Rufus Choate
Rufus Choate (October 1, 1799 – July 13, 1859) was an American lawyer, orator, and Senator who represented Massachusetts as a member of the Whig Party. He is regarded as one of the greatest American lawyers of the 19th century, arguing over a thousand cases in a lifetime practice extending to virtually every branch of the law then recognized. Notably, he was one of the pioneers of the legal technique of arousing jury sympathy in tort cases. In one instance, he successfully won a record judgement of $22,500 for a badly injured widow, the most ever awarded to a plaintiff at the time.[1]
"Senator Choate" redirects here. For the Vermont State Senate member, see Matthew Choate.
Rufus Choate
Daniel Webster
John H. Clifford
John H. Clifford
October 1, 1799
Ipswich, Massachusetts, U.S.
July 13, 1859 (aged 59)
Halifax, British Canada
Along with his colleague and close associate Daniel Webster, he is also regarded as one of the greatest orators of his age. Among his most famous orations are his Address on The Colonial Age of New England delivered at the centennial celebration of the settlement of Ipswich, Massachusetts in 1831 and his Address on The Age of the Pilgrims as the Heroic Period of Our History before the New England Society of New York in 1843. Through these addresses, Choate became one of the most prominent advocates of promoting the Puritan settlers as the first founders of the American republic.
A staunch nationalist and unionist, Choate was among several former Whigs to oppose the Republican Party over concerns that it was a "sectional party" whose platform threatened to separate the Union. In turn, he publicly voiced his support for Democratic candidate James Buchanan over Republican John C. Frémont in the 1856 presidential election.
Early life[edit]
Rufus Choate was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, the son of Miriam (Foster) and David Choate, a teacher and Revolutionary War veteran.[2] He was a descendant of an English family which settled in Massachusetts in 1643.[3] His first cousin, physician George Choate, was the father of George C. S. Choate and Joseph Hodges Choate. Rufus Choate's birthplace, Choate House, remains virtually unchanged to this day.
A precocious child, at six he is said to have been able to repeat large parts of the Bible and of Pilgrim's Progress from memory. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa[4] and graduated as valedictorian of his class at Dartmouth College in 1819, was a tutor there in 1819–1820.
In the fall of 1820 he was entered at the Dane Law School in Cambridge, under the instruction of Chief Justice Parker and Professor Asahel Stearns. In the following year Choate studied in Washington, D.C. in the office of William Wirt, then Attorney General of the United States.[5]
Speeches[edit]
The Colonial Age of New England, 1831.
The Importance of Illustrating New-England History by a Series of Romances like the Waverly Novels, 1833.
The Age of the Pilgrims as the Heroic Period of Our History, 1843.
The Positions and Functions of the American Bar, as an Element of Conservatism in the State, 1845.
American Nationality, 1856,
The Eloquence of Revolutionary Periods, 1857.
Health[edit]
In 1850 Choate traveled Europe for three months to improve his health. He was accompanied by his old friend and well-known lawyer, the Hon. Joseph M. Bell, who married Choate's sister, and later his daughter Helen.[5]: 427, 429, 434
In 1859, failing health led him to seek rest yet again in Europe. In June 1859, he sailed from Boston to England, became worse and left the ship at Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he died on July 13.[5] He was buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston.[10]
Legacy[edit]
Choate's private library contained seven thousand books with three thousand volumes in his law library.[5] His childhood home is preserved by the Trustees of Reservations on the Crane Wildlife Refuge.[11] A statue of him stands in the Suffolk County Courthouse in Boston.
