William Wirt and the Invention of the Public Lawyer

Abstract

Wirt stood at the intersection of cross-cutting forces in the development of American law and society. Professor Anya Jabour situated his marriage to Elizabeth Gamble in the context of early nineteenth century images of marriage. Elizabeth and William Wirt strove to combine an ideal of affectionate and essentially equal companions with increasingly rigid gender roles in society. Wirt's professional life was similarly conflicted. Wirt was recurrently tempted by politics but recoiled from the tawdry, bitter partisanship. Wirt essentially created the office of Attorney General. He established a system of records, regularized the relationship of the Attorney General to other officials and to the public, represented the United States in the Supreme Court and in the lower federal courts, and rendered a substantial body of Opinions. Wirt's mature view of the law is encapsulated in his letter to President Monroe, urging the Republican Monroe to appoint the Federalist judge James Kent to the Supreme Court. Wirt conceded that Kent's appointment would provoke Republican protest, but argued that the advantage of appointing a judge of Kent's character outweighed the cost. This concern for the law as a means of safeguarding political community pervades Wirt's legal opinions as Attorney General and distinguishes his understanding of public law from today's more adversarial views.

Keywords: William Wirt, attorney general