SUPREME COURT JUSTICE WILLIAM STRONG, 1808-1895: JURISPRUDENCE, CHRISTIANITY AND REFORM

This work is a study of the life and career of Supreme Court Justice William Strong (1808-1895). The pervasive influence of family and religion molded him and provided the basis of his legal training and eventually led him to serve two terms in Congress (1846-1850). In 1857, he was elected to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and in 1869 President Ulysess S. Grant appointed him to the United States Supreme Court. A conservative political philosophy guided his Congressional participation, legal opinions, and numerous activities in benevolent societies. He held the public interest to be above individual interests and believed that the public good should not be unnecessarily exposed to hazzard.;The career of Justice Strong is the story of nineteenth century America with its Calvinist ideals. If institutions are but reflections of the personalities of key individuals, William Strong's involvement in society personified and promoted his conservative Christian value system.;William Strong's importance lies in the fact that he symbolized many of the values upon which the United States was founded and yet who was rapidly losing his place in society. He worked for the welfare of his country and ensured its progress and perpetuity. He is remembered as a public spirited leader, one who received the highest accolades for his legal acumen, his intelligence, and character. He desired a nation that had as its ethical base the laws and precepts of the Bible. Such a society, based upon these absolute values, would be just, prosperous, and benevolent.;A profoundly moral tone pervaded Strong's actions. He believed that legal and social policy issues were subject to a higher law, that of the Judeo-Christian God. He believed that Divine Law was inextricably interwoven in the country's heritage, and thus he sought to support insititutions that reflected those ends. His logical mind also completely grasped the principles of American jurisprudence. His legal decisions, based upon stare decisis, vary significantly with the arbitrary nature of present day sociological law.