The American Spectator : Honor and Taking Responsibility: Edward Livingston

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Honor and Taking Responsibility: Edward Livingston

Pace President Obama and David Brooks, but power need not corrupt our public officials.

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With his knowledge of both French and English legal systems, he had six cases by April and 29 in May. Clients preferred to pay for his services in kind rather than in cash. Livingston was most willing to accept real property since real property would appreciate as the city grew as part of the United States. One such payment was a claim to the "Batture St. Marie," an alluvial plain between the buildings of the City and the Mississippi River. After he had received a judicial declaration of title in 1807, Livingston started to improve the property, but the townspeople objected because they had been using it as a commons. When complaints reached President Jefferson, Jefferson ordered U.S. Marshals to seize the property as U.S. Government-owned property, without judicial process. Livingston was irate, not only over this abuse of a citizen, but that the government was preventing him from accumulating wealth to pay his debt to the government. (The lawsuit he brought against the government did not resolve itself until his widow compromised in 1841, five years after his death.)

In addition to his efforts at real estate development and at rebuilding his professional life, Livingston rebuilt his personal life. At age 41, he married a 24 year old widow, Louise D'Avezac de Castera Moreau de Lassy, on June 3, 1805. (She is one of Cokie Robert's subjects in her 2008 book, Ladies of Liberty: The Women Who Shaped Our Nation.) She was a refugee from a slave rebellion in Santo Domingo who had arrived in New Orleans about the same time Livingston had and she had lost family members in the uprising. Upon their marriage, Livingston now lived with Louise's mother, young sister, and brother.

Livingston also rebuilt his political life. He was elected in 1820 to the Louisiana state legislature. He had been a congressman from New York and now he was elected for three terms to the U.S. House from Louisiana (1823-1829). The state legislature elected him to the U.S. Senate (1829-1831) before President Jackson (whom he had served during the Battle of New Orleans -- but that's another story) appointed him Secretary of State (1831-1833). After more than one request from the President, Livingston finally agreed to serve as ambassador to France (1833-1835). When he returned from France, he was feted upon his landing and at dinners in New York and Philadelphia for having upheld the honor of the United States. (Again, that's another story.)

It was in the middle of all of this, in 1826, at age 60, when two huge events occurred. The Louisiana legislature had commissioned him in 1821 to draft a penal code. He had completed it in 1824 but it was accidentally consumed by fire and he had to recompose it. In 1826, he finished this work -- a comprehensive legal treatment on crime and punishment which included a proposal to abolish capital punishment (to which he was no stranger, having defended and lost such cases). For this work, he received international acclaim.

The second event in 1826 was the satisfaction of his debt to the U.S. Government which he had incurred 23 years earlier. He offered parcels of New Orleans property to the government that were valued at $100,000 (the original principal plus interest). The government accepted them and soon resold them for $106,000, making $6,000 in the process.

THERE IS ONE MORE STORY that needs to be told. Livingston's widow told his biographer this incident: The two of them were riding a stagecoach in the interior of Pennsylvania. At one stop, the father of a young girl who would be riding without an escort appeared at the door and surveyed the passengers. He singled out Livingston and asked him if he would look after his daughter. Livingston's wife responded, "You judge rightly, Sir; he has been the protector of innocence all his life." What a beautiful thing for a wife to say about her husband.

We can use this incident at different levels. It certainly applies to male politician predators (of whom we have seen so many in the past year alone). And let it stand as a retort to newly elected Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts who, during the campaign, said that, as a father of daughters, he supported Roe v. Wade.

Edward Livingston has no living direct descendants. Of the three children by his first wife, Charles died at age 12 in 1802, Julia at age 17 in 1813 (she died the day before he arrived in New York after having rushed to her from New Orleans and evading capture by British ships during the War of 1812), and Lewis at age 23 when he died at sea on the way home from France to New Orleans. Of his second wife, Louise, he had one child, Coralie. Although Coralie married, she and her husband had no children.

But you and I can be his descendants, just like we are George Washington's. We can adopt Edward Livingston as our model for honor and taking responsibility.

Furthermore, in honoring him, we also honor the people of this country -- in Louisiana, in the U.S. House, in the U.S. Senate, in the Jackson Administration -- who allowed him to begin again.

Livingston's widow, Louise, and his 30-year old daughter, Coralie, had a plaque placed on his tomb:

A Man --
For Talents Equalled by Few,
For Virtues Surpassed by None.

Now, please take some time and tell us about more Americans like Edward Livingston.

Page: < 12

topics:
Corruption, Public Honor

About the Author

James M. Thunder is a Washington, D.C. attorney.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (23) | Leave a comment

SC Mike| 1.29.10 @ 7:16AM

If I understand your challenge, I believe the resignations of then Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus on October 20, 1973 during the Watergate scandal fit the bill.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.....t_Massacre

Alan Brooks| 1.29.10 @ 11:15PM

"If I understand your challenge, I believe the resignations of then Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus on October 20, 1973 during the Watergate scandal fit the bill."

Saturday night massacre. Bork was involved, but he wisely temporized.
BTW, Nixon got a bad rap; he inherited a moral cesspool from LBJ-- "our" worst president.

MN Thomas| 1.29.10 @ 8:17AM

Wow. Many thanks for a great way to start the day.

TennesseeVolunteer| 1.29.10 @ 8:39AM

I know of a Man who died before His time.
He was not an American.
He lived long ago but the memory of Him and what He did for us will live forever.
He was not a politician but tried to lead, to make up for our failings, to gain forgiveness for our sins.
I think He should be mentioned in your story of individual nobility, responsibility and Love.
You have heard of Him but our current government has done much to try to make us forget Him.
His name was Jesus Christ.

Alan Brooks| 1.29.10 @ 11:46PM

"He was not an American."

He IS. Jesus has passports from EVERY nation. Visas, birth certs; he's got 'em all, by golly.

android 2.2 games| 9.9.11 @ 3:11AM

At least that this problem has got the attention of people,android 2.2 games

Becky| 1.29.10 @ 9:02AM

And in all places New Orleans. Kind of ironic.

Elizabeth Romines| 1.29.10 @ 11:01AM

Matt Blunt, Governor of Missouri

Quin| 1.29.10 @ 11:03AM

And a direct descendant of Livingston's first cousin (I believe first; it may have been a second cousin, but I think it was his first cousin), Robert L. Livingston, served in Congress from the exact same congressional district, the First District of Louisiana, that Edward did. (He also resigned, though he did not have to, for a mistake he had made and for which he had atoned years before.) He remains the only chairman of the House Appropriations Committee ever to actually CUT domestic discretionary spending for more than a single year (I believe that is right), and he almost single-handedly saved the Aegis missile defense system, and did all sorts of other good things legislatively for which he does not receive proper credit -- and, like Edward, he worked in a U.S. attorney's office, where he put lots of bad guys in jail.

Conan the Grammarian| 1.29.10 @ 12:47PM

Matt Blunt did not resign from office; rather he declined to run again for governor. He screwed Republicans by his late decision and turned the governorship over to a Dem.

Interested Conservative| 1.29.10 @ 4:26PM

Does Gov. Palin qualify? None of the ethics charges have gone against her (and most are hilariously silly), but the cost her and the state plenty. Sure, the law is flawed, but the gist of the charges seems to be her mere existence - hardly meeting the standard of "something" that she's responsible for.

Ken (Old Texican)| 1.29.10 @ 4:57PM

Mr. Thunder,
Thank you.

You know, folks, we all have bad days and good days.
Some of my heroes...heh...on their "good" days.
Please feel free to add to my little list.
Colonel Travis...the Alamo.
David Crockett...the Alamo.
Judge Roy Bean...West of the Pecos, Texas.
Every single one of our military veterans.
Sarah...
"Dubyah".
Mr. Reagan.
and.....

Alena| 1.30.10 @ 4:23AM

I recently came accross your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

Alena

http://grantsforeducation.info

Ken (Old Texican)| 1.30.10 @ 8:54AM

Alena,
Welcome.

Suburban Republican| 1.30.10 @ 11:24AM

Thank you. Education should consist of these types of inspirational individuals, because character does matter to our families, friends, and nation! We've linked your article to our Character page http://bit.ly/sE8ux Will tweet and Facebook share it as well!

Troy| 1.31.10 @ 10:32AM

George Washington -- He saw the dangers that could be caused by the precedent of a president remaining in office for life. Just because popular opinion didn't agree with him at the time didn't mean it wsan't a bad situation. I believe this was the greatest thing he did for our country, Revolutionary War record included.

JP| 2.1.10 @ 12:52PM

President Calvin Coolidge. He served only one term. Silent Cal was the exact opposite of today's politicians. He was humble, perceptive, and had a keen understanding of human nature. His brief presidency was known for its high regard of classic federalism. He was able to retire over 25% of budget defecits run up by his predcessors, and reduced income taxes for most Americans. When he decided not to run for re-election, he wrote a simple, terse note to reporters: " I do not choose to run for President in 1928."

Silent Cal came into a mess left by Harding; he cleaned it up; reversed much of the Wilson legacy, and unlike our politicians today, he wasn't tempted by money fame, or too impressed with his own speaking voice.

Mike| 2.1.10 @ 1:33PM

Very inspiring article! It's great to read about unheralded American heroes. I believe Cyrus Vance would meet the same criteria. He resigned in protest over President Carter’s failed rescue attempt of the American hostages in Iran in 1980.

Bill| 2.1.10 @ 2:08PM

It is slightly different but Phil Graham resigning from the House when he realized he could no longer be a democrat and then returning as an elected republican. It doesn't involve a scandal but it suggests a respect for the people who elected him.

Brian B| 2.1.10 @ 4:10PM

I have to say all of the examples given just highlight Edward Livingston's sterling character, since not one example resigned as an effort to accept repsonsibility for an underlings misdeeds.

Converse| 8.12.11 @ 2:43AM

is good

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gavin1| 9.20.11 @ 7:05AM

A good post.
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