of his life—he died at forty-eight, having served less than a decade on the Supreme Court—Iredell left a lasting imprint on American law and governance. He is remembered as one of the most capable and intellectually rigorous of the original Supreme Court justices, and his legal writings continue to be studied and cited in discussions of constitutional interpretation, federalism, and the role of the judiciary in the American system of government.