Sidney George Fisher
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Sidney George Fisher (March 2, 1809 – July 25, 1871) was a Philadelphia lawyer, farmer, plantation owner, political essayist and occasional poet.Wainwright, Nicholas B
"Sidney George Fisher: The Personality of a Diarist"
''Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society''; Worcester, Mass. Vol. 72, p. 15 (Jan 1, 1963).


Early life and education

Sidney George Fisher was the eldest of three sons born to James Logan Fisher and Ann Eliza George. His father died when he was five and his mother when he was 12, leaving Sidney and his brothers a considerable inheritance. The three boys—Sidney, James, and Charles—went to live with their aunt Sarah Logan at the family's ancestral home, Wakefield, in
Germantown Germantown or German Town may refer to: Places Australia * Germantown, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region United States * Germantown, California, the former name of Artois, a census-designated place in Glenn County * Ge ...
. He was educated at
Germantown Academy Germantown Academy, informally known as GA and originally known as the Union School, is the oldest nonsectarian day school in the United States. The school was founded on December 6, 1759, by a group of prominent Germantown citizens in the Gree ...
and Dickinson College.


Career

Fisher read law under
Joseph Reed Ingersoll Joseph Reed Ingersoll (June 14, 1786 – February 20, 1868) was an American lawyer and statesman from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1835 he followed his father, Jared Ingersoll, and his older brother, Charles Jared Ingersoll, to represent Penns ...
, and prospered as a lawyer, but by the mid-1850s he was practicing law only when it pleased him, and took up more congenial pursuits.Riker, William H. "Sidney George Fisher and the Separation of Powers During the Civil War", ''
Journal of the History of Ideas The ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering intellectual history and the history of ideas, including the histories of philosophy, literature and the arts, natural and social sciences, religion, an ...
'', Vol. 15, No. 3 (Jun., 1954), pp. 397-412.
Though he begrudged the practice of law, he had friends and relatives in the legal profession, whom he aided infrequently when his assistance was requested. Fisher wrote several books and delivered numerous talks. Of considerable interest was his highly sought after diary, full of keen, witty and unabashed observations—and often criticisms—about individuals from society, national politics, and his own day-to-day activities. He was largely disconnected from the world of work, except for when he reluctantly agreed to practice law. He did not need to make money (though he never felt his income sufficient), so his views of land speculation and the war against the
Second Bank of the United States The Second Bank of the United States was the second federally authorized Hamiltonian national bank in the United States. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the bank was chartered from February 1816 to January 1836.. The Bank's formal name, ...
, the panics, and the commercial activities of those around him are particularly thought-provoking. Fisher inherited a plantation, Mount Harmon, on the
Sassafras River The Sassafras River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay on the Delmarva Peninsula in the United States. It is approximately longU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, ...
in Cecil County, Maryland, from his maternal grandfather and namesake, Sidney George. He leased the land to farmers who lived there with their families and paid him rent. Although he was a gentleman farmer, Fisher advised his fellow farmers to diversify beyond grain by seeking out produce that would fill huge demand. During his ownership of Mount Harmon, Fisher wrote about the plantation in his diaries. The originals now reside with the Philadelphia Historical Society. They were published as ''Mount Harmon Diaries of Sidney George Fisher 1837-1850'', edited by W. Emerson Wilson. Fisher was elected 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 ...
in 1860.


Marriage and children

Fisher married Elizabeth Ingersoll, granddaughter of
Jared Ingersoll Jared Ingersoll (October 24, 1749 – October 31, 1822) was an American Founding Father, lawyer, and statesman from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress and a signer of the United States Constitution. He se ...
and daughter of his mentor, on May 28, 1851. The couple had one son, historian Sydney George Fisher (1856–1927). A few years after his marriage, the family moved to a country residence owned by the Ingersolls called "Forest Hill", located about four miles north of Philadelphia, and that remained Sidney Fisher's home until he died.


Political and legal views

As a fervent anti-Democrat, Fisher was a de facto Whig. He lent his support to candidates who opposed the Jacksonian Democrats in national elections, and remained an ardent anti-Democrat his entire life. Prior to the Civil War, Fisher was a slavery apologist. He agreed with abolitionists that slavery was evil, but argued that it was necessary and served as a form of welfare for a race that would otherwise be a burden on the federal government and the civic institutions of society. In 1861, Fisher wrote of his newfound support for
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
: "I have had faith in him ever since I read his inaugural speech & his first message. They contain clear proof to my mind of great natural ability, of a wisdom that is above learning, and of an honest, sincere & loving nature....He is the man for this crisis." Also during the Civil War, Fisher obtained a much greater knowledge of southern slavery, which turned him against it, writing in 1863 that, "The war has changed our notions in regard to slavery...we are emancipationists & wish to see slavery destroyed since it has attempted to destroy the nation."


''Trial of the Constitution''

Fisher's most influential and profound achievement was his book ''The Trial of the Constitution'' published in 1862. According to the political scientist
William H. Riker William Harrison Riker (September 22, 1920 – June 26, 1993) was an American political scientist who is prominent for applying game theory and mathematics to political science. He helped to establish University of Rochester as a center of behav ...
, that book was the first to interpret the U.S. Constitution "in light of the prevailing European tradition of centralized, responsible government", and it "deserves a permanent place among commentaries on American government...." The historian and political scientist
Clinton Rossiter Clinton Lawrence Rossiter III (September 18, 1917 – July 11, 1970) was an American historian and political scientist at Cornell University (1947-1970) who wrote ''The American Presidency'', among 20 other books, and won both the Bancroft Prize a ...
has written of Fisher's book that, "This great book is an eloquent statement of the powers of emergency and self-preservation inherent in the Constitution and government."Rossiter, Clinton. ''Constitutional Dictatorship - Crisis Government in the Modern Democracies'' (2011). A major feature of the book was Fisher's discussion of ''habeas corpus'' in the United States, and especially whether a U.S. president has any power to suspend that right. Fisher took the position that U.S. constitutional law regarding ''habeas corpus'' was much closer to the British practice under the
Habeas Corpus Act 1679 The Habeas Corpus Act 1679 is an Act of Parliament in England (31 Cha. 2 c. 2) during the reign of King Charles II. It was passed by what became known as the Habeas Corpus Parliament to define and strengthen the ancient prerogative writ of '' ...
than Fisher's contemporaries such as Horace Binney would admit. More generally, this book by Fisher asserted that precedents from England had been undervalued in U.S. constitutional interpretation, and that they warranted greater recognition. The historian Mark E. Neely Jr. has written that, "No treatment of the habeas corpus controversy and presidential power would be complete without consideration of Sidney George Fisher, whose place as a constitutional thinker has been magnified by the fact that he wrote the only full-length book on the Constitution in the Civil War that was published during the war itself."Neely, Mark. ''Lincoln and the Triumph of the Nation: Constitutional Conflict in the American Civil War'', pp. 100-104 (Univ. of North Carolina Press, 2011). According to Neely, Fisher's book was also unique for its time in that it argued for greater congressional power relative to the other branches of government. In the end, though, Neely considers Fisher to be "marginal to debate" because of (among other things) his eccentricities, racism, lack of realism, and Anglophilia.


Death

Fisher suffered from an illness (probably rheumatism) that only the
sulfur water Sulfur water (or sulphur water) is a condition where water is exposed to hydrogen sulfide gas, giving a distinct "rotten egg" smell. This condition has different purposes in culture varying to health and implications to plumbing. Chemical compo ...
s at
Richfield Springs, New York Richfield Springs is a village located in the Town of Richfield, on the north-central border of Otsego County, New York, United States. The population was 1,264 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from local sulfur springs. Geography The vi ...
seemed to alleviate. He died on July 25, 1871. After his death, his wife and son moved to Germantown, where she died in May 1872.


Published works

*''Kanzas and the Constitution'' (Damrell & Moore, 1856) (under the pseudonym—Cecil) *''Winter Studies in the Country'' (Parry and M'Millan, 1856) *''Rustic Rhymes'' (Parry & McMillan, 1859) *''The Law of the Territories'' (C. Sherman & Son, 1859) *''The Laws of Race, as Connected with Slavery'' (W. P. Hazard, 1860) *''The Trial of the Constitution'' (J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1862; reprints in 1969, 1972, 2003) *''A National Currency'' (J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1864)


Orations

*The Annual Address delivered before the Belles-lettres and Union Philosophical Societies of Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pa. July 18, 1838 (Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Printed by George M. Philips, 1838) *Address delivered before the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture: at their annual exhibition held at the Rising Sun village, October 17, 1850 (Germantown, Pennsylvania: Printed at the office of the Telegraph, 1850) [this address is reprinted in Proceedings of the annual exhibition of the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture: held at the Rising Sun Village, October 16–17, 1850 (Germantown, Pennsylvania: Printed at the Office of the Telegraph / Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture, 1850)] *A Report on the Cultivation of Native Grapes for Fruit and for Wine: Read to the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture, April 2, 1856 (Philadelphia: Inquirer Printing Office, 1856) *Address Delivered Before the Chester County Agricultural Society, at Their Annual Exhibition Held at West-Chester, September 26, 1857 (Philadelphia: Merrihew & Thompson, printers, 1857) *Address Delivered Before the Montgomery County Agricultural Society at Their Annual Exhibition Held at Springtown, October 7, 1859, By Sidney George Fisher, of Philadelphia. Published By Order of the Society (Philadelphia: James B. Chandler, Printer, 1859) *An Address delivered before the Agricultural Society of New Castle County, Delaware, at their annual exhibition held at the Society's farm near Wilmington, October 17, 1860 (Philadelphia: C. Sherman & Son, printers, 1860)


Further reading

* "A Philadelphia Perspective: The Diary of Sidney George Fisher, 1834-1871," in Nicholas Biddle Wainwright, ed., ''Sidney George Fisher'', Philadelphia: Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1967. * "A Philadelphia Perspective: The Civil War Diary of Sidney George Fisher," in Jonathan W. White, ed., ''Sidney George Fisher'', New York: Fordham University Press, 2007. * Nathaniel Burt, ''The Perennial Philadelphians, The Anatomy of an American Aristocracy'', Boston: Little Brown, 1963. * ''The William Logan Fisher Papers, 1749-1861'', Philadelphia: The Historical Society of Pennsylvania. *''Mount Harmon Diaries of Sidney George Fisher 1837-1850'', W. Emerson Wilson, ed., (Wilmington: The
Historical Society of Delaware The Delaware Historical Society began in 1864 as an effort to preserve documents from the Civil War. Since then, it has expanded into a statewide historical institution with several buildings, including Old Town Hall and the Delaware History Muse ...
, 1976)


References


External links

*
Mount Harmon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, Sidney George 1809 births 1871 deaths American diarists American political writers American male non-fiction writers Dickinson College alumni Writers from Philadelphia Germantown Academy alumni Burials at The Woodlands Cemetery Occasional poets 19th-century diarists