Nathan Green Jr. (February 1827 – February 1919) was one of the founders and the first dean of
Cumberland School of Law
Cumberland School of Law is an American Bar Association, ABA accredited law school at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. It was founded in 1847 at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee and is the 11th oldest law schoo ...
, then located in
Lebanon, Tennessee
Lebanon is the county seat of Wilson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 38,431 at the 2020 census. Lebanon is located in Middle Tennessee, approximately east of downtown Nashville. Lebanon is part of the Nashville Metropolit ...
.
Early life
Nathan Green Jr. was born in February 1827. He was the son of judge
Nathan Green Sr., who was elected to the
Tennessee Supreme Court
The Tennessee Supreme Court is the ultimate judicial tribunal of the state of Tennessee. Roger A. Page is the Chief Justice.
Unlike other states, in which the state attorney general is directly elected or appointed by the governor or state le ...
in 1831 and served for 20 years, until 1852.
[John R. Vile (2003), ]
Great American judges: an encyclopedia
', Volume 1, page 310. ABC-CLIO. His brothers were doctors and lawyers; his eldest brother was the Confederate general
Tom Green
Michael Thomas Green (born July 30, 1971) is a Canadian-American comedian, show host, actor, filmmaker, podcaster, and rapper. After pursuing stand-up comedy and music as a young adult, Green created and hosted ''The Tom Green Show'', which a ...
, for whom
Tom Green County, Texas
Tom Green County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 120,003. Its county seat is San Angelo. The county was created in 1874 and organized the following year. It is n ...
was named.
Career
Green taught the Law for 63 years.
[ He was instrumental in keeping the Cumberland School of Law alive through the ]American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
and during the Reconstruction
Reconstruction may refer to:
Politics, history, and sociology
*Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company
*''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...
period, although his adherence to legal formalism
Legal formalism is both a descriptive theory and a normative theory of how judges should decide cases. In its descriptive sense, formalists maintain that judges reach their decisions by applying uncontroversial principles to the facts; formalis ...
and the devastation wrought by the Civil war are, perhaps, reasons why Cumberland did not follow the institutions of that time like Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
or Yale
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
. It is also noted that while Cumberland remained impoverished after the Civil War, Green did not. (p. 98-99)
Death and legacy
Green died in February 1919, the day before his 92nd birthday, having continued teaching up until his death.[ His son, ]Grafton Green
Grafton Green (August 12, 1872 – January 27, 1947) was an American jurist who served on the Tennessee Supreme Court from 1910 to 1947, including more than 23 years as chief justice.[Tennessee Supreme Court
The Tennessee Supreme Court is the ultimate judicial tribunal of the state of Tennessee. Roger A. Page is the Chief Justice.
Unlike other states, in which the state attorney general is directly elected or appointed by the governor or state le ...]
from 1910 to 1947, including more than 23 years as chief justice.[Justices of the Supreme Court of Tennessee]
, Tennessee Supreme Court Historical Society
Further reading
*Langum & Walthall, From Maverick to Mainstream, Cumberland School of Law from 1847–1997, The University of Georgia Press (1997).
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Nathan Jr.
1827 births
1919 deaths
Tennessee lawyers
Cumberland University faculty
Deans of law schools in the United States
19th-century American lawyers