John Meredith Read Sr. (July 21, 1797 – November 29, 1874) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician from

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. He was one of the founders of the Republican Party and chief justice of the

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Early life

Read John was born on Chestnut Street across the street from

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, the eldest son of lawyer John Read and Martha Meredith Read. Both of his grandfathers (

George Read George Read may refer to: * George Reade (colonial governor) (1608–1671), politician, judge, and Acting Governor of Virginia Colony * George Read (American politician, born 1733) (1733–1798), lawyer, signer of Declaration of Independence and U ...

and Samuel Meredith) had served in the Continental Congress. After an education at home, Read graduated from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, then read law, and was admitted to the bar in 1818. He started a law practice in Philadelphia.

Political career

Read began his political career when he was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1822. He served until 1824 while remaining in the private practice of law. After this he served on the Philadelphia City Council, and for several years was the city's solicitor. Although his family had been

Federalists The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of de ...

, he became an ardent supporter of the ''Free Soil'' wing of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. From 1837 to 1841, Read was the

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for the

Eastern District of Pennsylvania The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (in case citations, E.D. Pa.) is one of the original 13 federal judiciary districts created by the Judiciary Act of 1789. It originally sat in Independence Hall in Phil ...

. In 1845, President John Tyler nominated him to the Supreme Court of the United States; but, his earlier stance against the expansion of slavery into the territories caused the southern Democratic Senators to oppose his nomination and it was withdrawn. From June until December 1845 he served as the Attorney General of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. In 1863, he was elected as a member to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

. Read became an early supporter and organizer for the Republican Party. When they won in their first statewide races in 1858, Read was elected to the state supreme court. He then served until December 2, 1872, the last year as chief justice. When the Republicans held their first national convention at Philadelphia in 1856, Read was a convention organizer and delivered the convention

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. At the 1860 Republican Convention in Chicago, he received one vote on the first ballot for presidential nominee; still, he supported

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as the nominee.

Family

Read was married twice, first to Priscilla Marshall in 1828. They had five children. After Priscilla's death, Read married Amelia Thompson in 1855. Read died at home in Philadelphia in 1874. His son, J. Meredith Read, was a noted American diplomat.

References

External links

*Th
John Meredith Read papers
which include materials covering his legal and political careers, are available for research use at the

Historical Society of Pennsylvania The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a long-established research facility, based in Philadelphia. It is a repository for millions of historic items ranging across rare books, scholarly monographs, family chronicles, maps, press reports and v ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Read, John M. 1797 births 1874 deaths Chief Justices of Pennsylvania Lawyers from Philadelphia Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Pennsylvania Democrats Pennsylvania Republicans Philadelphia City Council members Justices of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania United States Attorneys for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law Unsuccessful nominees to the United States Supreme Court 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers