Nathan Dane
Encyclopedia
Nathan Dane was an American
lawyer and statesman who represented Massachusetts
in the Continental Congress
from 1785 through 1788. Dane helped formulate the Northwest Ordinance
while in Congress, and introduced an amendment to the ordinance prohibiting slavery in the Northwest Territory
.
in Essex County, Massachusetts
. His father Daniel Dane was a farmer, and his mother's name was Abigail. Ancestor John Dane Sr. had immigrated to Massachusetts from England
(not Denmark
) in 1636.
Dane worked on the family farm in Ipswich until he turned twenty. Moving on to college at Harvard
, his major interest was in mathematics, and he graduated in 1778. Then he taught school and read for the law. In 1779 he married Mary Brown (they would have no children).
Dane was admitted to the bar and set up a legal practice in Beverly
in 1782. That same year, he entered elective office in the Massachusetts House of Representatives
, where he served until 1785. Dane's hearing was poor throughout his career, and steadily got worse.
, where he helped draft the Northwest Ordinance
, which was enacted on July 13, 1787. The Ordinance encouraged American settlers into the Northwest Territory
and formed the basis of the constitutions of the five states there: Ohio
, Indiana
, Illinois
, Michigan
and Wisconsin
. The Ordinance also banned slavery in the Northwest Territory. Dane’s amendment banning slavery was offered at the last minute, and was quickly accepted without much discussion, to the surprise of Dane himself, who “had no idea the States would agree to the sixth article, prohibiting slavery…."
In February 1787, Dane proposed a resolution authorizing the Philadelphia Convention
to amend the Articles of Confederation
, and that resolution was adopted. Out of that Philadelphia Convention came the proposed United States Constitution
. But Dane had reservations about supporting its ratification. In July of 1788, he finally wrote a pivotal letter of support to Melancton Smith
of New York, saying that he (Dane) feared violence and social upheaval if the Constitution were not ratified, and Dane supported ratification with the understanding that there would be later amendments, which eventually came to be known as the United States Bill of Rights
.
Later, while practicing law, he remained an active reformer, on behalf of vocational education and humane treatment of prisoners. He also helped establish the American Temperance Society
to discourage use and abuse of alcoholic beverages.
He was a member of the Federalist Party and its Essex Junto
. The Massachusetts legislature appointed him as a delegate to the Hartford Convention
during the War of 1812
, which damaged his reputation, although Dane saw himself as a voice of moderation at the Convention and maintained that he did not have any secessionist intentions: "Someone must go to prevent mischief," he said.
very successful, and was the "first systematic treatise covering the entire field of American law." It became a standard work, and every lawyer of distinction bought a copy.
Dane used the substantial proceeds from the Abridgement to provide an endowment
for a law school at Harvard University
, specifying that the first Dane Professorship of Law would go to his old friend Joseph Story
. For a while, Harvard Law School
was called "Dane Law School."
On account of the Abridgement and his generosity to the law school at Harvard, together with his co-authorship of the Northwest Ordinance, Dane has been called the "Father of American Jurisprudence." The Abridgment was often cited in later years; for example, when abolitionist Wendell Phillips
argued against Lysander Spooner
's notion that judges have an obligation to disregard any law that the judges deem wrong, Philips cited the following legal maxim in which Dane assigned that obligation to legislators instead of judges:
Dane's other treatise was titled a Moral and Political Survey of America. It has been described as "arguably the first broad-based national history from English and Spanish colonization through the War of Independence".
, which was formed in 1836, was named in his honor. Within Dane County, there is a Town of Dane
, and within the Town of Dane is a village called Dane, Wisconsin
.
Volume 1 (1824) via Google Books
Volume 2 (1824) via Google Books
Volume 3 (1824) via Google Books
Volume 4 (1824) via Google Books
Volume 5 (1824) via Google Books
Volume 6 (1824) via Google Books
Volume 7 (1824) via Google Books
Volume 8 (1824) via Google Books
Volume 9 (1829) via Google Books
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lawyer and statesman who represented Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
in the Continental Congress
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
from 1785 through 1788. Dane helped formulate the Northwest Ordinance
Northwest Ordinance
The Northwest Ordinance was an act of the Congress of the Confederation of the United States, passed July 13, 1787...
while in Congress, and introduced an amendment to the ordinance prohibiting slavery in the Northwest Territory
Northwest Territory
The Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Northwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 13, 1787, until March 1, 1803, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Ohio...
.
Early life and education
Dane was born at IpswichIpswich, Massachusetts
Ipswich is a coastal town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,987 at the 2000 census. Home to Willowdale State Forest and Sandy Point State Reservation, Ipswich includes the southern part of Plum Island...
in Essex County, Massachusetts
Essex County, Massachusetts
-National protected areas:* Parker River National Wildlife Refuge* Salem Maritime National Historic Site* Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site* Thacher Island National Wildlife Refuge-Demographics:...
. His father Daniel Dane was a farmer, and his mother's name was Abigail. Ancestor John Dane Sr. had immigrated to Massachusetts from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
(not Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
) in 1636.
Dane worked on the family farm in Ipswich until he turned twenty. Moving on to college at Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, his major interest was in mathematics, and he graduated in 1778. Then he taught school and read for the law. In 1779 he married Mary Brown (they would have no children).
Dane was admitted to the bar and set up a legal practice in Beverly
Beverly, Massachusetts
Beverly is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 39,343 on , which differs by no more than several hundred from the 39,862 obtained in the 2000 census. A resort, residential and manufacturing community on the North Shore, Beverly includes Beverly Farms and Prides...
in 1782. That same year, he entered elective office in the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Massachusetts House of Representatives
The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from single-member electoral districts across the Commonwealth. Representatives serve two-year terms...
, where he served until 1785. Dane's hearing was poor throughout his career, and steadily got worse.
Continental Congress
In 1785, Dane became a Massachusetts delegate to the Continental CongressContinental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
, where he helped draft the Northwest Ordinance
Northwest Ordinance
The Northwest Ordinance was an act of the Congress of the Confederation of the United States, passed July 13, 1787...
, which was enacted on July 13, 1787. The Ordinance encouraged American settlers into the Northwest Territory
Northwest Territory
The Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Northwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 13, 1787, until March 1, 1803, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Ohio...
and formed the basis of the constitutions of the five states there: Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
and Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
. The Ordinance also banned slavery in the Northwest Territory. Dane’s amendment banning slavery was offered at the last minute, and was quickly accepted without much discussion, to the surprise of Dane himself, who “had no idea the States would agree to the sixth article, prohibiting slavery…."
In February 1787, Dane proposed a resolution authorizing the Philadelphia Convention
Philadelphia Convention
The Constitutional Convention took place from May 14 to September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to address problems in governing the United States of America, which had been operating under the Articles of Confederation following independence from...
to amend the Articles of Confederation
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation, formally the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was an agreement among the 13 founding states that legally established the United States of America as a confederation of sovereign states and served as its first constitution...
, and that resolution was adopted. Out of that Philadelphia Convention came the proposed United States Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
. But Dane had reservations about supporting its ratification. In July of 1788, he finally wrote a pivotal letter of support to Melancton Smith
Melancton Smith
Melancton Smith was a New York Delegate to the Continental Congress. His first name is sometimes spelled "Melanchthon"; it derives from Philipp Melanchthon, the leader in the Reformation....
of New York, saying that he (Dane) feared violence and social upheaval if the Constitution were not ratified, and Dane supported ratification with the understanding that there would be later amendments, which eventually came to be known as the United States Bill of Rights
United States Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. These limitations serve to protect the natural rights of liberty and property. They guarantee a number of personal freedoms, limit the government's power in judicial and other proceedings, and...
.
Later career
Dane was elected to the Massachusetts State Senate from 1790 to 1791 and again from 1794 to 1797. In 1794 he served on a commission that reviewed and codified the laws of Massachusetts.Later, while practicing law, he remained an active reformer, on behalf of vocational education and humane treatment of prisoners. He also helped establish the American Temperance Society
American Temperance Society
The American Temperance Society , also known as the American Society for the Promotion of Temperance was a society established on February 13, 1826 in Boston, MA. Within five years there were 2,220 local chapters in the U.S. with 170,000 members who had taken a pledge to abstain from drinking...
to discourage use and abuse of alcoholic beverages.
He was a member of the Federalist Party and its Essex Junto
Essex Junto
The Essex Junto was a group of lawyers and merchants from Essex County, Massachusetts. These Federalists supported Alexander Hamilton and the Massachusetts radicals. When Hamilton was offered a place in the plot to secede New England from the Union, he denied the offer. Consequently, the Essex...
. The Massachusetts legislature appointed him as a delegate to the Hartford Convention
Hartford Convention
The Hartford Convention was an event spanning from December 15, 1814–January 4, 1815 in the United States during the War of 1812 in which New England's opposition to the war reached the point where secession from the United States was discussed...
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...
, which damaged his reputation, although Dane saw himself as a voice of moderation at the Convention and maintained that he did not have any secessionist intentions: "Someone must go to prevent mischief," he said.
"Father of American Jurisprudence"
By 1820, Dane was almost totally deaf, but he continued working long hours in his library, writing two major legal treatises. The first of these was published in 1823, titled A General Abridgement and Digest of American Law. Its eight volumes were supplemented by a ninth in 1829. The Abridgment wasvery successful, and was the "first systematic treatise covering the entire field of American law." It became a standard work, and every lawyer of distinction bought a copy.
Dane used the substantial proceeds from the Abridgement to provide an endowment
Financial endowment
A financial endowment is a transfer of money or property donated to an institution. The total value of an institution's investments is often referred to as the institution's endowment and is typically organized as a public charity, private foundation, or trust....
for a law school at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, specifying that the first Dane Professorship of Law would go to his old friend Joseph Story
Joseph Story
Joseph Story was an American lawyer and jurist who served on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1811 to 1845. He is most remembered today for his opinions in Martin v. Hunter's Lessee and The Amistad, along with his magisterial Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States, first...
. For a while, Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
was called "Dane Law School."
On account of the Abridgement and his generosity to the law school at Harvard, together with his co-authorship of the Northwest Ordinance, Dane has been called the "Father of American Jurisprudence." The Abridgment was often cited in later years; for example, when abolitionist Wendell Phillips
Wendell Phillips
Wendell Phillips was an American abolitionist, advocate for Native Americans, and orator. He was an exceptional orator and agitator, advocate and lawyer, writer and debater.-Education:...
argued against Lysander Spooner
Lysander Spooner
Lysander Spooner was an American individualist anarchist, political philosopher, Deist, abolitionist, supporter of the labor movement, legal theorist, and entrepreneur of the nineteenth century. He is also known for competing with the U.S...
's notion that judges have an obligation to disregard any law that the judges deem wrong, Philips cited the following legal maxim in which Dane assigned that obligation to legislators instead of judges:
Municipal or civil law...is the rule of municipal or civil conduct, prescribed by the superior power in the state commanding what the legislature deems right, and prohibiting what it deems wrong.
Dane's other treatise was titled a Moral and Political Survey of America. It has been described as "arguably the first broad-based national history from English and Spanish colonization through the War of Independence".
Death and posthumous honors
Dane died at home in Beverly and was buried in the Central Cemetery there. Dane County, WisconsinDane County, Wisconsin
As of the census of 2000, there were 426,526 people, 173,484 households, and 100,794 families residing in the county. The population density was 355 people per square mile . There were 180,398 housing units at an average density of 150 per square mile...
, which was formed in 1836, was named in his honor. Within Dane County, there is a Town of Dane
Dane (town), Wisconsin
Dane is a town in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 968 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 35.1 square miles , of which, 35.1 square miles of it is land and 0.03% is water.-Demographics:As...
, and within the Town of Dane is a village called Dane, Wisconsin
Dane, Wisconsin
Dane is a village in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 799 at the 2000 census. Located in the Town of Dane, the village is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Dane is located at ....
.
Writings
General Abridgement and Digest of American Law, with Occasional Notes and Comments:Volume 1 (1824) via Google Books
Volume 2 (1824) via Google Books
Volume 3 (1824) via Google Books
Volume 4 (1824) via Google Books
Volume 5 (1824) via Google Books
Volume 6 (1824) via Google Books
Volume 7 (1824) via Google Books
Volume 8 (1824) via Google Books
Volume 9 (1829) via Google Books
Further reading
- Johnson, Andrew J. The Life and Constitutional Thought of Nathan Dane. New York: Garland, 1987. ISBN 0-8240-8277-X
External links
- http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/search.asp?id=22 This letter was written in New York, shortly after Dane's committee had drafted the Ordinance, to his colleague Rufus KingRufus KingRufus King was an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat. He was a delegate for Massachusetts to the Continental Congress. He also attended the Constitutional Convention and was one of the signers of the United States Constitution on September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
in Philadelphia. Dane describes how the work was progressing and how he slipped in language outlawing slavery from the new territories.] - Joseph Story on Dane and the Ordinance
- Dane Digitization Project. at the Beverly Historical Society.
- Nathan Dane Project at the Institute for Intermediate Study.