32 Facts About Oliver Ellsworth

Oliver Ellsworth was a Founding Father of the United States, attorney, jurist, politician, and diplomat.

Oliver Ellsworth served as a state judge during the 1780s and was selected as a delegate to the 1787 Philadelphia Convention, which produced the United States Constitution.

Oliver Ellsworth served on the Committee of Detail, which prepared the first draft of the Constitution, but he left the convention and did not sign the document.

Oliver Ellsworth's influence helped ensure that Connecticut ratified the Constitution, and he was elected as one of Connecticut's inaugural pair of Senators, serving from 1789 to 1796.

Oliver Ellsworth was the chief author of the Judiciary Act of 1789, which shaped the federal judiciary of the United States and established the Supreme Court's power to overturn state supreme court decisions that were contrary to the United States Constitution.

Oliver Ellsworth served as a key Senate ally to Alexander Hamilton and aligned with the Federalist Party.

Oliver Ellsworth led the Senate passage of Hamiltonian proposals such as the Funding Act of 1790 and the Bank Bill of 1791.

Oliver Ellsworth advocated in favor of the United States Bill of Rights and the Jay Treaty.

Oliver Ellsworth was unanimously confirmed by the Senate, and served until 1800, when he resigned due to poor health.

Oliver Ellsworth simultaneously served as an envoy to France from 1799 to 1800, signing the Convention of 1800 to settle the hostilities of the Quasi-War.

Oliver Ellsworth was succeeded as chief justice by John Marshall.

Oliver Ellsworth subsequently served on the Connecticut Governor's Council until his death in 1807.

Oliver Ellsworth entered Yale in 1762, but transferred to the College of New Jersey at the end of his second year.

In 1772, Oliver Ellsworth married Abigail Wolcott, the daughter of Abigail Abbot and William Wolcott, nephew of Connecticut colonial governor Roger Wolcott, and granddaughter of Abiah Hawley and William Wolcott of East Windsor, Connecticut.

From a slow start, Oliver Ellsworth built up a prosperous law practice.

Oliver Ellsworth was active in his state's efforts during the Revolution, having served as a member of the Committee of the Pay Table that supervised Connecticut's war expenditures.

Oliver Ellsworth participated in the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia as a delegate from Connecticut along with Roger Sherman and William Samuel Johnson.

Oliver Ellsworth played a major role in the adoption of the Connecticut Compromise.

Oliver Ellsworth played an important role in keeping the concept of judicial review out of the Constitution.

Oliver Ellsworth played a dominant role in Connecticut's 1788 ratification convention, when he emphasized that judicial review guaranteed federal sovereignty.

Oliver Ellsworth identified with the emerging Federalist Party and played a dominant role in Senate proceedings equivalent to that of Senate Majority Leaders in later decades.

Once the Judiciary Act was adopted by the Senate, Oliver Ellsworth sponsored the Senate's acceptance of the Bill of Rights promoted by Madison in the House of Representatives.

Oliver Ellsworth was the principal supporter in the Senate of Hamilton's economic program, having served on at least four committees dealing with budgetary issues.

Oliver Ellsworth played a major role in convincing President Washington to send John Jay to England to negotiate the 1794 Jay Treaty that prevented warfare with England, settled debts between the two nations, and gave American settlers better access to the Midwest.

Oliver Ellsworth instead encouraged the consensus of the Court to be represented in a single written opinion, a practice which continues to the present day.

Oliver Ellsworth received 11 electoral college votes from three states in the 1796 presidential election.

President Adams appointed Oliver Ellsworth United States Envoy Extraordinary to the Court of France in 1799, and tasked with settling differences with Napoleon's government regarding restrictions on US shipping that might otherwise have led to military conflict between the two nations.

The agreement accepted by Oliver Ellsworth provoked indignation among Americans for being too generous to Napoleon.

Oliver Ellsworth resigned after just four years due to his "constant, and at times excruciating pains," sufferings made worse by his Europe travels, as special envoy to France.

Oliver Ellsworth was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1803.

Oliver Ellsworth died at his home in Windsor on November 26,1807, at the age of 62.

Oliver Ellsworth is buried at the Palisado Cemetery, behind the First Church of Windsor.