JOHN BLAIR Biography - Crimes, Laws and people

 
 

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JOHN BLAIR

Name: John Blair                                                                   
Born: October 1731 Williamsburg, Virginia                                         
Died: August 31, 1800 Williamsburg, Virginia                                       
                                                                                   
John Blair, Jr. (October 1731-August 31, 1800) was an American politician,         
Founding Father, and Patriot.                                                     
                                                                                   
John Blair was one of the best-trained jurists of his day. A legal scholar, he     
avoided the tumult of state politics, preferring to work behind the scenes. But   
he was devoted to the idea of a permanent union of the newly independent states   
and loyally supported fellow Virginians James Madison and George Washington at     
the Constitutional Convention. His greatest contribution as a Founding Father     
came not in Philadelphia, but later as a judge on the Virginia court of appeals   
and on the U.S. Supreme Court, where he influenced the interpretation of the       
Constitution in a number of important decisions. Contemporaries praised Blair     
for such personal strengths as gentleness and benevolence, and for his ability     
to penetrate immediately to the heart of a legal question.