Background
Joseph Hopkinson was born on November 12, 1770 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. He was the son of Francis Hopkinson, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and Ann Borden.
Joseph Hopkinson was born on November 12, 1770 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. He was the son of Francis Hopkinson, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and Ann Borden.
Hopkinson was educated at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1786.
Hopkinson was admitted to the bar in 1791 and soon made a notable reputation as a lawyer. He was attorney for Doctor Benjamin Rush in his successful libel suit in 1799 against William Cobbett, and he was one of the three lawyers engaged by Justice Samuel Chase in his defense when impeached in 1804. In the latter case he was complimented by Aaron Burr as being the most effective lawyer in the case.
In 1814 he was elected to Congress as a Federalist. He participated extensively in congressional debates on varied subjects, generally on the losing side. He was a member of Congress during the period of disintegration of his party and during the rise of a democratic spirit with which he had little sympathy. Nor did his character permit him to act well the role of an opportunist. As a result, his congressional career was not particularly fruitful.
In 1820, the year after he retired from Congress, he removed to Bordentown, New Jersey, but in 1823 he returned to Philadelphia. In 1828 Hopkinson was commissioned by President Adams judge of the federal district court for the eastern district of Pennsylvania, a position his father had held by appointment from President Washington. This position he retained until his death in 1842. His opinions as district judge were marked by unusual clarity and literary skill. His opposition to innovation found expression also in his work as a member of the state constitutional convention of 1837.
One of the principal reasons for calling the convention was a desire to democratize the judiciary in accord with the general tendencies of the Jacksonian era. Out of deference to Hopkinson's age and recognized ability as a lawyer and a judge, he was made chairman of the judiciary committee of the convention. But in spite of his ardent and masterly arguments against what he termed the surrender of the independence of judges under restricted tenure and popular election, the convention adopted many of the proposed innovations.
Hopkinson's varied interests and activities are indicated by his connections with leading cultural institutions. He was at one time secretary of the board of trustees of the University of Pennsylvania and was long a member of the board. His popular reputation depends most largely upon a casual episode of his earlier life--the writing of "Hail Columbia!" His own account explains that it was written in the spring of 1798 at the request of a young actor and singer of his acquaintance, Gilbert Fox. The young man "was about to take a benefit" at a local theatre and was in need of a popular song. Hopkinson, among others, was asked to write words, preferably of a patriotic nature, to be sung to the tune of "The President's March. " His object in complying, he states, aside from favoring the actor, was "to get up an American spirit, which should be independent of, and above the interests and passions, and policy of both belligerents, and look and feel exclusively, for our own honour and rights. " He referred, of course, to England and France and to the bitterly hostile anti-English and anti-French groups in America. In his own aristocratic circles, war with France was thought to be inevitable. His object in avoiding partisanship and in appealing to the patriotism of both groups was attained. "The song found favour with both parties, " he wrote, "for both were American. "
Hopkinson was a Federalist. He challenged the view of the Republicans that a treaty involving fiscal matters necessitated action by the House of Representatives and contended that a treaty made by the president and the Senate under their constitutional treaty-making mandate automatically superseded any national law not in harmony with it.
Hopkinson was vice-president of the American Philosophical Society, president of the Academy of the Fine Arts and a patron of artists, and in 1827 one of the founders of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society.
Hopkinson was in no sense a pathfinder, and his interpretations of law were in accord with his conservative outlook.
Hopkinson was married to Emily Mifflin, the daughter of the first governor of the state of Pennsylvania. They had five children.