Paterson, << PAT uhr suhn, >> William (1745-1806), a lawyer and judge from New Jersey, was a signer of the Constitution of the United States. He helped write and presented the New Jersey Plan at the Constitutional Convention of 1787. This proposal gave each state an equal number of representatives in the national legislature. Although the plan was rejected, a compromise was later passed that gave states equal seats in the Senate. Paterson later helped win ratification (approval) of the Constitution by New Jersey.
Paterson was born on Dec. 24, 1745, in County Antrim, Ireland (now Northern Ireland). His family came to America when he was almost 2 years old, and William grew up in Princeton, New Jersey. Paterson graduated from the College of New Jersey in 1763 and earned a master’s degree there in 1766. He began practicing law in 1769. From 1776 to 1783, Paterson was attorney general of New Jersey. Paterson served as a U.S. senator in 1789 and 1790. He helped draft the Judiciary Act of 1789, which set up the federal court system. Paterson served as governor of New Jersey from 1790 to 1793. He was appointed an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States in 1793. He died on Sept. 9, 1806.
