Frederick Grimke

Who was Frederick Grimke?

Frederick Grimke was a judge and author in the U.S. State of Ohio who was an Ohio Supreme Court Judge 1836-1842.

Frederick Grimke was born in Charleston, South Carolina, the son of John Faucheraud Grimke, a Revolutionary War hero and jurist in that state. He graduated from Yale University at age 19, studied law in South Carolina, and practiced in that state before moving to Chillicothe, Ohio in 1818.

From 1820 to 1836, Grimke was President Judge of the Court of Common Pleas In 1836, he was elected a Judge on the Ohio Supreme Court. Throughout this time he wrote essays for the Scioto Gazette and Ohio State Journal. In 1842, literary and philosophical studies became an obsession, and he resigned from the Supreme Court.

In 1846, the 544 page Considerations upon the Nature and Tendency of Free Institutions was published. It was wide ranging, and generally favorable toward democracy. Before he died during the American Civil War, he directed that one copy be delivered to the Federal Government, and one to the Confederate Government. He also published Essay on Ancient and Modern Literature, where he came out firmly in favor of the modern over the Classics.