Bushrod Washington (1762-1829)

Bushrod Washington (June 5, 1762 – November 26, 1829) was a U.S. Supreme Court associate justice and the nephew of George Washington.

Washington was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, and was the son of John Augustine Washington, brother of the first president. Bushrod attended Delamere, an academy administered by the Rev. Bartholomew Booth and attended the Chapel in the Woods. He graduated from the College of William and Mary, where he was one of the first members of Phi Beta Kappa. His uncle sponsored Bushrod's legal studies with fellow Founder James Wilson. Bushrod lived in Richmond, Virginia at William Byrd III's estate, Belvidere, until his appointment to the Supreme Court in 1798. He inherited Mount Vernon from George after the latter died in 1799.

Washington received a recess appointment to the seat vacated by James Wilson on September 29, 1798, after another Federalist, John Marshall, turned John Adams down and endorsed Washington. Formally nominated on December 18, 1798, he was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 20, 1798, and received his commission the same day. He became an associate justice on February 4, 1799, at the age of 36. After Marshall became Chief Justice two years later, he voted with Marshall on all but three occasions (one being Ogden v. Saunders).

While serving on the Marshall Court, he authored the opinion of Corfield v. Coryell, 6 Fed. Cas. 546 (C.C.E.D. Penn. 1823), while riding circuit as an Associate Justice. In Corfield, Washington listed several rights traditionally viewed to be "fundamental." This list of fundamental rights has profoundly influenced later Constitutional jurisprudence, particularly with respect to the Privileges and Immunities Clause.

In 1816, he helped create the American Colonization Society and held the position as its first president for his entire life. Justice Washington was an owner (and seller) of slaves.

Washington died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His remains are imposingly interred at Mount Vernon, along with his wife (who died of grief within two days of his demise).