- Joseph Hopkinson
Joseph Hopkinson (
November 12 ,1770 -January 15 ,1842 ) was a member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania .Joseph Hopkinson (son of
Francis Hopkinson ) was born inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania . He graduated from theUniversity of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia in 1786. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in Philadelphia in 1791 where he practiced his profession, except for the period of one year atEaston, Pennsylvania . He wrote lyrics to the anthem "Hail, Columbia " (music byPhilip Phile ) in 1798 and was associated withDaniel Webster in theDartmouth College case. He served as counsel for JusticeSamuel Chase in hisimpeachment trial before theUnited States Senate in 1804 and 1805.Hopkinson was elected as a
Federalist to the Fourteenth Congress. He was reelected to the succeeding Fifteenth Congress. He was not a candidate for reelection in 1818.On February 22-27, 1819, he argued before the
United States Supreme Court in the "McCulloch v. Maryland " case as part of the defense counsel. In this case he argued against Daniel Webster, speaking directly after him, and specifically his idea of equating taxation with the power to destroy. He argued strongly forStates' rights : claiming a United States Bank Branch was unconstitutional based on the prohibition of congress to delegate power, a co-equaltax ation power between the federal and state governments, the enumerated nature of the federal government and the reserved powers of the states (declared in the 10th amendment).He moved to
Bordentown, New Jersey , in 1820, and served as a member of the New Jersey House of Assembly. He returned to Philadelphia in 1823, and became judge of theUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania , serving from 1828 to 1842. He was the chairman of the State constitutional convention in 1837. He served as secretary of the board of trustees of the University of Pennsylvania in 1790 and 1791, and was a trustee from 1806 to 1819 and 1822 to 1842. He died inPhiladelphia in 1842. Interment in the old Borden-Hopkinson Burial Ground inBordentown, New Jersey .Bibliography
*Konkle, Burton Alva. "Joseph Hopkinson, 1770-1842, Jurist-Scholar-Inspirer of the Arts: Author of Hail Columbia". Philadelphia:
University of Pennsylvania Press , 1931.ources
*CongBio|H000784
* [http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/hopkinson-hormann.html The Political Graveyard]
* [http://www.archives.upenn.edu/histy/features/1700s/people/hopkinson_joseph.html Biography and portrait] at theUniversity of Pennsylvania
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