Story, Joseph

Born September 18, 1779, in Marblehead, MA
Died September 10, 1845, in Cambridge, MA

Federal Judicial Service:
Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States
Nominated by James Madison on November 15, 1811, to a seat vacated by William Cushing. Confirmed by the Senate on November 18, 1811, and received commission on November 18, 1811. Service terminated on September 10, 1845, due to death.

Supreme Court Oath:
February 3, 1812 (based on questionable authority)

Allotment as Circuit Justice:

First Circuit, March 14, 1812-September 10, 1845

Education:
Harvard College, 1798
Read law, 1801

Professional Career:

Private practice, Salem, Massachusetts, 1801-1811
State representative, Massachusetts, 1805-1807, 1811; speaker, 1811
U.S. representative from Massachusetts, 1808-1809
Professor of law, Harvard University, 1829-1845

Bibliography

Cassoday, John B. “James Kent and Joseph Story.” Yale Jaw Journal, vol. 12, no. 3 (Jan. 1903): 146-53.

Dowd, Morgan D. “Justice Story and the Politics of Appointment.” American Journal of Legal History, vol. 9, no. 4 (1965): 265-85.

________. “Justice Joseph Story: A Study of the Legal Philosophy of a Jeffersonian Judge.” Vanderbilt Law Review, vol. 18, no. 2 (Mar. 1965): 643-62.

Dunne, Gerald T. “Joseph Story: 1812 Overture.” Harvard Law Review, vol. 77, no. 2 (Dec. 1963): 240-78.

________. “Joseph Story: The Age of Jackson.” Missouri Law Review, vol. 34, no. 3 (1969): 307-55.

________. “Joseph Story: The Germinal Years.” Harvard Law Review, vol. 75, no. 4 (Feb. 1962): 707-54.

________. “Joseph Story: The Great Term.” Harvard Law Review, vol. 79, no. 5 (Mar. 1966): 877-913.

________. “Joseph Story: The Lowering Storm.” American Journal of Legal History, vol. 13, no. 1 (Jan. 1969): 1-41.

________. “Joseph Story: The Middle Years.” Harvard Law Review, vol. 80, no. 8 (Jun. 1967): 1679-1709.

Eisgruber, Christopher L. M. “Justice Story, Slavery, and the Natural Law Foundations of American Constitutionalism. University of Chicago Law Review, vol. 55, no. 1 (Winter 1998): 273-327.

Finkleman, Paul. “Joseph Story and the Problem of Slavery: A New Englander’s Nationalist Dilemma.” Massachusetts Legal History: A Journal of the Supreme Judicial Court Historical Society, vol. 8 (2002): 65-84.

Gould, Elizabeth Porter. “Joseph Story – An Additional Word.” Chicago Law Times, vol. 3, no. 3 (Jul. 1889): 231-36.

Hoeflich, M.H. “John Austin and Joseph Story: Two Nineteenth Century Perspectives on the Utility of the Civil Law for the Common Lawyer.” American Journal of Legal History, vol. 29, no. 1 (Jan. 1985): 36-77.

Lockhard, Joe. “Justice Story’s ‘Prigg’ Decision and the Defeat of Freedom.” American Studies, vol. 52, no. 4 (2007): 467-80.

Lynch, David. The Role of Circuit Courts in the Formation of United States Law in the Early Republic: Following Supreme Court Justices Washington, Livingston, Story and Thompson. Oxford, UK: Hart Publishing, 2018.

McClellan, James. “Joseph Story: A Justice Under the Rule of Law.” Journal of Christian Jurisprudence, vol. 7 (1988): 13-30.

________. “Joseph Story’s Natural Law Philosophy.” Benchmark, vol. 5, no. 2 (Winter 1993): 85-92.

________ and Stephen B. Presser. Joseph Story and the American Constitution: A Study in Political and Legal thought with Selected Readings. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1971.

Moses, Adolph. “The Friendship between Marshall and Story.” American Law Review, vol. 35, no. 3 (May-Jun. 1901): 321-42.

Newmyer, R. Kent. “Justice Joseph Story, The Charles River Bridge Case and the Crisis of Republicanism.” Journal of American Legal History, vol. 17, no. 3 (Jul. 1973): 232-45.

________. “Justice Joseph Story on Circuit and a Neglected Phase of American Legal History." American Journal of Legal History, vol. 14, no. 2 (Apr. 1970): 112-35.

________. “A Note on the Whig Politics of Justice Joseph Story.” Mississippi Valley Historical Review, vol. 48, no. 3 (Dec. 1961): 480-91.

________. Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1985.

Robbins, Donald Clark. “Joseph Story: The Early Years, 1779-1811.” Ph.D. Diss., University of Kentucky, 1965.

Snow, MacCormac. “Joseph Story.” Oregon Law Review, vol. 5, no. 3 (Apr. 1926): 169-84.

Story, William Wetmore, ed. The Life and Letters of Joseph Story: Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, and Dane Professor at Harvard University. Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1851.

“Biographical Sketch of Joseph Story L.L.D.” American Law Magazine, vol. 6, no. 2 (Jan. 1846): 241-68.

“Joseph Story.” Chicago Law Times, vol. 3, no. 1 (Jan. 1889): 1-13.

“Joseph Story.” Current Commentary and Legal Miscellany, vol. 2, no. 7 (Jul. 15, 1890): 385-401.

“Joseph Story.” Green Bag, vol. 9, no. 2 (Feb. 1897): 49-53.

Manuscript Collections

Havard Law School
Cambridge, Mass.
Joseph Story Papers, 1796-1844.
2 boxes; finding aid. Contains correspondence and the original manuscript of his book on promissory notes.

Library of Congress
Washington, D.C.
Joseph Story Papers, 1807-1843.
1,400 items; finding aid; collection contains personal, legal, and professional correspondence.

Joseph Story papers, 1826-1836.
3 items; collection is a part of the Miscellaneous Manuscripts collection.

Massachusetts Historical Society
Boston, Mass.
Joseph Story papers, 1797-1857.
4 boxes; correspondence concerning contemporary legal matters and the U.S. Supreme Court.

University of Michigan
William L. Clements Library
Ann Arbor, Mich.
Joseph Story papers, 1794-1843.
697 items; correspondence Story received relating to legislation of the U.S. Congress and miscellaneous legal matters.

New-York Historical Society
New York, N.Y.
Joseph Story papers, 1802-1804.
2 vols.; collection contains a writ book and notebook of legal forms.

University of Texas at Austin
Humanities Research Center Library
Austin, Tex.
Story family papers, 1732-1910.
ca. 8 ft.; finding aid; Joseph Story's correspondence, legal case files, and opinions.

Federal Judicial Center

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Story, Joseph