Speech of the Hon. Edwards Pierrepont, Delivered Before the Republican Mass Meeting, at Wilgus Hall, Ithaca ! N.Y., October 11th, 1872
(
This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.
This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
Argument of Hon. Edwards Pierrepont to the jury: on the trial of John H. Surratt for the murder of President Lincoln
(This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.
Edwards Pierrepont was an American attorney, reformer, jurist.
Background
He was born on March 4, 1817 at North Haven, Connecticut, United States, the son of Giles and Eunice (Munson) Pierpont and a descendant of James Pierpont, one of the founders of Yale College.
At baptism he was called Munson Edwards Pierpont, but he later dropped his first name and adopted an early spelling of his surname.
Education
He was educated in the schools of his native town and at Yale College, being graduated in 1837. After spending some time in the West he returned to study at the New Haven Law School.
Career
In 1840 he was admitted to the bar. He was a tutor at Yale, 1840-41, and then went to Columbus, Ohio, where he became a partner of Phineas B. Wilcox, one of the ablest lawyers of the state. In 1846 he moved to New York City and almost immediately established a successful practice.
After moving to New York he became an active participant in the campaigns of the Democratic party, though he never held office until 1857. In that year he was elected judge of the superior court of the city of New York but resigned in 1860 to resume his practice. Early in 1861 he took a determined stand in favor of coercive measures to preserve the Union. He was a member of the Union Defence Committee which, in the early months of the war, raised several regiments, and also helped to finance movements in favor of the Union in the border slave states. In 1864 he publicly expressed his disappointment at the nomination of McClellan and helped to organize the War Democrats in support of the reelection of Lincoln.
After the close of the war he remained for a time an independent Union Democrat. In the election of 1866 he cooperated with the regular organization of the Democratic party; but after the nomination of Seymour and Blair in 1868 he announced that he would support Grant because he had been a former Democrat who had stood by the Union. From that time his political fortunes were bound up with Grant's. He served for a year as United States district attorney for the southern district of New York, 1869-70, and was appointed minister to Russia, 1873, but declined to serve.
In 1875 he became attorney-general of the United States, an extremely difficult position, since it involved the prosecution of members of the "whiskey ring, " some of whom were close personal friends of the President. Pierrepont brought the offenders to trial and, with the exception of his circular letter to the district attorneys of Milwaukee, Chicago, and St. Louis, denying immunity to those who would testify against the ring, his conduct of the prosecutions was satisfactory to the public. In May 1876 he was appointed minister to Great Britain and served until December 1877.
As a lawyer, Pierrepont attained a high position, appearing for clients in many important cases. With John A. Dix he was appointed in February 1862 to examine the cases of state prisoners in the custody of the federal military authorities. In 1867 he assisted the United States district attorney in prosecuting John H. Surratt for complicity in the assassination of Lincoln. Among his other public services, he was a member of the state constitutional convention, 1867-68, and one of the Committee of Seventy (1870) which assisted in freeing New York City from the "Tweed ring. "
In his later years he published numerous pamphlets on financial questions, most of which advocated the adoption of a bimetallic standard of currency. He died in New York City where he had lived and practised law since his return from England in 1878.
(This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)
Politics
Bedore 1868 he was Democratic, but from 1868 to 1892 he supported Republican. He approved President Johnson's policy of reconstruction and strongly opposed the program of the radical leaders in Congress.
Connections
Pierrepont was a young man when he married Eunice Munson, the daughter of John Munson. Eunice died shortly after their marriage. On May 27, 1846, he was married to Margaretta Willoughby of Brooklyn, New York. Their marriage produced two children, one son, Edwin, and one daughter, Margaretta.