Augustus B. Woodward
Encyclopedia
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
of the Michigan Territory
Michigan Territory
The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan...
. In that position, he played a prominent role in the planning and reconstruction of Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
following a devastating fire.
Woodward never married. His biographer, Arthur M. Woodford, describes Woodward as a prototype of Washington Irving
Washington Irving
Washington Irving was an American author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century. He was best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works...
’s Ichabod Crane
Ichabod Crane
Ichabod Crane is a fictional character in Washington Irving's short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, first published in 1820.-Origin:...
. He stood six feet three or four inches tall, thin, sallow, and stooped. His long, narrow face was dominated by a big nose. His only outward vestage of vanity was a generous crop of thick, black, hair. His contemporaries commented on his slovenliness.
While in Washington, he was described as "a man of middle age, a hardened bachelor who wore nut-brown clothing . . . he slept in his office which was never swept . . . and was eccentric and erratic. His friends were few and his practice was so small that he hardly made a living."
Michigan Territory
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
appointed Woodward on March 3, 1805 as the Michigan Territory
Michigan Territory
The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan...
's first Chief Justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
. Woodward arrived in Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
on June 30, 1805, with the city in ruins from the devastating June 11, 1805 fire. Few buildings were left standing.
Woodward, with Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
William Hull
William Hull
William Hull was an American soldier and politician. He fought in the American Revolution, was Governor of Michigan Territory, and was a general in the War of 1812, for which he is best remembered for surrendering Fort Detroit to the British.- Early life and Revolutionary War :He was born in...
and associate Justices John Griffin
John Griffin (judge)
John Griffin was an American jurist. He was one of the original judges of the Supreme Court of Michigan Territory....
and Frederick Bates
Frederick Bates
Frederick Bates , older brother of Edward Bates and James Woodson Bates, was an American attorney and politician. He was elected in 1824 as the second governor of Missouri and died in office in 1825...
, possessed all the legislative power in the Territory. Woodward and Griffin, along with the current Governor and a third judge, would hold this power from 1805 until the institution of a legislature in 1824. Woodward and Hull bickered almost constantly.
Woodward and Hull planned Detroit, which was the capital of the Territory. L'Enfant's layout for Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
was the model on which they based their work (thanks to Woodward's notebook). Woodward's plan attempted to live up to the new city motto, Speramus Meliora, Resurgit Cineribus (“We hope for better days, it will rise again from the ashes”). For the first time in Detroit's history, attention shifted fully from its river to its roads. Woodward Avenue in Detroit, originally called Court House Avenue and other names, was popularly named for Woodward's efforts in rebuilding. Woodward, somewhat tongue in cheek, claimed the road's name as nothing more than the fact that the road went toward the wooded area to the northwest of the city.
Woodward proposed a system of hexagonal street blocks, with the Grand Circus
Grand Circus Park (Detroit)
Grand Circus Park Historic District contains the Grand Circus Park in downtown Detroit, Michigan that connects the theatre district with its financial center. It is bisected by Woodward Avenue, four blocks north of Campus Martius Park, and is roughly bounded by Clifford, John R. and Adams...
at its center. Wide avenues, alternatively 200 feet and 120 feet, would emanate from large circular plazas like spokes from the hub of a wheel. As the city grew these would spread in all directions from the banks of the Detroit River
Detroit River
The Detroit River is a strait in the Great Lakes system. The name comes from the French Rivière du Détroit, which translates literally as "River of the Strait". The Detroit River has served an important role in the history of Detroit and is one of the busiest waterways in the world. The river...
. When Woodward presented his proposal, Detroit had fewer than 1,000 residents. The plan was abandoned after only 11 years, but not before some elements had been implemented. Most prominent of these are the five main "spokes" of Woodward, Michigan, Gratiot, Grand River
Grand River Avenue
US Highway 16 , also called Grand River Avenue for much of its length, is one of the principal pre-Interstate roads in the state of Michigan. Before the creation of the United States Numbered Highway System in 1926, the highway had been designated M-16...
and Jefferson
Jefferson Avenue (Detroit)
Jefferson Avenue is a scenic road along the eastern part of the Detroit metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Michigan. It travels alongside Lake Erie, the Detroit River, and Lake Saint Clair. This road also provides access to many recreational facilities in the area...
Avenues.
During the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, Governor (now Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
) Hull surrendered Detroit to the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
without a shot being fired (see: Battle of Detroit). Woodward stayed (Hull and Justices Bates and Griffin left) and maintained his status in Detroit during the British occupation
Military occupation
Military occupation occurs when the control and authority over a territory passes to a hostile army. The territory then becomes occupied territory.-Military occupation and the laws of war:...
. The British offered him the office of Secretary of the Territory, but he declined the offer. Eventually Woodward became a problem for the British. He was asked to leave the territory and granted safe passage to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Later years
Considered a hero on his return to Washington D.C., Woodward soon focused himself on science (a life-long interest) and the establishment of the University of MichiganUniversity of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
along similar themes to the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
, founded by Woodward's friend Thomas Jefferson.
It has been said that Woodward was among the first to recognize the coming of the scientific age. In 1816, he published his seminal work, A System of Universal Science.
With Reverend John Montieth and Father Gabriel Richard
Gabriel Richard
Father Gabriel Richard was a French Roman Catholic priest who became a Delegate from Michigan Territory to the U.S. House of Representatives....
, Woodward drafted a charter for an institution he called the Catholepistemiad or the University of Michigania. On August 26, 1817 the Governor and Judges of the Michigan Territory signed the university act into law. This institution became the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
. It was ahead of its time. No mere charter, it was a detailed blueprint for the organization of a university.
Woodward was also a Freemason.
One of Woodward's legacies is the Woodward Code: a series of statutes serving as the basis of the Territorial Supreme Court legal procedures.
August 26, 1824 saw Woodward's return to the judiciary, as President James Monroe
James Monroe
James Monroe was the fifth President of the United States . Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, and the last president from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation...
appointed him to a judgeship in the new Territory of Florida
Florida Territory
The Territory of Florida was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 30, 1822, until March 3, 1845, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Florida...
. Woodward served until his death July 12, 1827 at the age of fifty-two.
He is commemorated in a so-called "Michigan Legal Milestones" erected by the State Bar of Michigan
State Bar of Michigan
The State Bar of Michigan is an organization of lawyers in the State of Michigan. Membership is mandatory for attorneys who practice law in the state of Michigan...
.