biography
| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1745–1807)
|
| biography:
| Public official and jurist, born in Windsor, Connecticut, USA. A lawyer prominent in Connecticut politics, he served in the Continental Congress (1777–83) and was a major figure at the Constitutional Convention in 1787, contributing to the Connecticut Compromise, under which the Senate represents states and the House represents population. As one of Connecticut's first two senators (1789–96), he played a major role in proposing the Bill of Rights and other fundamentals of the US government. President Washington appointed him Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court (1796–1800); while serving (1799), he went to Paris to negotiate a treaty that averted a war with France. Poor health forced him to resign in 1800. |
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