John Rutledge's Death
John Rutledge, born in South Carolina in September 1739, was a prominent figure in early American politics and law, serving in various capacities from the colonial era through the early years of the United States. He played a critical role during the American Revolution, including serving as president of the South Carolina government and participating in the Continental Congress. Despite his significant contributions, including his advocacy for the interests of Southern planters and his involvement in the Constitutional Convention, Rutledge faced personal challenges in later years. Following the death of his wife in 1792, he began to suffer from mental instability, which worsened after his unsuccessful bid for the chief justiceship of the United States Supreme Court in 1795. Ultimately, John Rutledge’s life came to an end on July 18, 1800, and he was buried in the churchyard of St. Michael's in Charleston, leaving behind a complex legacy intertwined with the early establishment of American governance and law.
On this Page
John Rutledge's Death
John Rutledge's Death
John Rutledge was born in Charleston (then Charlestown), South Carolina, or possibly in nearby Christ Church Parish, in September 1739 on an unknown day. His father, John Rutledge, had emigrated from England in 1735 and settled in Charleston, marrying Sarah Hext. John, the eldest of their seven children, was born soon after his mother turned 15. By birth he belonged to the cultivated planter class of coastal South Carolina, whose wealth from rice and indigo assured their social and political dominance of the colony in the 18th century.
John Rutledge senior supervised his son's education until his death in 1750, when John was 11. The boy was also taught by the minister of Christ Church and by a classics tutor. He was then sent to London to study law in the Middle Temple. In 1760 Rutledge was admitted to the bar, and in 1761 he returned to Charleston to practice. Two years later he married Elizabeth Grimke, and the couple would eventually have ten children.
John Rutledge entered politics in 1762, when he was elected from Christ Church Parish to the Carolina Commons House. He was to hold this seat for 14 years, until he became the leader of the rebellious colony in 1776. His rise was rapid. At the age of 25 he became attorney general of South Carolina (1764-1765), and in 1765 he was sent as a delegate to the colonial congress called to protest the Stamp Act. There he chaired the committee that wrote the petition against the act to the House of Lords.
In 1774 Rutledge reappeared in intercolonial politics as a representative to the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He had gained the confidence of the Carolina merchants as well as of the more bellicose planters in the hot discussions of the previous months. In Philadelphia, Rutledge first argued for colonial self-government within the British Empire. This position, together with his successful battle to exempt rice from the boycott list against Britain, put Rutledge in a very strong political position within South Carolina. The next year he was reelected as delegate to the Second Continental Congress. He urged that regular governments be set up in the colonies, replacing those directed by royal governors. On November 4, 1775, the congress advised South Carolina to proceed accordingly if necessary.
Armed with this directive and prepared to break with Great Britain, Rutledge returned to South Carolina. His election to the Council of Safety and service on the committee that wrote the South Carolina constitution of 1776 fulfilled his ambition to play a major role in the reorganization of the colony. In March 1776, when the South Carolina congress adopted the new constitution, it also chose the 37-year-old Rutledge as its president.
As chief executive of the first independent government in the American colonies, John Rutledge led South Carolina reasonably well. He successfully defended Charleston against British attacks on June 28, 1776, at Fort Moultrie. This victory freed the southern colonies from invasion for nearly three years. In addition, the colony prospered economically.
In 1778 Rutledge vetoed a more liberal constitution for South Carolina and resigned the presidency. However, when invasion was again imminent, in February 1779 he was recalled and elected governor. He took the field, desperately combating the British with inadequate forces. In May 1780, after a siege of two months, Charleston surrendered. The legislature vested Rutledge with plenary powers before adjourning. He then went to the North Carolina border towns, implored George Washington and congress for aid, and encouraged local militia officers such as “Swamp Fox” Francis Marion to undertake what amounted to guerrilla warfare. As the fighting continued in 1781, Rutledge took steps to restore civil government. He issued terms of pardon and called for an election of members to an assembly to meet in January 1782. Soon thereafter, he stepped down as governor.
Once peace was restored, in 1782 Rutledge was elected to both the state assembly and the Continental Congress. In 1784 his election to the chancery court of South Carolina launched his judicial career, and from 1784 to 1790 he sat in the South Carolina House of Representatives. However, in 1787 his efforts were required on the national level. With Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Charles Pinckney, and Pierce Butler, he represented South Carolina at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, where he served as chairman of the Committee on Detail. During the convention he worked on behalf of the interests of the planters of the lower south in general and of South Carolina in particular. Rutledge vigorously opposed restrictions on the slave trade and was influential in the compromise that extended the trade to 1808. He argued that society should be divided into classes for representation and that office holding should be restricted to men of property. Rutledge also championed legislative supremacy rather than an independent executive and urged the assumption of states' debts by the national government.
After an active role in the South Carolina ratifying convention, in 1789 Rutledge was appointed senior associate justice of the United States Supreme Court by President George Washington. In 1791, however, he resigned to become chief justice of the South Carolina state supreme court. In 1795, after John Jay's retirement, he indicated his interest in the chief justiceship of the United States Supreme Court to President Washington. The president appointed Rutledge in July 1795 during a recess of Congress, and Rutledge presided at the August sitting of the court. However, on December 15, 1795, the Senate refused to confirm his appointment. Whether it was because of his bitter public attack on the Jay Treaty earlier in the year or because of his increasing mental instability is not wholly clear. Since the death of his wife in 1792, John Rutledge had suffered intermittent attacks of insanity, and after his rejection by the Senate his mind failed completely. He died on July 18, 1800, and was buried in the churchyard of St. Michael's at Charleston.