Smith Thompson (1768-1843)

Smith Thompson was born in New York on January 17, 1768. He graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1788 and served as an apprentice to well-known New York antebellum lawyers Gilbert Livingston and James Kent. Although an Anti-Federalist, Thompson voted in favor of ratification of the Constitution at New York's Constitutional Convention, where the vote to ratify was 30-27. In the mid-1790s, Kent left his partnership with Livingston, and Thompson became Livingston's partner. He also married Livingston's daughter about this time. After a short period in the New York legislature, Thompson was appointed in 1802 to the New York Supreme Court (now called the Court of Appeals), where he remained for 16 years. For part of that time he served with his erstwhile mentor James Kent on the New York court. In 1818, Thompson, a Republican (the future Democrats), was appointed Secretary of the Navy by President James Monroe. On March 18, 1823, Brockholst Livingston (a cousin of Gilbert) died, creating an opening in the Supreme Court for the first time in over 11 years. President James Monroe nominated Thompson, his only nomination to the Court in a two-term presidency. Thompson hesitated, for he was considering running for President, as Monroe's second term was near its end (The Federalist John Quincy Adams would win the presidency in the House of Representatives over the candidacy of the Democratic-Republican Andrew Jackson, for neither received a majority of the electoral vote.). The Senate initially rejected Thompson's nomination in September 1823, but Thompson was confirmed in a later vote in December 1823. He took office in February 1824.

Until Thompson's appointment, the Marshall Court had successfully suppressed most dissents. Thompson chose to write separately in constitutional cases rather than join the opinion of the majority. Thompson was part of the majority in Ogden v. Saunders (1827), the only constitutional case in which Chief Justice John Marshall explicitly dissented. This case limited the use of the contracts clause of the Constitution to void state legislation permitting debtor relief. He did, however, dissent in the Charles River Bridge case, which marked a turning point between the Marshall and Taney courts in economic matters. Thompson did not always interpret the Commerce Clause in exclusive terms, thus providing an opportunity for the Taney Court to reshape the Marshall Court's commerce clause jurisprudence, which remains in effect today. In 1828, he ran for Governor of New York without resigning from the Court, which was anathema to Marshall and Joseph Story.

Thompson remained on the Court until his death on December 19, 1843.