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Richard Bassett (April 2, 1745 – September 15, 1815) was an American politician, attorney, slave owner and later abolitionist, veteran of the
Born on April 2, 1745, in Cecil County, Province of Maryland, British America, Bassett pursued preparatory studies, then read law. He was admitted to the bar and practiced law in
After leaving the federal bench, Bassett became a planter in Cecil County.
While he was a slave owner, after converting to Methodism in the 1780s, he freed his slaves and campaigned for the state of Delaware to abolish slavery.
He died on September 15, 1815, on his estate ''Bohemia Manor'' in Cecil County.Some sources give his place of death as Kent County, Delaware. He was initially interred in Cecil County, and in 1865 his remains were re-interred in Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery in Wilmington, Delaware.
National Portrait Gallery
''portrait courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery.''
Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States
Judges of the United States Courts
in ''Soldier-Statesman of the Constitution'' at the United States Army Center of Military History {{DEFAULTSORT:Bassett, Richard 1745 births 1815 deaths People from Cecil County, Maryland People of colonial Maryland People of colonial Delaware Signers of the United States Constitution Anti-Administration Party United States senators from Delaware Pro-Administration Party United States senators from Delaware Delaware Federalists Governors of Delaware Federalist Party state governors of the United States Members of the Delaware House of Representatives Delaware state senators Delaware Court of Common Pleas judges Judges of the United States circuit courts United States federal judges appointed by John Adams Delaware lawyers American slave owners People from Dover, Delaware 19th-century American politicians 18th-century American judges 19th-century American judges Delaware militiamen in the American Revolution Burials at Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery United States senators who owned slaves
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
, attorney, signer of the United States Constitution, and one of the Founding Fathers of America. He also served as United States Senator
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 powe ...
from Delaware, chief justice of the Delaware Court of Common Pleas, governor of Delaware
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
and a United States circuit judge
In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. ...
of the United States Circuit Court for the Third Circuit.
Education and career
Born on April 2, 1745, in Cecil County, Province of Maryland, British America, Bassett pursued preparatory studies, then read law. He was admitted to the bar and practiced law in Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
. By concentrating on agricultural pursuits as well as religious and charitable concerns, he quickly established himself amongst the local gentry and "developed a reputation for hospitality and philanthropy." He was a member of the Delaware constitutional conventions of 1776 and 1792. He was a member of the Council of Safety in Dover, Delaware from 1776 to 1786. He served in the Delaware State Militia as a company captain of the Dover Light Horse Regiment from 1777 to 1781. He was a member of the Delaware Legislative Council (now the Delaware Senate
The Delaware Senate is the upper house of the Delaware General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is composed of 21 Senators, each of whom is elected to a four-year term, except when reapportionment occurs, at wh ...
) in 1782. He was a member of the Delaware House of Representatives
The Delaware State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Delaware General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is composed of 41 Representatives from an equal number of constituencies, each of whom is ...
in 1786. He was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1787, and was a signer of the United States Constitution. He was a member of the Delaware convention which ratified the United States Constitution in 1787. He was in private practice in Wilmington, Delaware from 1787 to 1789.
Bassett was elected to 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 ...
from Delaware and served from March 4, 1789, to March 3, 1793, first as a member of the Anti-Administration Party
The Anti-Administration Party was an informal political faction in the United States led by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson that opposed policies of then Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton in the first term of US President George ...
and later as a member of the Pro-Administration Party
The Federalist Party was a conservative political party which was the first political party in the United States. As such, under Alexander Hamilton, it dominated the national government from 1789 to 1801.
Defeated by the Jeffersonian Republi ...
. Bassett was chief justice of the Delaware Court of Common Pleas from 1793 to 1799. He was governor of Delaware from 1799 to 1801.
Bassett was nominated by President John Adams
John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of t ...
on February 18, 1801, to the United States Circuit Court for the Third Circuit, to a new seat authorized by 2 Stat. 89. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 20, 1801, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on July 1, 1802, due to abolition of the court.
Later life and death
After leaving the federal bench, Bassett became a planter in Cecil County.
While he was a slave owner, after converting to Methodism in the 1780s, he freed his slaves and campaigned for the state of Delaware to abolish slavery.
He died on September 15, 1815, on his estate ''Bohemia Manor'' in Cecil County.Some sources give his place of death as Kent County, Delaware. He was initially interred in Cecil County, and in 1865 his remains were re-interred in Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery in Wilmington, Delaware.
Legacy
Bassett was the grandfather of Richard H. Bayard andJames A. Bayard Jr.
James Asheton Bayard Jr. (November 15, 1799 – June 13, 1880) was an American lawyer and politician from Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party and served as U.S. Senator from Delaware.
Early life
Bayard was born in Wilmington, ...
, both United States senators from Delaware.
Bassett Street in Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...
, is named in Bassett's honor.
Bassettown, now Washington, Pennsylvania
Washington is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Pennsylvania. A part of the Greater Pittsburgh area in the southwestern part of the state, the city is home to Washington & Jefferson College and Pony League baseball. The populat ...
, was named in Bassett's honor by his cousin David Hoge.
Note
References
Sources
* * * * * *Images
National Portrait Gallery
''portrait courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery.''
External links
*Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States
Judges of the United States Courts
in ''Soldier-Statesman of the Constitution'' at the United States Army Center of Military History {{DEFAULTSORT:Bassett, Richard 1745 births 1815 deaths People from Cecil County, Maryland People of colonial Maryland People of colonial Delaware Signers of the United States Constitution Anti-Administration Party United States senators from Delaware Pro-Administration Party United States senators from Delaware Delaware Federalists Governors of Delaware Federalist Party state governors of the United States Members of the Delaware House of Representatives Delaware state senators Delaware Court of Common Pleas judges Judges of the United States circuit courts United States federal judges appointed by John Adams Delaware lawyers American slave owners People from Dover, Delaware 19th-century American politicians 18th-century American judges 19th-century American judges Delaware militiamen in the American Revolution Burials at Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery United States senators who owned slaves