Forensic Club
Encyclopedia
The Forensic Club was a short-lived private organization chartered in 1826 to offer lectures in the law in Charleston, South Carolina
.
On November 18, 1825, a group of Charleston's elite drafted a petition which was delivered to the statehouse and which requested a charter for a new organization to be known as the Forensic Club. Those petitioning the House of Representatives included at least the following named members: Richard Yeardon, Jr.; Charles S. Strohecker; George Buist; Henry Cochran; and Stephen Elliott
. They claimed in their petition that they had "established a Lecture-ship on the Law, which has been accepted by a gentleman of known talents and legal eminence and that they contemplate also the future creation of a regular Law Institute in the City of Charleston and the annexation of a Law Library to their Institution for which purpose they are accumulating a fund." They sought a charter of incorporation to carry out that goal. The Statehouse granted the charter , and the first lecture was offered at City Hall on February 6, 1826, by Hugh Swinton Legare
.
One scholar has suggested that the creation of the Forensic Club was one of the motivations for the creation of a public law school in South Carolina. The start of the Forensic Club was evidence that a mastery of the law was itself worthy, apart from its use as a means to professional licensure. Until that time, there were no law schools in South Carolina. But, Professor Merrill Christophersen has written that, soon after the Forensic Club lectures began, a resolution of the faculty of the South Carolia College (as the University of South Carolina
was known at that time) "curiously" recommended the creation of a three- or four-year course in studying the law for college graduates.
The Forensic Club stopped offering lectures some time in 1827. In the fall of 1827, many of the same men who were the members of the Forensic Club met and decided to begin publishing a learned magazine on Southern perspectives on science, law, and literature. The men again chose Hugh Swinton Legare to edit the magazine, which would become the Southern Review (1828-1832). Mr. Legare therefore concluded his work with the Forensic Club and devoted himself to his new job.
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
.
On November 18, 1825, a group of Charleston's elite drafted a petition which was delivered to the statehouse and which requested a charter for a new organization to be known as the Forensic Club. Those petitioning the House of Representatives included at least the following named members: Richard Yeardon, Jr.; Charles S. Strohecker; George Buist; Henry Cochran; and Stephen Elliott
Stephen Elliott (botanist)
Stephen Elliott was an American legislator, banker, educator, and botanist who is today remembered for having written one of the most important works in American botany, A Sketch of the Botany of South-Carolina and Georgia.-Biography:Stephen Elliott was born in Beaufort, South Carolina on...
. They claimed in their petition that they had "established a Lecture-ship on the Law, which has been accepted by a gentleman of known talents and legal eminence and that they contemplate also the future creation of a regular Law Institute in the City of Charleston and the annexation of a Law Library to their Institution for which purpose they are accumulating a fund." They sought a charter of incorporation to carry out that goal. The Statehouse granted the charter , and the first lecture was offered at City Hall on February 6, 1826, by Hugh Swinton Legare
Hugh S. Legaré
Hugh Swinton Legaré was an American lawyer and politician.-Biography:Legaré was born in Charleston, South Carolina, of Huguenot and Scottish ancestry....
.
One scholar has suggested that the creation of the Forensic Club was one of the motivations for the creation of a public law school in South Carolina. The start of the Forensic Club was evidence that a mastery of the law was itself worthy, apart from its use as a means to professional licensure. Until that time, there were no law schools in South Carolina. But, Professor Merrill Christophersen has written that, soon after the Forensic Club lectures began, a resolution of the faculty of the South Carolia College (as the University of South Carolina
University of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...
was known at that time) "curiously" recommended the creation of a three- or four-year course in studying the law for college graduates.
The Forensic Club stopped offering lectures some time in 1827. In the fall of 1827, many of the same men who were the members of the Forensic Club met and decided to begin publishing a learned magazine on Southern perspectives on science, law, and literature. The men again chose Hugh Swinton Legare to edit the magazine, which would become the Southern Review (1828-1832). Mr. Legare therefore concluded his work with the Forensic Club and devoted himself to his new job.