James Coolidge Carter (October 14, 1827 – February 14, 1905) was a

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lawyer, a partner in the firm that eventually became Carter Ledyard & Milburn, which he helped found in 1854.

Early life

Carter was born on October 14, 1827 in

Lancaster, Massachusetts Lancaster is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the United States. Incorporated in 1653, Lancaster is the oldest town in Worcester County. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 8,441. History In 1643 Lancaster was first ...

. He was the youngest of eight children born to Maj. Solomon Carter. He prepared for college at Derby Academy in Hingham. He graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

in 1850 and

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 1853. While at Harvard, he was a member of the Institute of 1777 the

Hasty Pudding Club The Hasty Pudding Club, often referred to simply as the Pudding, is a social club at Harvard University, and one of three sub-organizations that comprise the Hasty Pudding - Institute of 1770. The club's motto, ''Concordia Discors'' (discordant h ...

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, and the

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Society.

Career

Carter entered the law office of Edward Kent, son of

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

James Kent James Kent may refer to: *James Kent (jurist) (1763–1847), American jurist and legal scholar * James Kent (composer) (1700–1776), English composer *James Kent, better known as Perturbator, French electronic/synthwave musician *James Tyler Kent ...

, in New York, and in 1853 was admitted to the bar, starting a prominent law practice which later became known as Carter Ledyard & Milburn. He was one of the founders and the first president of the National Civic League. In 1875, Governor

Samuel J. Tilden Samuel Jones Tilden (February 9, 1814 – August 4, 1886) was an American politician who served as the 25th Governor of New York and was the Democratic candidate for president in the disputed 1876 United States presidential election. Tilden was ...

appointed him a member of the commission to devise a form of municipal administration for cities in the state of New York, and in 1888, Governor

David B. Hill David Bennett Hill (August 29, 1843October 20, 1910) was an American politician from New York who was the 29th Governor of New York from 1885 to 1891 and represented New York in the United States Senate from 1892 to 1897. In 1892, he made an u ...

appointed him a member of the Constitutional Commission. In 1892, he was appointed by President

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pr ...

as counsel, with Edward J. Phelps and Judge Henry Williams Blodgett, to present the claims of the United States before the Bering Sea tribunal.

Political Mugwump

Carter was an influential legal theorist among fellow

Mugwumps The Mugwumps were Republican political activists in the United States who were intensely opposed to political corruption. They were never formally organized. Typically they switched parties from the Republican Party by supporting Democratic ...

. He deeply distrusted politicians and most elected officials. Instead he put his trust in disinterested experts, especially judges. He equated

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...

with custom, and his condemnation of legislation inconsistent with custom, reflected his Mugwumpism. He tried to synthesize traditional thinking with modernity. For example, Carter clung to support for active government intervention he learned from the antebellum Whigs, but he more and more embrace antigovernment positions typical of antebellum Jacksonians. He tried to synthesize traditional faith in timeless, objective moral principles with a more modern vision of evolving customary norms. Given growing problems of industrial urban society he saw the need for positive government but wanted judges to rule not politicians.Lewis A. Grossman, "James Coolidge Carter and Mugwump Jurisprudence." ''Law and History Review'' 20.3 (2002): 577-629.

Personal life

After an illness of a few days, he died at 7 East 88th Street (a Beaux-Arts townhouse built in 1903 by architects James R. Turner and William G. Killian), his residence in New York City on February 14, 1905.Extract of page 80
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''New York Times'' (October 3, 1892).George W. Martin, ''Causes and Conflicts: The Centennial History of The Association of the Bar of the City of New York (1870-1970)'', Houghton-Mifflin Company, 1970.Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Reports 36, p. 41. In New York, his funeral was held at All Souls' Church on Fourth Avenue and 22nd Street. Another funeral was conducted by the Rev. Prof.

Francis Greenwood Peabody Francis Greenwood Peabody (1847–1936) was an American Unitarian minister and theology professor at Harvard University. Peabody was born on December 4, 1847, in Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard University in 1869. When a junior, ...

of Harvard and was held at the Mount Auburn Chapel at

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

where he was buried.

Legacy

In 1897, he donated $5,000 towards the construction of the Randolph Tucker Memorial Hall at

Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexingto ...

, estimated at that time to cost $50,000.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, James C. 1827 births 1905 deaths Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Lawyers from New York City Harvard Law School alumni People from Lancaster, Massachusetts