Andrew Thompson Judson (November 29, 1784 – March 17, 1853) was a

United States representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

and a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

of the

United States District Court for the District of Connecticut The United States District Court for the District of Connecticut (in case citations, D. Conn.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Connecticut. The court has offices in Bridgeport, Hartford, and New Haven. Appeals ...

. He also served in the

Connecticut House of Representatives The Connecticut State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an equal number of districts, with ...

. He was a member of the

Toleration Party The Toleration Party, also known as the Toleration-Republican Party and later the American Party or American Toleration and Reform Party, was a political party that dominated the political life of Connecticut from 1817 to 1827. The ''American'' ...

and an officer of the

American Colonization Society The American Colonization Society (ACS), initially the Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America until 1837, was an American organization founded in 1816 by Robert Finley to encourage and support the migration of freebor ...

. A leading white supremacist he led opposition to

Prudence Crandall Prudence Crandall (September 3, 1803 – January 27, 1890) was an American schoolteacher and activist. She ran the first school for black girls ("young Ladies and little Misses of color") in the United States, located in Canterbury, Connecticut. ...

's school for African Americans in Connecticut and advocated for African Americans to be subjugated or sent to Africa. He also opposed the establishment of a college for African Americans in New Haven. As a judge in the

United States v. The Amistad ''United States v. Schooner Amistad'', 40 U.S. (15 Pet.) 518 (1841), was a United States Supreme Court case resulting from the rebellion of Africans on board the Spanish schooner ''La Amistad'' in 1839.. It was an unusual freedom suit that in ...

he ruled the enslaved captives aboard ''

La Amistad ''La Amistad'' (; Spanish for ''Friendship'') was a 19th-century two- masted schooner, owned by a Spaniard colonizing Cuba. It became renowned in July 1839 for a slave revolt by Mende captives, who had been captured and sold to European slave ...

'' be released and returned to Africa.

Education and early career

Judson was born on November 29, 1784, in Eastford, Windham County,

, the son of Elisabeth (Work) and Andrew Judson. Judson received limited schooling and read law in 1806. He was admitted to the bar and entered private practice in Montpelier,

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

, from 1806 to 1809. He continued private practice in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

, Connecticut, from 1809 to 1815, 1817 to 1819, and in 1834. He was Canterbury

town clerk A clerk is a senior official of many municipal governments in the English-speaking world. In some communities, including most in the United States, the position is elected, but in many others, the clerk is appointed to their post. In the UK, a Tow ...

at the time of the

affair, on which see below.

Connecticut politician

He was a member of the

in 1816, and from 1822 to 1825. He was state's attorney for Windham County from 1819 to 1833. He was a member of the

Connecticut Senate The Connecticut State Senate is the upper house of the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The state senate comprises 36 members, each representing a district with around 99,280 inhabitants. Sen ...

from 1830 to 1832.

Toleration Party

While in the Connecticut House of Representatives, Judson was one of the most active members of the

, which had for its object disunion between church and state. After a severe struggle the Tolerationists, aided by the Democrats, succeeded in setting aside the charter that was granted by Charles II of England, and adopted the new Constitution of 1818, which remained in effect until 1965.

White supremacist and colonizationist

Judson was the leading enemy of African Americans in the state of Connecticut. He believed that they were inferior to whites, and if not in use as slaves should be moved to Africa, "where they came from". He was an officer of the

, which raised funds for the relocation of a few thousand African Americans to the land that became Liberia.

Proposed college for African Americans in New Haven

What was labelled the

New Haven Excitement Simeon Jocelyn (1799-1879) was a white pastor, abolitionist, and social activist for African-American civil rights and educational opportunities in New Haven, Connecticut, during the 19th century. He is known for his attempt to establish America's f ...

by abolitionist

William Lloyd Garrison William Lloyd Garrison (December , 1805 – May 24, 1879) was a prominent American Christian, abolitionist, journalist, suffragist, and social reformer. He is best known for his widely read antislavery newspaper '' The Liberator'', which he foun ...

was the unexpected uproar that followed the proposal by the minister

Simeon Jocelyn Simeon Jocelyn (1799-1879) was a white pastor, abolitionist, and social activist for African-American civil rights and educational opportunities in New Haven, Connecticut, during the 19th century. He is known for his attempt to establish America's f ...

to establish a "colored" college in New Haven. At the time, 1831, there was none, and blacks would only exceptionally be admitted to any college at all, approximately once every seven years. At a town meeting called by Judson the vote was 99% for rejection. While Judson did not and could not have created the antipathy, he placed himself at the head of it. The project was abandoned.

Led the opposition to Prudence Crandall's school for black girls

A similar incident soon followed in Judson's home town, Canterbury. Although he had earlier welcomed

Canterbury Female Boarding School The Canterbury Female Boarding School, in Canterbury, Connecticut, was operated by its founder, Prudence Crandall, from 1831 to 1834. When townspeople would not allow African-American girls to enroll, Crandall decided to turn it into a school for ...

, his support vanished when she accepted a black student and refused pressures to expel her. Judson, Canterbury's most famous and influential citizen, was the organizer of the pressures. "No other person in Connecticut was more fiercely opposed to Crandall's school for black women." He got the Connecticut legislature to pass a law, called a " Black Law", prohibiting the teaching of blacks not from Connecticut. She was arrested and spent a night in the county jail, a fact that was publicized. While he was only assistant prosecutor of Crandall's first trial, upon which the state's attorney for the county and the court's next choice, state Lieutenant Governor

Ebenezer Stoddard Ebenezer Stoddard (May 6, 1785 – August 19, 1847) was a United States representative from Connecticut. He was born in Union. He attended Woodstock Academy in 1802 and in 1803 and graduated from Brown University in 1807. After studying, he was ...

, were suspiciously both "ill", since he was the only one of three prosecutors with knowledge of the case he called and questioned the witnesses, and gave the prosecution's closing argument. The jury was unable to reach a verdict. At her retrial he was no longer "assistant" prosecutor. She was found guilty, but upon appeal, the appeals court, apparently seeking a way to avoid taking a position, dismissed the case on a technicality. At this point opposition to Crandall's school became violent: an attempt to set the building on fire, an attack at night breaking all the windows. For her students' safety she closed the school, and left the state. Since 2014 she has been Connecticut's state heroine. While this was going on, Judson explained his position to one of Crandall's supporters, the

Brooklyn, Connecticut Brooklyn is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 8,450 at the 2020 census. The town center village is listed by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census-designated place. The district of East Brooklyn is listed ...

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

minister Samuel J. May:

Mr. May, we are not merely opposed to the establishment of that school in Canterbury; we mean there shall not be such a school set up anywhere in our State. The colored people never can rise from their menial condition in our country; they ought not to be permitted to rise here. They are an inferior race of beings, and never can or ought to be recognized as the equals of the whites. Africa is the place for them. I am in favor of the Colonization scheme. Let the niggers and their descendants be sent back to their fatherland and there improve themselves as much as they may, and civilize and Christianize the natives, if they can. ...You are violating the Constitution of our Republic, which settled forever the status of the black men in this land. They belong to Africa. Let them be sent back there, or kept as they are here. The sooner you Abolitionists abandon your project the better for our country, for the niggers, and yourselves.

Judson did appear as a character witness on behalf of Reuben Crandall, Prudence's brother, a physician who was arrested in Washington, D.C., for (illegally) possessing abolitionist literature and was nearly

lynched Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged transgressor, punish a convicted transgressor, or intimidate people. It can also be an ex ...

. He did so because Reuben had recommended to Prudence that she abandon her plans to educate black girls in Connecticut. The prosecutor was Francis Scott Key, former partner of

Roger Taney Roger Brooke Taney (; March 17, 1777 – October 12, 1864) was the fifth chief justice of the United States, holding that office from 1836 until his death in 1864. Although an opponent of slavery, believing it to be an evil practice, Taney belie ...

, who hoped to use the trial to advance the cause of colonization; he was a founding member of the

. After eight months in jail Reuben was found not guilty, but died shortly after of tuberculosis contracted in jail.

U.S. representative and federal judge

Judson was elected as a

Jacksonian Democrat Jacksonian democracy was a 19th-century political philosophy in the United States that expanded suffrage to most white men over the age of 21, and restructured a number of federal institutions. Originating with the seventh U.S. president, An ...

from

Connecticut's at-large congressional district During the first twenty-four Congresses (from 1789 to 1837), Connecticut elected all its Representatives in Congress from a single multi-member Connecticut at-large congressional district. Connecticut elected a varying number of representatives ...

to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

of the

24th United States Congress The 24th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1835 ...

and served from March 4, 1835, until July 4, 1836, when he resigned to accept a federal judicial appointment. Another source says that he was defeated for reelection. During that time the abolitionist, and mentor of Prudence Crandall, William Garrison sent him a petition from 46 residents of

, urging him to end

slavery in the District of Columbia The slave trade in the District of Columbia was legal from its creation until 1850, when the trade in enslaved people in the District was outlawed as part of the Compromise of 1850. That restrictions on slavery in the District were probably coming ...

. Judson made no response. Judson was nominated by President

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

on June 28, 1836, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

William Bristol William Bristol (June 2, 1779 – March 7, 1836) was a Mayor of New Haven, Connecticut, and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. Education and career Born on June 2, 1779, in Hamde ...

. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on July 4, 1836, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on March 17, 1853, due to his death in Canterbury. He was interred in Hyde Cemetery in Canterbury.

''Amistad'' case

Judson presided over the famous case ''

'' in 1840. Given his views on race and slavery, Judson surprised many observers by ruling in favor of the captured Africans and ordering that they be freed and safely returned to their homes in Africa. The administration of President

Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; nl, Maarten van Buren; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party, he ...

appealed Judson's ruling to the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

which upheld Judson's decision.

References

Sources

* * This source gives Ashford as his place of birth. It also puts Judson in the Connecticut legislature by 1816, but doesn't say anything about his length of service there. {{DEFAULTSORT:Judson, Andrew Thompson 1784 births 1853 deaths People from Eastford, Connecticut Toleration Party politicians Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut United States federal judges appointed by Andrew Jackson 19th-century American judges Members of the Connecticut House of Representatives American prosecutors Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from Connecticut 19th-century American politicians United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law American white supremacists People from Canterbury, Connecticut Prudence Crandall African-American history of Connecticut