Bushrod Washington

Bushrod Washington spent more than three decades on the Supreme Court, making him one of the most enduring members of the Marshall Court. Although overshadowed by Chief Justice John Marshall, Washington wrote numerous opinions and frequently joined Marshall's broad interpretation of federal constitutional authority. His personal connection to George Washington also gave him unusual prominence in the early republic.

Washington was born on June 5, 1762, in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He was the son of John Augustine Washington, George Washington's younger brother, making George Washington his uncle. Bushrod attended the College of William and Mary and graduated in 1778. He then studied law under James Wilson in Philadelphia before returning to Virginia.

Washington established a legal practice in Alexandria and became involved in Virginia's legal community. His uncle George Washington regarded him highly and eventually left him Mount Vernon. Bushrod also participated in the political and legal affairs of Virginia before President John Adams nominated him to the Supreme Court in 1798. His appointment came as the Federalists sought to maintain a Federalist majority on the Court.

Washington served from 1798 until his death in 1829, making him the second-longest-serving justice of the nineteenth-century Court. He became one of Chief Justice John Marshall's principal allies and participated in landmark cases including Marbury v. Madison, McCulloch v. Maryland, Cohens v. Virginia, Dartmouth College v. Woodward, and Gibbons v. Ogden. Washington frequently joined Marshall's opinions establishing broad federal authority, federal judicial review, and protection of contracts. He also authored important opinions of his own, including the influential circuit opinion in Corfield v. Coryell (1823), which discussed the privileges and immunities of citizens of the several states.

Washington remained on the Supreme Court until his death rather than retiring. He inherited Mount Vernon after Martha Washington's death and ultimately left the estate to his nephew's daughter, while preserving George Washington's legacy. Washington died in Philadelphia on November 26, 1829, only a few months after Marshall's death.

Washington's judicial legacy is closely tied to the Marshall Court. His long tenure helped provide continuity as the Supreme Court developed doctrines of federal supremacy, interstate commerce, contract protection, and national judicial authority. His Corfield opinion became particularly influential in later interpretations of the Constitution's Privileges or Immunities Clause, although the Supreme Court later developed that provision in ways that did not simply follow Washington's circuit opinion.

Constitutional approach: Original/structural Federalist constitutionalist. Washington generally supported the Marshall Court's broad understanding of federal constitutional powers while grounding his decisions in constitutional structure, text, precedent, and the legal principles of the founding generation. He should not be classified as a progressive or living constitutionalist.

Key Supreme Court cases

Separate opinions: Washington wrote both majority and separate opinions. His most notable Supreme Court dissent came in Ogden v. Saunders (1827), where he disagreed with the Court's interpretation of the Contract Clause concerning state bankruptcy laws.