John McLean

John McLean
Daguerreotype by Mathew Brady, c. 1849
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
In office March 12, 1829 – April 4, 1861
Nominated by	Andrew Jackson
Preceded by	Robert Trimble
Succeeded by	Noah Swayne
United States Postmaster General
In office June 26, 1823 – March 4, 1829
President	James Monroe John Quincy Adams
Preceded by	Return Meigs
Succeeded by	William Barry
Commissioner of the General Land Office
In office September 11, 1822 – June 26, 1823
President	James Monroe
Preceded by	Josiah Meigs
Succeeded by	George Graham
Associate Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court
In office February 17, 1816 – September 11, 1822
Preceded by	William Irvin
Succeeded by	Charles Sherman
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 1st district
In office March 4, 1813 – October 8, 1816
Preceded by	Jeremiah Morrow
Succeeded by	William Henry Harrison
Personal details
Born	(1785-03-11)March 11, 1785 Morris County, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	April 4, 1861(1861-04-04) (aged 76) Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Political party	Democratic-Republican (before 1825) National Republican (1825–1828) Democratic (1828–1831) Anti-Masonic (1831–1838) Whig (1838–1848) Free Soil (1848–1854) Republican (1854–1861)
Other political affiliations	Jacksonian
Spouses	Rebecca Edwards ​ ​ (m. 1807; died 1841)​ Sarah Ludlow ​ (m. 1843)​
Children	6
Education	Harvard University

John McLean (March 11, 1785 – April 4, 1861) was an American jurist and politician who served in the United States Congress, as U.S. Postmaster General, and as a justice of the Ohio and U.S. Supreme Courts. He was often discussed for the Whig Party nominations for president, and is also one of the few people who served in all three branches of government.

Born in New Jersey, McLean lived in several frontier towns before settling in Ridgeville, Ohio. He founded The Western Star, a weekly newspaper, and established a law practice. He won election to the United States House of Representatives, serving from 1813 until his election to the Ohio Supreme Court in 1816. He resigned from that position to accept appointment to the administration of President James Monroe, becoming the United States Postmaster General in 1823. Under Monroe and President John Quincy Adams, McLean presided over a major expansion of the United States Postal Service. In 1829, President Andrew Jackson appointed McLean as an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court.

On the court, McLean became known as an opponent of slavery, and he was frequently mentioned as a presidential candidate for various parties. McLean received the support of delegates at the 1848 Whig National Convention, the 1856 Republican National Convention, and the 1860 Republican National Convention. He was the sole dissenter in the fugitive slave case of Prigg v. Pennsylvania and one of two justices to dissent in the landmark case of Dred Scott v. Sandford. McLean served on the court until his death in 1861.