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  Title

  Collection, 1785-1845

  Author

  Kent, James, 1763-1847.  

  Pages:

  1

  Item info:

  1 copy available at Manuscripts and Special Collections.
  

  • Holdings			Change Display
    Manuscripts and Special Collections
    	Copy	Material	Location
    SC20231	1	MANUSCRIPT	N (nocirc)

• MARC Record

  Collection, 1785-1845
  Kent, James, 1763-1847.
  

  Control Number:

  (OCoLC)122618045

  Local call number:

  SC20231

  Author:

  Kent, James, 1763-1847.

  Title:

  Collection, 1785-1845.

  Quantity:

  1 box (0.25 cubic ft.)

  Historical/biog note:

  Jurist and legal commentator Kent began his legal career in 1781 as an attorney in Poughkeepsie, New York. In 1793, he moved his practice to New York City where he also served as the first professor of law at Columbia College. He remained there until 1798 when Governor John Jay appointed him to a judgeship on the New York State Supreme Court; he became chief justice of that court in 1804, a position he held until 1814, when he was appointed Chancellor of New York. Forced to retire (because he had reached the mandatory retirement age of 60) as Chancellor in 1824, he accepted re-appointment to the law professorship at Columbia. Here, he devoted much time to writing the Commentaries on American Law which became one of the foremost legal treatises. Kent also was involved in politics, serving three terms in the New York State Assembly during the 1790s. His affiliation was first with the Federalist Party and then, after its demise, with the Whig Party.

  Review:

  The collection is comprised mostly of letters written by Kent that reflect his legal and political thought, which was regarded as quite conservative during the early decades of the new American republic. Of particular note is a letter, dated June 3, 1830, addressed to James Hillhouse, a former U.S. Senator from Connecticut, concerning a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution on changing the presidential election procedure. In a letter dated November 1, 1813, addressed to New York State Governor Daniel D. Tompkins, Kent writes that he believes the State of New York has no legal jurisdiction in matters concerning Indians on reservations. The case in question involved the ?murder committed by one Oneida Indian upon another Oneida Indian within the Oneida reservation.? Kent recommended the offender be released unconditionally. A letter addressed to Citizen Genet, dated July 7, 1795, concerns a suit filed by Cornelius Read against Genet for the loss of a vessel due to the ?unskilfulness? of the pilot employed by Genet. Other letters expose his strong Federalist views in opposition to policies of Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, DeWitt Clinton, and Tompkins, then as a Whig in later years as exemplified by his disappointment with the defeat of Henry Clay in a letter to Ambrose Spencer, dated April 14, 1845. The collection also includes a draft of articles of a proposed New York State Constitution that relate to Kent's participation as a voting member at the New York State Constitutional Convention of 1821.

  Provenance note:

  Collection was created by combining several single items that were previously accessioned and catalogued separately.

  Finding aids:

  Unpublished guide available in the repository.

  Preferred citation:

  James Kent Collection, 1785-1845.

  Personal subject:

  Clinton, DeWitt, 1769-1828.

  Personal subject:

  Clay, Henry, 1777-1852.

  Personal subject:

  Madison, James, 1751-1836.

  Corporate subject:

  New York (State). Constitutional Convention (1821)

  Corporate subject:

  New York (State). Supreme Court--History.

  Corporate subject:

  New York (State). Court of Chancery.

  Subject:

  Constitutional history--New York (State)

  Subject:

  Lawyers--New York (State) Correspondence.

  Subject:

  Judges--New York (State) Correspondence.

  Subject:

  Constitutional history--United States.

  Subject:

  Oneida Indians--Government relations.

  Subject:

  Oneida Indians--Legal status, laws, etc.

  Subject:

  Maritime law--United States.

  Geographic terms:

  New York (State)--Constitution.

  Geographic terms:

  United States--Politics and government--1783-1865.

  Geographic terms:

  United States--History--1783-1865.

  Geographic terms:

  New York (State)--Politics and government--1775-1865.

  Geographic terms:

  New York (State)--History--1775-1865.

  Form/genre terms:

  Letters (correspondence). aat

  Personal author:

  Genet, Edmond Charles, 1763-1834.

  Personal author:

  Hillhouse, James, 1754-1832.

  Personal author:

  Spencer, Ambrose, 1765-1848.

  Personal author:

  Tompkins, Daniel D., 1774-1825.