Best known for his Anti-Federalist beliefs, Robert Yates was born in 1738 in New York. He was the oldest child out of twelve children that Joseph Yates and Maria Dunbar had in their family. He was educated in New York and later pursued law and studied under William Livingston. He began practicing law in 1760.
The political career of Robert Yates is one that challenged many while prepared others through his own schools of thought. Robert Yates was part of the organization that formed the Constitution of the United States. He was a New York representative from 1785 until 1787 serving in the general congress. In 1808, Robert Yates was appointed as Master in Chancery.
Ironically, it is strongly believed that Robert Yates adopted the pseudonym of Brutus and then wrote a series of various articles that were words against the ratification of the Constitution of the United States. Even more ironic is the fact that the name "Brutus" is believed to have been the name he took from Marcus Junius Brutus. This was one of the people who assassinated Julius Caesar in order to keep the Roman Republic in tact.
The articles that began with an acknowledgement to the "Citizens of the State of New York" found public attention in the New York Journal.
Robert Yates, Alexander Hamilton and John Lansing, Jr. were all present at the 1787 Philadelphia meeting of the Constitutional Convention. It was believed that Yates, Hamilton and Lansing all signed the Constitution. However, Lansing and Yates left the meeting early. Robert Yates didn’t sign the Constitution but he later found cause to accept it.
Robert Yates didn’t achieve extraordinary wealth during his lifetime but he enjoyed a life in politics during an era where many of the men of the Revolution carried a large measure of respect wherever they went. Robert Yates died in 1801. He was sixty-three years old.
|