John Blair
Who is this?
John Blair
What did he do that made him important?
Blair was a Patriot in the Revolution, meaning he supported the Americans against the British. He supported some measures against British taxes, but was a moderate, meaning he didn’t go as far as other Patriots. However, he did support stopping importing British goods until the taxes were repealed.
During the war, Blair served as a member of the convention that drew up Virginia’s constitution and held a number of important committee positions. The legislature elected him to a judgeship in the General Court in 1778 and soon thereafter to the post of Chief Justice. He was also elected to Virginia’s high Court of Chancery. In 1786, the legislature appointed him Thomas Jefferson’s successor on a committee revising the laws of Virginia. That was because they thought Blair knew a lot about the law.
Blair was one of the men Virginia sent to the Constitutional Convention in 1787.
Blair was a Freemason. He was named Grand Master of Freemasons in Virginia under the newly organized Grand Lodge of Virginia in 1778.
What did he do when he was young?
Blair was born into a wealthy Virginia family in 1732. He went to the College of William and Mary, then went to London to study law. He returned to Virginia and practiced law. In 1766, he was elected to the Virgina House of Burgesses. He went on to become clerk of the Royal Governor’s Council, the upper house of the colonial legislature.
What did he do afterward?
Blair went on to become a judge on the Virginia Court of Appeals where he helped influence the interpretation of the Constitution. He was also on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1789 to 1795. He died in 1800 in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Written for younger readers
John Blair, in simpler words
This version comes from Wikijunior, a set of books written for children aged 8 to 11. It is shorter and uses plainer language than the article above.
From Wikijunior: American Founding Fathers
John Blair
Blair was a Patriot in the Revolution, meaning he supported the Americans against the British. He supported some measures against British taxes, but was a moderate, meaning he didn’t go as far as other Patriots. However, he did support stopping importing British goods until the taxes were repealed.
During the war, Blair served as a member of the convention that drew up Virginia’s constitution and held a number of important committee positions. The legislature elected him to a judgeship in the General Court in 1778 and soon thereafter to the post of Chief Justice. He was also elected to Virginia’s high Court of Chancery. In 1786, the legislature appointed him Thomas Jefferson’s successor on a committee revising the laws of Virginia. That was because they thought Blair knew a lot about the law.
Blair was one of the men Virginia sent to the Constitutional Convention in 1787.
Blair was a Freemason. He was named Grand Master of Freemasons in Virginia under the newly organized Grand Lodge of Virginia in 1778.
Blair was born into a wealthy Virginia family in 1732. He went to the College of William and Mary, then went to London to study law. He returned to Virginia and practiced law. In 1766, he was elected to the Virgina House of Burgesses. He went on to become clerk of the Royal Governor’s Council, the upper house of the colonial legislature.
Blair went on to become a judge on the Virginia Court of Appeals where he helped influence the interpretation of the Constitution. He was also on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1789 to 1795. He died in 1800 in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Where this page comes from
The article above is adapted from “John Blair” on Simple English Wikipedia, by its contributors. We removed reference markers, navigation boxes and tables, expanded measurement templates into readable numbers, and kept the prose otherwise intact. The simpler version is adapted from Wikijunior on Wikibooks.
Both sources are published under CC BY-SA 4.0, so this page is published under the same licence. You may share and adapt it, including commercially, as long as you credit the original and keep the same licence.
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