Joseph Hopkinson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania | |
| In office October 23, 1828 – January 15, 1842 | |
| Appointed by | John Quincy Adams |
| Preceded by | Richard Peters |
| Succeeded by | Archibald Randall |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's1st district | |
| In office March 4, 1815 – March 3, 1819 | |
| Preceded by | Charles Jared Ingersoll |
| Succeeded by | Samuel Edwards |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Joseph Hopkinson (1770-11-12)November 12, 1770 |
| Died | January 15, 1842(1842-01-15) (aged 71) |
| Resting place | Christ Church Episcopal Cemetery Bordentown,New Jersey |
| Political party | Federalist |
| Relations | Thomas Mifflin |
| Parent |
|
| Education | University of Pennsylvania (A.B.,A.M.) read law |
Joseph Hopkinson (November 12, 1770 – January 15, 1842) was aUnited States representative fromPennsylvania and aUnited States district judge of theUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Born on November 12, 1770, inPhiladelphia,Province of Pennsylvania,British America,[1] Hopkinson received anArtium Baccalaureus degree in 1786 from theUniversity of Pennsylvania, anArtium Magister degree in 1789 from the same institution andread law in 1791,[1] withWilliam Rawle andJames Wilson.[2] He was admitted to the bar and entered private practice in Philadelphia andEaston,Pennsylvania from 1791 to 1814.[1]
In 1795, Hopkinson defended the men charged withtreason in theirrebellion against a federal whiskey tax.[2] In 1799, he successfully represented Dr.Benjamin Rush in a libel suit against journalistWilliam Cobbett.[2] He was counsel for JusticeSamuel Chase inhis impeachment trial before theUnited States Senate in 1804 and 1805.[3]
Hopkinson was elected as aFederalist fromPennsylvania's 1st congressional district to theUnited States House of Representatives of the14th United States Congress.[3] He was reelected to the succeeding Congress and served from March 4, 1815, to March 3, 1819.[3] He was not a candidate for reelection in 1818.[3]
Following his departure from Congress, Hopkinson resumed private practice in Philadelphia from 1819 to 1820, inBordentown,New Jersey from 1820 to 1823, and in Philadelphia from 1823 to 1828.[1] He was a member of theNew Jersey General Assembly from 1821 to 1822.[1]
In 1819, Hopkinson argued several landmark constitutional cases before theUnited States Supreme Court, includingDartmouth College v. Woodward,Sturges v. Crowninshield andMcCulloch v. Maryland.[2] He was associated withDaniel Webster during theDartmouth College case.[3]
Hopkinson received arecess appointment from PresidentJohn Quincy Adams on October 23, 1828, to a seat on theUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania vacated by JudgeRichard Peters.[1] He was nominated to the same position by President Adams on December 11, 1828.[1] He was confirmed by theUnited States Senate on February 23, 1829, and received his commission the same day.[1] His service terminated on January 15, 1842, due to his death in Philadelphia.[1] He was interred in the old Borden-Hopkinson Burial Ground (now Christ Church Episcopal Cemetery) in Bordentown.[3]
Hopkinson's 1833 opinion inWheaton v. Peters established the foundations of modern Americancopyright law.[2]
Hopkinson was Chairman of the Pennsylvania constitutional convention in 1837.[3] He was secretary of the board of trustees of the University of Pennsylvania in 1790 and 1791, and a trustee from 1806 to 1819, and from 1822 to 1842.[3] His civic and cultural activities included service as President of thePennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and as Vice-President of theAmerican Philosophical Society (elected in 1815).[2][4]
Hopkinson edited the first American edition of theComplete Works of Shakespeare, published in Philadelphia in 1795.[5] It is also the first edition of Shakespeare's complete works to be published outside of the British Isles.[6]
Hopkinson also penned the edition's preface and "The Life of the Author,"[7] marking the first instance of published American literary criticism of Shakespeare.[7] In the preface, Hopkinson criticizes the British editorial treatment of Shakespeare, claiming that British editors (likeAlexander Pope andSamuel Johnson) have "clogged [London editions] with...successive explanations" in pursuit of editorial preeminence. The public quarrels between British editors regarding their analyses, Hopkinson believed, stemmed from a desire for self-aggrandizement that detracted from Shakespeare's work itself. In protest, Hopkinson offers the American reader an edition of Shakespeare absent many of these so-called superfluous footnotes and encourages the American reader to engage with Shakespeare on their own terms.[7]
Hopkinson wrote the anthemHail, Columbia in 1798.[3]
Hopkinson was the son ofFrancis Hopkinson, a signer of theDeclaration of Independence, a member of theContinental Congress and the first United States District Judge for Pennsylvania.[3] In 1794, he married the daughter ofGovernor of PennsylvaniaThomas Mifflin.[2]
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| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's 1st congressional district 1815–1819 | Succeeded by |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by | Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania 1829–1842 | Succeeded by |
