Lemuel Shaw

@ National Portrait Gallery

Description

Born Barnstable, MassachusettsAs chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court from 1830 to 1860, Lemuel Shaw ruled on a wide range of issues. His greatest impact, however, was in the field of laws affecting business and industry, where his decisions influenced commercial law interpretation in courts throughout the nation. Shaw also passed judgment in several key cases concerning the fate of fugitive slaves. Although personally opposed to slavery, Shaw believed that it was “too deeply interwoven in the texture of society to be wholly or speedily eradicated.” In 1851 he issued an opinion supporting the constitutionality of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850.

Type:

Image

Format:

Whole Plate Daguerreotype With Silver Plated Copper Sheet Support

Rights:

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

View Original At:

http://collections.si.edu/search/results.htm?q=record_ID=npg_NPG.99.61&repo=DPLA