“Middle Temple Lawyers and the American Revolution” 

by Randy J. Holland and Eric Stockdale 

Forward by

John G. Roberts, Jr.

Chief Justice of the United States

Americans proudly celebrate the courage, genius, and extraordinary vision of the patriots who pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor in founding the United States of America. Our nation’s founders declared independence, crafted an enduring Constitution, and created uniquely American institutions of government. In doing so, however, they were inspired and guided to a large extent by principles and ideals derived from the study of English law and legal traditions. For many of the founders, Great Britain’s Middle Temple Inn of Court was a key link between English law and the ideals ultimately reflected in the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution.

Middle Temple Lawyers and the American Revolution sheds new light on that historic connection. Established in 1501 as one of Britain’s four famed Inns, the Middle Temple from its early days trained extraordinary individuals who were drawn to the New World. Sir Walter Raleigh, who explored the Virginia coast, was a Middle Templar, as was Sir Edwin Sandys, who obtained the Virginia Charters of 1606 and 1618 and established the first representative government at Jamestown in 1619.

As constitutional government took hold in the colonies, Americans seeking to learn law from English sources braved the Atlantic to study at the renowned Middle Temple. By the time of the American Revolution, more than 100 American-born lawyers could call themselves Middle Templars. They included five signers of the Declaration of Independence, the president of the first Continental Congress, four of the drafters of the Articles of Confederation, and seven drafters of the Constitution. The Middle Temple influenced countless other Americans indirectly, through the writings of the famous Middle Templar, William Blackstone.

This book examines the Middle Temple’s influence from three different viewpoints. First, the authors trace the participation of Middle Temple lawyers in the crucial events leading to the founding of the United States and describe the roles of famous statesmen-such as John Dickinson, John and Edward Rutledge, Peyton Randolph, and Charles Pinckney-who applied their legal skills to the cause of independence. Next, the authors examine the formative Middle Temple experiences of the American colonists who traveled to London and took up study at the Inn. That examination, drawn from the transoceanic correspondence between the young Templars and their anxious parents, offers personal and often humorous insights into the legal and social education of America’s first statesmen. Finally, the authors set out biographical sketches of some of the prominent colonial families such as the Lees, Randolphs, Rutledges, and Pinckneys who benefited from the Middle Temple education.

Middle Temple Lawyers and the American Revolution provides a new perspective, both entertaining and scholarly, on the remarkable early American lawyers who drew upon both their London training and their colonial experience to launch the ongoing American experiment in representative government under the rule of law. Readers will come away with a deeper appreciation of the character of the Nation’s leading colonial lawyers, the role of English legal education in their lives, and the influence of the Middle Temple in shaping American institutions.