View source for Henry Wheaton

{{short description|American judge (1785–1848)}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=July 2013}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Henry Wheaton
| image               = Henry Wheaton by George Peter Alexander Healy.png
| caption             = Portrait of Henry Wheaton by [[George Peter Alexander Healy]], {{circa|1847}}
| order               = 2nd
| minister_from       = United States
| country             = Prussia
| term_start          = September 29, 1837
| term_end            = July 18, 1846 <br/>''Chargé d'affaires'': June 9, 1835 to September 29, 1837
| predecessor         = [[John Quincy Adams]] (1797)
| successor           = [[Andrew Jackson Donelson]]
| president           = [[Andrew Jackson]] <br/> [[Martin Van Buren]] <br/> [[William Henry Harrison]] <br/> [[John Tyler]] <br/> [[James K. Polk]]
| order2              = 1st
| minister_from2      = United States
| country2            = Denmark
| term_start2         = September 20, 1827
| term_end2           = May 29, 1835
| predecessor2        = Diplomatic relations established
| successor2          = [[Jonathan F. Woodside]]
| president2          = [[John Quincy Adams]] <br/> [[Andrew Jackson]]
| order3              = 3rd
| office3             = Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States
| term_start3         = 1816
| term_end3           = 1827
| predecessor3        = [[William Cranch]]
| successor3          = [[Richard Peters (reporter)|Richard Peters]]
| birth_name          = Henry Wheaton
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1785|11|27}}
| birth_place         = [[Providence, Rhode Island|Providence]], [[Rhode Island]], [[United States|U.S.]]
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1848|3|11|1785|11|27}}
| death_place         = [[Dorchester, Massachusetts|Dorchester]], [[Massachusetts]], U.S.
| alma_mater          = [[Brown University]]
| signature           = Appletons' Wheaton Henry signature.png
}}
'''Henry Wheaton''' (November 27, 1785 – March 11, 1848) was an American [[lawyer]], [[jurist]] and [[diplomat]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Hicks |first= Frederick C. |editor= Malone, Dumas |editor-link= Dumas Malone |title=Dictionary of American Biography |publisher= Charles Scribner's Sons |location=New York |volume=20 (Werden-Zunser) |year=1936 |chapter= Wheaton, Henry |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/dictionaryofamer20amer#page/38/mode/2up |pages=39–42   |access-date=April 19, 2018 |via= Internet Archive }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor1=Gilman, Daniel Coit |editor1-link= Daniel Coit Gilman |editor2= Peck, Harry Thurston |editor2-link= Harry Thurston Peck  |editor3= Colby, Frank Moore |editor3-link= Frank Moore Colby |chapter= WHEATON, Henry |title= The New International Encyclopaedia |place= New York |publisher=Dodd, Mead and Company  |year= 1904 |volume=XVII (TYP-ZYR)|page= 679 |hdl= 2027/mdp.39015053671221?urlappend=%3Bseq=786 |chapter-url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015053671221?urlappend=%3Bseq=786 |access-date= February 23, 2019 |via= HathiTrust Digital Library}}</ref>   He was the third [[Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States|reporter of decisions]] for the [[United States Supreme Court]], the first U.S. minister to [[Denmark]], and the second U.S. minister to [[Prussia]].

==Biography==
He was born at [[Providence, Rhode Island]]. He graduated from Rhode Island College (now [[Brown University]]) in 1802, was admitted to the bar in 1805, and, after two years' study abroad in [[Poictiers|Poitiers]] and [[London]],<ref name=appletons>{{Appletons'|wstitle=Wheaton, Henry|year=1889|inline=1}}</ref><ref name=amcyc>{{Cite AmCyc|wstitle=Wheaton, Henry}}</ref> practiced [[law]] at Providence (1807-1812) and at [[New York City]] (1812-1827).<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Wheaton, Henry|volume=28|page=583}}</ref> From 1812 to 1815, he edited ''National Advocate'', the organ of the administration party. There he published notable articles on the question of neutral rights in connection with the then-existing war with England. On October 26, 1814, he became division judge advocate of the [[United States Army|army]].<ref name=appletons/> He was a justice of the Marine Court of New York City from 1815 to 1819.<ref name="EB1911"/>

From 1816 to 1827, he edited reports of the Supreme Court, as the third [[Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States]].  Aided by Justice [[Joseph Story]], his reports were known for their comprehensive notes and summaries of the arguments presented by each side.  However, the volumes were slow in appearing and costly.  Wheaton's successor [[Richard Peters (supreme court)|Richard Peters]] condensed his work, and Wheaton sued him, claiming infringement of his [[common-law copyright]].  The Supreme Court rejected his claim in ''[[Wheaton v. Peters]]'' in 1834, which was the Court's first copyright case.

He was elected a member of the [[American Antiquarian Society]] in 1820.<ref>[http://www.americanantiquarian.org/memberlistw American Antiquarian Society Members Directory]</ref>
He was elected a member of the convention to form a new constitution for New York in 1821, was a member of the [[New York State Assembly]] (New York Co.) in [[47th New York State Legislature|1824]], and in 1825 was associated with [[John Duer]] and [[Benjamin Franklin Butler (lawyer)|Benjamin F. Butler]] in a commission to revise the statute law of New York. He also took part in important cases, and was the sole associate of [[Daniel Webster]] in that which settled the limits of the state and federal legislation in reference to [[bankruptcy]] and [[insolvency]].<ref name=appletons/> In 1825, he aided in the revision of the laws of New York.<ref name="EB1911"/>

His diplomatic career began in 1827, with an appointment to [[Denmark]] as ''[[chargé d'affaires]]''.<ref name="EB1911"/> He served until 1835, displaying skill in the settlement of the sound dues that were imposed by Denmark on the vessels of all countries, and obtained modifications of the [[quarantine]] regulations. He was noted for his research into the [[Scandinavia]]n language and literature, and was elected a member of Scandinavian and [[Iceland]]ic societies.<ref name=appletons/> In 1829, he was elected to the [[American Philosophical Society]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=APS Member History|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?year=1829;year-max=1829;smode=advanced;f1-date=1829|access-date=2021-04-08|website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref>

In 1835 he was appointed minister to [[Prussia]],<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Mielewczik |first1=Michael |last2=Jowett |first2=Kelly |last3=Moll |first3=Janine |year=2019 |title=Beehives, Booze and Suffragettes: The "Sad Case" of Ellen S. Tupper (1822–1888), the "Bee Woman" and "Iowa Queen Bee" |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.34657.04962 |journal=Entomologie Heute |volume=31 |pages=113–227|doi=10.13140/RG.2.2.34657.04962 }}</ref> being promoted to [[minister plenipotentiary]] in 1837.  He soon received full power to conclude a treaty with the [[Zollverein]], which he pursued for the next six years. On March 25, 1844, he signed a treaty with Germany, for which he received high commendation from [[John Tyler|President Tyler]] and [[John C. Calhoun]], the [[United States Secretary of State|secretary of state]]. This was rejected by the [[U.S. Senate]] but served as the basis for subsequent treaties. He was made a corresponding member of the [[French Institute]] in 1843, and a member of the [[Royal Academy of Berlin]] in 1846.<ref name=appletons/>

Other issues Wheaton dealt with during his diplomatic career were [[Scheldt]] dues, the tolls on the [[Elbe]], and the rights of [[naturalized citizen]]s.<ref name=amcyc/>
In 1846 Wheaton was requested to resign as Prussian minister by the new president, [[James Knox Polk|Polk]], who needed his place for another appointment. The request provoked general condemnation, but Wheaton resigned and returned to the United States.<ref name="EB1911"/>

He was called at once to [[Harvard Law School]] as lecturer on [[international law]], but illness prevented his acceptance.<ref name=appletons/> He died at [[Dorchester, Massachusetts]], on March 11, 1848.

==Philosophy==
Wheaton's general theory is that international law consists of "those rules of conduct which reason deduces, as consonant to justice, from the nature of the society existing among independent nations, with such definitions and modifications as may be established by general consent."<ref name="EB1911"/>

== Family connections ==
Wheaton's niece, [[Ellen Smith Tupper]], became a noted beekeeper.<ref name=":0" /> Ellen Tupper's daughters included [[Unitarian Universalism|Unitarian Universalist]] ministers [[Eliza Tupper Wilkes]] and [[Mila Tupper Maynard]], and educator [[Kate Tupper Galpin]].<ref name=":0" /> Her grandson was artist [[Allen Tupper True]].

==Works==
* ''Digest of the Law of Maritime Captures'' (1815)
* ''Supreme Court Reports'' (12 vols., New York, 1826–27)
* ''A Digest of the Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States from Its Establishment in 1789 to 1820'' (1820–29)
* ''Life of [[William Pinkney]]'', which he also abridged for publication in Sparks's "American Biography" series (1826)
* [https://archive.org/details/historynorthmen00wheagoog ''History of the Northmen, or Danes and Normans, from the Earliest Times to the Conquest of England by William of Normandy'' London: J. Murray, 1831] at [https://archive.org/ Internet Archive], which [[Washington Irving]] said "evinced throughout the enthusiasm of an antiquarian, the liberality of a scholar, and the enlightened toleration of a citizen of the world" (French translation by Paul Guillot, Paris, 1844)
* ''[[Elements of International Law]]'' (1836).<ref>{{cite book |last=Wheaton |first=Henry |title =Elements of International Law; with a Sketch of the History of the Science|publisher=Carey, Lea & Blanchard |place=Philadelphia |year =1836 |url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k935676/f1.image.r=.langEN |via = Gallica}}</ref>  This is his most important work, of which a 6th edition with the last corrections of the author and a memoir was prepared by [[William Beach Lawrence]] (Boston, 1855) and an 8th by [[Richard Henry Dana Jr.]] (Boston, 1866).  The contents of the 8th edition were the source of controversy between Lawrence (who claimed his notes from earlier editions had been improperly copied) and Dana.
* ''History of Scandinavia'', with [[Andrew Crichton]] (1838) A sequel to ''History of the Northmen''.<ref name=amcyc/><ref>{{Cite book|title=Scandinavia, ancient and modern|author1=Andrew Crichton|author2=Henry Wheaton|volume=1|publisher=Harper and Brothers|year=1841|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2VUWAAAAYAAJ}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Scandinavia, ancient and modern|author1=Andrew Crichton|author2=Henry Wheaton|volume=2|publisher=Harper and Brothers|year=1841|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9HU2AAAAMAAJ}}</ref>
* ''Histoire du progrès des gens en Europe depuis la paix de Westphalie jusqu'au congres de Vienne, avec un précis historique du droit des gens européens avant la paix de Westphalie'', written in 1838 for a prize offered by the French Academy of Moral and Political Science,<ref>{{cite book |last=Wheaton |first=Henry |title = Histoire des progrès du droit des gens en Europe depuis la Paix de Westphalie jusqu'au Congrès de Vienne, avec un précis historique du droit de gens européen avant la paix de Westphalie |publisher=Brockhaus |place= Leipzig |year =1841 |access-date= April 20, 2018 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WqdJAAAAcAAJ&pg=PR3 |via = Google Books}}</ref> and translated in 1845 by W. B. Lawrence as [https://archive.org/details/historylawnatio00wheagoog ''A History of the Law of Nations in Europe and America'', New York: Gould, Banks & Co.].  The ''History'' took rank at once as one of the leading works on the subject of which it treats.<ref name="EB1911"/><ref>{{cite book |last=Wheaton |first=Henry |title = History of the Law of Nations in Europe and America from the Earliest Times to the Treaty of Washington, 1842 |publisher=Gould, Banks & Co. |place= New York |year=1845|access-date= November 27, 2017 |url=https://archive.org/details/historyoflawofna00whea |via= Internet Archive }}</ref>
* ''An Enquiry into the Validity of the British Claim to a Right of Visitation and Search of American Vessels suspected to be engaged in the Slave Trade'' (Philadelphia and London, 1842; 2d ed., 1858)

Wheaton translated the ''[[Napoleonic Code|Code of Napoleon]]'', but the manuscript was destroyed by fire. He also contributed numerous political, historical, and literary articles to the ''[[North American Review]]'' and other periodicals.

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{Cite NIE|wstitle=Wheaton, Henry |year=1905}}
* Elizabeth Feaster Baker, ''Henry Wheaton, 1785-1848'' (1937)

==External links==
* {{Cite Americana|wstitle=Wheaton, Henry |year=1920 |short=x}}
* {{Cite Collier's|wstitle=Wheaton, Henry|year=1921 |short=x}}
* [https://library.brown.edu/collatoz/info.php?id=134view=title Henry Wheaton Papers] at [https://library.brown.edu/hay/index.php John Hay Library, Brown University]
*{{Internet Archive author |sname=}}
* {{Find a Grave |id=  	25449793}}
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{{succession box
| title=[[Supreme Court of the United States Reporter of Decisions|United States Supreme Court Reporter of Decisions]]
| before=[[William Cranch]]
| after=[[Richard Peters (Supreme Court)|Richard Peters]]
| years=1816 – 1827
}}
{{s-dip}}
{{succession box
| title=[[United States Ambassador to Denmark]]
| before=new office
| after=[[Jonathan F. Woodside]]
| years=1827 - 1835
}}
{{succession box
| title=[[United States Ambassador to Prussia]]
| before=vacant <br><small>post last held by [[John Quincy Adams]] (1797-1801)</small>
| after=[[Andrew Jackson Donelson]]
| years=1835 - 1846
}}
{{s-end}}
{{US Ambassadors to Denmark}}
{{US Ambassadors to Germany}}
{{Marshall Court}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wheaton, Henry}}
[[Category:Reporters of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Denmark]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Prussia]]
[[Category:New York state court judges]]
[[Category:American legal writers]]
[[Category:American editors]]
[[Category:American male journalists]]
[[Category:Rhode Island lawyers]]
[[Category:1785 births]]
[[Category:1848 deaths]]
[[Category:Brown University alumni]]
[[Category:Harvard Law School alumni]]
[[Category:19th-century American diplomats]]
[[Category:19th-century New York state court judges]]
[[Category:19th-century American lawyers]]
[[Category:Members of the American Philosophical Society]]