Litchfield Ledger

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Portrait of Levi Woodbury
Chester Harding

Levi Woodbury

Gender:

Male

Born:

December 22, 1789

Died:

September 4, 1851

Home Town:

Francestown, NH

Later Residences:

Portsmouth, NH

Marriage(s):

Elizabeth Clapp Woodbury (1819)

Biographical Notes:

Levi Woodbury was a descendant of John Woodbury who emigrated to Cape Ann, MA in 1623. He was the son of Peter and Mary Woodbury. He began his legal practice in Francestown, NH in 1812. He was one of the few New England Republicans in a mostly Federalist area. He gained great popularity for an address he made against President James Madison during the War of 1812. Woodbury consequently gained much fame and political reputation at the young age of twenty-three.

In 1816, the Republicans gained control of the state of New Hampshire. In 1817, Woodbury was appointed Judge of the New Hampshire state court and became known as the "baby" judge as he was the youngest ever appointed judge in the state at the age of only twenty-seven. While serving on the bench, he helped prepare three volumes ...of Woodbury and Minot's New Hampshire Reports.

One of his important cases while on the New Hampshire bench was Merrill v. Sherburne, which regarded legislative encroachment upon judicial power. Woodbury ruled that "...it is inseparable from the structure of the legislative and judicial departments, that jealousies should arise between them as the exerciseof their respective powers [but] ...though thus, situated, both ought to rejoice that the their own errors can be discovered and corrected." His ruling stated that the legislature could not interfere with or undertake judicial functions, unless there was a "specific constitutional sanction" for such action. This decision determined that the legislature could only interfere with judicial process and decisions in extreme cases.

In 1819, Woodbury moved to Portsmouth, ME and married the daughter of Asa and Elizabeth (Wendell) Clapp of Portland ME. Asa Clapp was the wealthiest merchant in Portland, ME and a leading Republican. Elizabeth Clapp brought a dowry of $50,000 to the marraige as well as a house in Portsmouth, ME, which gave Woodbury a socially and economically secure base. This also allowed Woodbury to add a seacoast merchant base to his inland roots of support. They had four daughters and one son.

In 1823, he was elected Governor of New Hampshire by the "Young America" faction of the Democrat and Federalist parties. He was defeated for a second term as Governor, but while serving as governor, he made a speech recommending more education for women. In addition, when the New Hampshire Historical Society was formed in 1823, he was named its first Vice-President.

While serving in the U.S. Senate, he became known as the "Rock of New England Democracy." Woodbury was an avowed isolationist and became a supporter of a "mildly protective tariff." During his time in the Senate, he opposed President Adams and became a Jacksonian. Woodbury also advocated the annexation of Texas and the occupation of Oregon. In 1826, he gave a major speech in opposition to the pending judiciary bill which sought to expand the U.S. Supreme Court from seven to ten members. Woodbury feared Congress would pack the court. In addition, while he did not agree with slavery as an institution, he felt that the right to abolish or preserve slavery lay in the hands of individual states.

During his second term in the U.S. Senate, Woodbury spoke of the need for a Presidential veto, attacked the Whig measures of Clay and displayed an increasing belief in states' rights that would influence many of his decisions as a Supreme Court Justice. His increasing emphasis on this area made him a more appealing candidate to Southerners during this period of sectional hostility, although he was certainly not pro-Southern or pro-slavery.

When he retired from the Senate, Woodbury returned to Portsmouth, NH where he wrote of recent social and political changes. As Secretary of the Navy, he reorgainized the Survey of the Coast under a scientific corps (1832). He became Secretary of the Treasury after the Senate refused to confirm Jackson's first choice of Roger B. Taney. Woodbury favored an independent treasury for the United States rather than private banks.

In 1845, he was offered an ambassadorship to London which he declined. He later served as a Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court for five years during the unstable period of the Taney court of the late 1840's. He died while serving on the Supreme Court in 1851.
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Education

Years at LLS:

1809

Other Education:

Attended the village school in Francestown, NH and then atended Atkinson Academy to prepare for college. He graduated from Dartmouth College with honors in 1809.

Profession / Service

Profession:

Lawyer; Political Office

Admitted To Bar:

Francestown, NH in 1812

Training with Other Lawyers:

After completing his studies in Litchfield, CT he studied in Boston, MA with Samuel Dana and Jeremiah Smith.

Political Party:

Jacksonian; Democrat

Federal Posts:

U.S. Senator (NH) 1825-1831, 1841-1845
Secretary of the Navy 1831-1834
Secretary of the Treasury 1834-1841
Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court 1845-1851

Federal Committees:

Chairman of the Committee on Commerce from 1827-1828 and 1829-1830. Chairman of the Committee on Finance in 1945 and 1946.

State Posts:

Judge of the Superior Court (NH) 1816-1823
Governor (NH) 1823-1824
State Representative (NH) 1825

State Committees:

Speaker of the State House of Representatives in 1825. Clerk of the State Senate in 1816.

Local Posts:

Judge (Portsmouth, NH) 1819-1825

Immediate Family (Why only immediate family?)