Wythe, George, 1726-1806

<p>George Wythe (December 3, 1726 – June 8, 1806) was the first American law professor, a noted classics scholar, a Founding Father of the United States and a Virginia judge. The first of the seven Virginia signatories of the United States Declaration of Independence, Wythe served as one of Virginia's representatives to the Continental Congress and the Philadelphia Convention. Wythe taught and was a mentor to Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall, Henry Clay and other men who became American leaders.</p>

<p>Born into a wealthy Virginia planter family, Wythe established a legal career in Williamsburg, Virginia after studying under his uncle. He became a member of the House of Burgesses in 1754 and helped oversee defense expenditures during the French and Indian War. He opposed the Stamp Act of 1765 and other British taxes imposed on the Thirteen Colonies. He became increasingly alienated from British rule, and represented Virginia in the Second Continental Congress, where he signed the Declaration of Independence. He was also a delegate to Virginia's 1776 constitutional convention and helped design the Seal of Virginia. Wythe was a delegate to the 1787 Philadelphia Convention and served on a committee that established the convention's rules and procedures. He left the convention before signing the United States Constitution to tend to his dying wife. He was elected to the Virginia Ratifying Convention and helped ensure that his home state ratified the Constitution.</p>

<p>Wythe served as a judge for much of his life, first as a justice of the peace and then on the Virginia Court of Chancery. He was also a prominent law professor at the College of William & Mary and took on several notable apprentices. He remained particularly close to Jefferson and left Jefferson his substantial book collection in his will. Wythe became increasingly troubled by slavery in his later years and emancipated 4 of his slaves before his death. After Wythe's death in 1806, his grand-nephew was tried and acquitted for Wythe's murder.</p>

<ul><b>RACES</b>
<li>06/01/1788 Virginia Ratifying Convention Won 50.00% (+0.00%)</li>
<li>12/31/1775 VA Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>12/31/1774 VA Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
</ul>

<p>George Wythe was one of the very most distinguished men of his age, yet due to his modesty and quiet dignity, we learn little about him from the history books. He was born in Elizabeth County Virginia, in 1726, of a wealthy agricultural family. His father died when George was three, but his mother, who was extraordinarily well educated for a woman of that day, tutored him in the classics in a manner that would take him far indeed. His mother died when he was still a teenager and his oldest brother, who took no interest in George, inherited the family property. George entered the college of William and Mary but was unable to keep up with the fees. He dropped out and then managed to secure a study of law at the office of a Stephen Dewey. His studies were so successful that he was admitted to the bar in Spottsylvania County in 1746, at the age of 20.</p>

<p>Everyone who came into contact with him was impressed. He was appointed clerk to the Committee which formed the rules of conduct and elections in the House of Burgesses in 1746. In 1753 the Royal Governor of Virginia made him Attorney General, to fill the shoes of Peyton Randolph while he traveled to England. In 1755 Wythe was elected to represent Williamsburg at the House of Burgesses. At that time, his oldest brother died, and he inherited the family farm. Wythe served in the House of Burgesses until it was dissolved, on the eve of the revolution.</p>

<p>His most valuable contribution to the new nation was his involvement in education. This began in 1761 when he was elected to the Board of Visitors at the College of William and Mary. Eight years later the man who could never gain a degree for want of the money to do it with, became America's first Professor of Law. His students included Thomas Jefferson, Henry Clay, James Monroe, John Marshal, and several dozen other distinguished public servants. He taught for twenty years and admitted to no greater love than that of forming young minds.</p>