Well written, generally sympathetic, and systematic, Donald M. Roper's
Mr. Justice Thompson and the Constitution ( New York, 1987) is by far the best
work on Thompson. A sketch of Thompson's life appears in 25 Dutchess
County Historical Society Yearbook 26 ( 1940). In addition, Roper's article, "Jus-
tice Smith Thompson," 51 The New York Historical Society Quarterly 119 ( 1967),
may be consulted. It is impossible to write New York political history without
mentioning Thompson. See, for example, J. Hammond, The History of Political
Parties in the State of New York ( Albany, 1842). J. Q. Adams, Memoirs ( C. F. Adams
, ed.; Philadelphia, 1874-77), contains a running picture of Thomp-
son's cabinet service. Unfortunately for Thompson, only his political enemies
seem to have written about his aspirations to the presidency and the Supreme
Court, and the works cited supra are characteristic.

Thompson's Supreme Court service is touched on, again sketchily and
unsystematically, in A. Beveridge, Life of John Marshall ( Boston and New York,
1919); and C. Swisher, Roger B. Taney ( New York, 1935). His New York
opinions are in Coleman's Reports and Cases, Coleman's & Caines' Reports and
Cases, and the first seventeen volumes of Johnson's Supreme Court Reports. For
his federal service, his circuit court opinions are in Paine's Circuit Court Re-
ports, keyed at page 2460 of the Federal Cases series in its thirtieth (Appendix)
volume, and his Supreme Court opinions are contained in 9 Wheaton to 16
Peters inclusive.

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