Philip P. Barbour

Details

Birth

May 25, 1783 · Orange County, Virginia

Death

February 25, 1841

Law school

william and mary, college of; read law (Self taught)

Prior experience

U.s. district court judge

Biography

Philip Pendleton Barbour (May 25, 1783 – February 25, 1841) was an American politician and jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1836 until his death in 1841. Born into a prominent Virginia planter family in Orange County, Barbour received his early education from private tutors before studying law under St. George Tucker at the College of William and Mary. He was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1800 and established a successful legal practice in his home county. Barbour entered politics as a Jeffersonian Republican, serving in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1812 to 1814 before winning election to the United States House of Representatives, where he served from 1814 to 1825 and again from 1827 to 1830. He was elected Speaker of the House in 1821 and later served as a judge on the Virginia General Court. President Andrew Jackson nominated Barbour to the Supreme Court in December 1835, and he was confirmed by the Senate on March 15, 1836, despite opposition from Whigs who viewed him as too partisan. Barbour's judicial philosophy reflected his commitment to states' rights and strict constitutional construction, consistent with his earlier political career as a supporter of limited federal government. During his brief tenure on the Court, he participated in relatively few landmark cases due to his early death from a heart attack in 1841. His most notable opinion came in *City of New York v. Miln* (1837), where he wrote for the majority upholding state police powers to regulate immigration, demonstrating his belief in state sovereignty. Barbour's legacy rests primarily on his political career and his representation of Virginia's agrarian interests during a period of growing sectional tension.

Notable opinions

• New York v. Miln
• Barron v. Mayor of Baltimore