Wheaton, Henry (b. Providence, R.I., 27 Nov. 1785; d. Dorchester, Mass., 11 Mar. 1848), third reporter of decisions, 1816–1827. The ablest of the early reporters, Wheaton redefined the office and greatly improved the quality of the product. His service spanned the epochal years from Martin v. Hunter's Lessee (1816) to Ogden v. Saunders (1827). Upon Wheaton's death, a German obituary proclaimed his twelve volumes “the golden book of American national law”—owing in significant part to the reporter's contributions.

Unlike his self‐appointed predecessors, Wheaton became reporter through selection by the Supreme Court, held an office recognized by law (as of 1816), and received a modest salary. His sponsor was Justice Joseph Story, a fellow scholar and perfectionist who valued Wheaton's learning and determination. The two roomed together when in Washington and sought to create a comprehensive, coherent body of national law, relying where appropriate on British and continental analogues.

Wheaton attended court sessions faithfully, reported arguments and opinions accurately, and published each volume within the year, thereby enabling bench and bar to know promptly the rulings of the nation's highest court. In addition, aided occasionally (but anonymously) by Story, Wheaton enhanced his Reports with unprecedented annotations, elucidating particular points in opinions or exploring entire areas of developing law, apropos the business of the term.

Wheaton's career following the reportership was equally notable. He engaged in lengthy litigation with his successor, Richard Peters, Jr., concerning Wheaton's rights in his Reports. This case, Wheaton v. Peters (1834), established the major contours of American copyright law. As a diplomat, Wheaton served with distinction under six presidents. As an expounder and historian of international law, he achieved renown on both sides of the Atlantic, publishing Elements of International Law (1836) and History of the Law of Nations (1845). Subsequent editions of Elements extended Wheaton's influence on international law well into the twentieth century.

Of Wheaton's contributions to American jurisprudence, his contemporary William Pinkney's observation, occasioned by publication of Wheaton's first volume of Reports, is apt: “The Profession [is] infinitely indebted to you. …”

See also Reporters, Supreme Court.

Bibliography

Morris L. Cohen and and Sharon Hamby O'Connor , A Guide to the Early Reports of the Supreme Court of the United States (1995), pp. 35–59.
Craig Joyce , The Rise of the Supreme Court Reporter: An Institutional Perspective on Marshall Court Ascendancy, Michigan Law Review 83 (1985): 1291–1391.
Sandra Day O'Connor , The Majesty of the Law:Reflections of a Supreme Court Justice, edited by Craig Joyce (2003), chapter 4, The Supreme Court Reports, pp. 24–30.

Craig Joyce

WHEATON, HENRY

Henry Wheaton served as the reporter of decisions for the U.S. Supreme Court and later became a diplomat and a scholar of international law. Wheaton is recognized for establishing a high level of accuracy, timeliness, and scholarship for Supreme Court reporters. A dispute with his successor, however, lead to a landmark case that had a profound effect on U.S. copyright law and public information.

Wheaton was born on November 27, 1785, in Providence, Rhode Island. He graduated from Rhode Island College (today known as Brown University) and then studied law in France in 1802. Upon his return that year he established a law practice in Providence.

Wheaton became a friend and colleague of U.S. Supreme Court Justice joseph story, who shared Wheaton's passion for legal scholarship. In 1816 Story persuaded Wheaton to move to Washington, D.C., and take the position of reporter of decisions for the Court. Wheaton agreed, becoming the first paid reporter recognized by law.

Wheaton attended court sessions, accurately reported oral arguments and the written decisions of the Court, collected the decisions, and then published them within one year. Wheaton became the first reporter to supply annotations with the Court's decisions, sometimes anonymously assisted by Story. In 1820 Wheaton consolidated prior Court decisions into A Digest of the

Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1789 to 1820.

In 1827 Wheaton left the reporter position and entered the U.S. foreign service. He served as chargé d'affaires (a diplomatic representative below ambassador) in Denmark from 1827 to 1835. He became adept at treaty negotiations and was made chargé d'affaires to the Prussian court in 1835. In 1837 he was appointed minister plenipotentiary and served in that position until 1846.

Wheaton was a noted writer and legal scholar. He published A History of the Northmen in 1831, in which he argued that Scandinavian explorers had landed on the North American continent several centuries before the expedition of christopher columbus. Wheaton also published Elements of International Law (1836) and A History of the Law of Nations (1845).

Wheaton became embroiled in a legal dispute with Richard Peters Jr., his successor as Supreme Court reporter, over Peters's use of Wheaton's published case decisions. Wheaton lost the right to control the copyright of decisions that he had reported, in the process giving the Supreme Court the opportunity to clarify the boundaries between common law and statutory copyright.

Wheaton died on March 11, 1848, in Dorchester, Massachusetts.

further readings

Baker, Elizabeth Feaster. 1937. Henry Wheaton, 1785–1848. Reprint, New York: Da Capo Press, 1971.

cross-references

Wheaton v. Peters.

Henry Wheaton 1785–1848, American jurist and diplomat, b. Providence, R.I., grad. Rhode Island College (now Brown), 1802. After translating the Code Napoléon into English, he practiced law, held various judicial offices, and was (1816–27) reporter of the decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court. While reporter he prepared A Digest of the Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1789–1820 (1821). He challenged his successor's right to use his summaries of Supreme Court opinions in Wheaton v. Peters (1834), establishing that only notes and commentary can be copyrighted. Wheaton's diplomatic career began with his service (1827–35) as chargé d'affaires in Denmark. While in Denmark he wrote his History of the Northmen (1831), which maintained that America had been discovered by Scandinavians before the voyage of Columbus. Wheaton represented (1835–46) the United States at the Prussian court. The U.S. Senate ratified treaties he negotiated with Prussia respecting the rights of immigrants, but it rejected the reciprocal trade agreements he considered his greatest achievement. Wheaton's crowning works were Elements of International Law (1836) and the companion work, A History of the Law of Nations (1845), which had great influence on international law.

Wheaton, Henry (1785–1848), born in Rhode Island, studied law in the U.S. and abroad, and became a leading New York lawyer and an editor of a Jeffersonian newspaper. While chargé d'affaires to Denmark (1827–35), he wrote History of the Northmen (1831), defending the pre‐Columbian discovery of America. Holding a similar post in Berlin (1835–46), he published Elements of International Law (1836) and History of the Law of Nations … (1845), complementary volumes that caused him to be ranked as the outstanding American expounder and historian of international law. The former work was later edited in a notable edition by R.H. Dana, Jr.