806 Sheet – American State Trials 1918 Volume X Leo Frank Document

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Here is the translated text as follows:

The Trial of Thomas Cooper for Seditious Libel, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1800

The Narrative

Thomas Cooper was an Englishman who had inherited a good fortune. He was trained as a lawyer but spent more time experimenting with acids and gases than studying law books or preparing legal briefs. His interest in chemistry eventually led him to master the subject.

Cooper, Thomas (1759-1840), was born in London, England. He was educated at Oxford, studied law, and then turned to the natural sciences, particularly chemistry, over which he soon obtained mastery. However, he ventured into politics and fell out of favor with the government, which forced him to abandon public life for his chemical experiments. Unfortunately, these experiments ended disastrously, prompting him to emigrate to America. Regarding his life after serving his prison term, Dr. Wharton (State Trials, p. 680) notes: "Upon his release from prison, Mr. Cooper found the minority rapidly turning into a majority, and in a short time, the administration that had prosecuted him was overthrown. His untiring industry, his almost universal philosophical attainments, and his courageous temper, but more particularly the sufferings he had undergone in the maintenance of the freedom of the press, placed him high in the esteem of the dominant party. After being appointed a commissioner to negotiate a settlement of the Luzerne difficulties in Pennsylvania—a duty he discharged with remarkable skill and success—he was nominated by Governor McKean to the president judgeship of a judicial district."

Mr. Cooper's actions after he became a judge form an odd sequel to his experiences when he was subject to judicial power. Scarcely five years had passed after his release from prison before he was on the bench, and barely five more years had passed before he was impeached before the Senate of Pennsylvania. The charges against him, though gravely preferred and amply supported, might be considered burlesques of those he was instrumental in bringing against Judge Chase in the Senate of the United States. (See post, 11 Am. St. Tr.) He was accused of pouncing upon delinquent jurors on the first day of court with fines and bench warrants, violating the venerable Pennsylvania practice of giving them the quarto die post. He was also charged with imprisoning a Quaker for not removing his hat, committing three parties for 'whispering'—an offense for which he declared he would hear no apology—and issuing warrants without proper cause.