Francis Newton Thorpe (1857–1926) was an American legal scholar, historian, political scientist, and Professor of Constitutional History at 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 ...

Biography

Francis Newton Thorpe was born in the town of

Swampscott, Massachusetts Swampscott () is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located up the coast from Boston in an area known as the North Shore. The population was 15,111 as of the 2020 United States Census. A former summer resort on Massachusetts Ba ...

on April 16, 1857. He was descended from early settlers of

Plymouth, MA Plymouth (; historically known as Plimouth and Plimoth) is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in Greater Boston, the town holds a place of great prominence in American history, folklore, and culture, and is known as ...

and

Boston, MA Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

and Litchfield and

Norwich, Connecticut Norwich ( ) (also called "The Rose of New England") is a city in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The Yantic, Shetucket, and Quinebaug Rivers flow into the city and form its harbor, from which the Thames River flows south to Long ...

. After receiving his primary education at Lake Shore Seminary, he attended

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

and pursued graduate studies at the

, where, at the age of 28, he became a University Fellow, holding the title of Professor of American Constitutional History from 1885 to 1898. An active member of the Pennsylvania Historical Society and leading member of the

American Historical Association The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world. Founded in 1884, the AHA works to protect academic freedom, develop professional s ...

, Thorpe was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1885. He married Marion Haywood Shreve on July 4, 1895. Describing the scholar's personal life, the ''Book News'' added that "In addition to his varied literary interests Mr. Thorpe, like many other sane people is fond of outdoor life and spends half of the year at his summer home... entertaining his friends... on a beautiful estate... called Indian Arrow Vineyards, on

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...

.""Biographical Sketch of Francis Newton Thorpe"
''Book news, Biography, History and Political Science'' Volume 21. (John Wanamaker Publisher 1903) p. 875 Thorpe also owned a winter home in Mount Holly, NJ. He died in Pittsburgh on May 8, 1926.

State constitutions

Thorpe's scholarship on state constitutions remains some of the most influential and foundational work in the field of state constitutional development. The current

NBER The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) is an American private nonprofit research organization "committed to undertaking and disseminating unbiased economic research among public policymakers, business professionals, and the academic c ...

/Maryland State Constitutions Project relied heavily on Thorpe's ''The Federal and State Constitutions, Colonial Charters, and the Organic Laws of the State, Territories, and Colonies; Now or heretofore Forming the United States of America.'' (Gov't Printing Office. Washington, D.C. 1909).

Publications

Thorpe served as chief editor of the History of North America Project conducted by the University of Pennsylvania and wrote or edited several scholarly books: * ''The Constitutional History of the American People; A (State) Constitutional History of the American People 1776–1850'' * ''A (social and political) History of the American People'' * ''A School History of the United States'' * ''The Government of the People of the United States'' * ''A Course in Civil Government; Benjamin Franklin and the University of Pennsylvania'' * ''The Life of William Pepper Provost of the University of Pennsylvania'' * ''The Spoils of Empire'' * ''The Divining Rod'' * ''A Short Constitutional History of the United States'' * ''The Civil war: the national view'' * ''The Federal and State constitutions: colonial charters, and other organic laws of the states, territories, and colonies now or heretofore forming the United States of America'' *'' The Constitutional History of the United States: 1765–1788'' * ''The Louisiana purchase and the westward movement'' (coauthor) In addition to his scholarly work, Thorpe also contributed to ''

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. (''Scientific American'' is older, b ...

''.. ''

''. Digital Archives.

References

External links

Sample Proofed Constitutions
at NBER/University of Maryland State Constitution Project {{DEFAULTSORT:Thorpe, Francis Newton Historiography of the United States Historians of North America 1857 births 1926 deaths People from Swampscott, Massachusetts Historians from Massachusetts Syracuse University alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni University of Pennsylvania Law School faculty