George Hay (1765-1830)
Attorney, Judge & Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
He was born in Williamsburg, Virginia, becoming a lawyer in Petersburg and Richmond (and a prosecutor during the trial of Aaron Burr), writer, and a federal district Judge (1825-30). He made important contributions to First Amendment theory by writing two pamphlets defending the freedom of the press, and he was also a vocal advocate of slavery, writing a series of heavily pro-slavery pieces during the Missouri Crisis, signing off with the pen-name "An American." In 1808, he married Eliza, daughter of U.S. President James Monroe, and they had two children.
