One of most influential senators of the First Congress, Oliver Ellsworth (1745-1807) was the principal author of the Judiciary Act of 1789, which established the federal judiciary and shaped the Supreme Court. Having served in the Connecticut assembly and the Continental Congress, Ellsworth represented Connecticut at the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Two years later, he became one of that state's first two senators. In 1796, President George Washington nominated Ellsworth to the Supreme Court. Highly esteemed by his fellow senators, Ellsworth devoted his service in the Senate to implementing the new Constitution and making the new government work. John Adams later described Ellsworth as "the firmest pillar" of the federal government during its earliest years.
