author
William Maxwell Evarts
1818–1901
Best known as one of the great courtroom figures of 19th-century America, he moved easily between law and public service, taking on some of the era’s biggest constitutional and diplomatic battles.
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About the author
Born in Massachusetts in 1818 and educated at Yale, William Maxwell Evarts built his career in New York and became one of the most prominent lawyers of his time. He was widely admired for his skill as an advocate and for the calm, polished style he brought to major public cases.
His public service was just as notable. Evarts served as U.S. Attorney General, later became Secretary of State under President Rutherford B. Hayes, and also represented New York in the U.S. Senate. He is especially remembered for his role as counsel for President Andrew Johnson during the impeachment trial and for helping represent the United States in the Alabama arbitration at Geneva.
Evarts died in 1901, but his reputation endured as that of a lawyer-statesman who stood at the center of American public life during a turbulent century.