Theophilus Washington Smith (September 28, 1784 – May 6, 1845) was an Illinois Supreme Court Justice from 1825 until his resignation on December 26, 1842. He holds the distinction of being the subject of Illinois's first

impeachment trial An impeachment trial is a trial that functions as a component of an impeachment. Several governments utilize impeachment trials as a part of their processes for impeachment, but differ as to when in the impeachment process trials take place and how ...

, held in 1833. Smith was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and joined the navy before becoming a law student in the offices of Aaron Burr. He was admitted to the New York bar in 1805. In 1816, Smith migrated to

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, settling in Edwardsville. He ran for state Attorney General in 1820, but was unsuccessful. In 1822, Smith was elected to the state Senate, where he served for four years. During this time, he was also the editor of a pro-slavery newspaper and attempted to adopt a new Illinois State Constitution in 1823 that would have legalized slavery in the state. One of Smith's political rivals was Governor

Ninian Edwards Ninian Edwards (March 17, 1775July 20, 1833) was a founding political figure of the State of Illinois. He served as the first and only governor of the Illinois Territory from 1809 to until the territory was dissolved in 1818. He was then one of ...

, upon whom Smith once drew a pistol. Edwards grabbed the gun away from Smith and broke Smith's jaw, leaving a scar. Smith was elected as an associate justice to the Illinois Supreme Court in 1825. In late 1832, he was impeached by the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presb ...

on charges of oppressive conduct, corruption, and high misdemeanors. He went on trial in the State Senate in 1833, the only time an impeachment trial has been held in Illinois until the impeachment of

Governor 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 ...

Rod Blagojevich in 2009. Smith was acquitted by a vote of 12 for conviction to 10 for acquittal with 4 Senators "excused from voting." A two-thirds conviction vote was required. When

Jean Baptiste Beaubien Jean Baptiste Beaubien (September 5, 1787 - January 5, 1864), a multi-lingual fur-trader born in Detroit, Michigan, became an early resident of what became Chicago, Illinois, as well as an early civic and militia leader in Cook County, Illinois d ...

sued for the property on which

Fort Dearborn Fort Dearborn was a United States fort built in 1803 beside the Chicago River, in what is now Chicago, Illinois. It was constructed by troops under Captain John Whistler and named in honor of Henry Dearborn, then United States Secretary of War. ...

stood, Smith wrote the Supreme Court's decision in favor of Beaubien's claim, although it was later overturned by the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

. During the

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the " British Band", cros ...

, Smith served as Quartermaster-General on Governor John Reynolds's staff. and he also served on the first board of commissioners of the

Illinois and Michigan Canal The Illinois and Michigan Canal connected the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. In Illinois, it ran from the Chicago River in Bridgeport, Chicago to the Illinois River at LaSalle-Peru. The canal crossed the Chicago Por ...

. One of Smith's daughters married Judge Jesse B. Thomas. Another daughter was courted by General

James Semple James Semple (January 5, 1798 – December 20, 1866) was an American attorney and politician. He was Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, Attorney General of Illinois, an associate justice of the Illinois Supreme Court, Chargé d ...

, although Smith's rejection of Semple as a suitable suitor turned Semple, who would later serve on the Supreme Court with Smith, into a lifelong enemy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Theophilus W. 1784 births 1845 deaths Justices of the Illinois Supreme Court American proslavery activists United States judges impeached by state or territorial governments Illinois state senators American people of the Black Hawk War Illinois lawyers People from Edwardsville, Illinois Lawyers from New York City Activists from New York City American white supremacists 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers