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Joseph B. Phillips (October 6, 1784 – July 25, 1857) was an American politician and judge from Tennessee. He was a Democrat.

Phillips was born in Kentucky in the late 18th century, and his family moved to Tennessee, where he received a classical education. He was admitted to the bar in Rutherford County, Tennessee, in 1809. He served in the US Army in the War of 1812 as a captain. He led his regiment to Fort Massac in 1812, and stayed in Illinois after the war. Phillips was the second and last Secretary of Illinois Territory serving from December 6, 1816, until October 9, 1818. In 1818, upon the admission of Illinois to the union, Phillips was elected the first chief justice of the Illinois Supreme Court, inaugurated on October 9, 1818, serving until July 4, 1822, when he resigned to run for Governor of Illinois on a pro-slavery platform, and was defeated. After this defeat, he returned to his home state of Tennessee. He died in 1857 in Rutherford County, Tennessee, at the age of 73.

Notes

1. ^ Howlett, Michael J. (1977). Keepers of the Seal: A History of the Secretaries of State of Illinois and how Their Office Grew. State of Illinois.
2. "Death of Judge Philips, of Rutherford County". Nashville Union and American. July 31, 1857.
3. "Illinois Judges". illinoisjudges.law.northwestern.edu. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
4. Severns, Roger L. (2015-01-30). Prairie Justice: A History of Illinois Courts under French, English, and American Law. SIU Press. p. 90. ISBN 978-0-8093-3370-7.
5. "Joseph Phillips - Previous Illinois Supreme Court Justice". www.illinoiscourts.gov. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
6. Association, Illinois State Bar (1911). Proceedings of the Illinois State Bar Association ...: Annual Meeting. Illinois State Bar Association.
7. Bio Data
8. Slavery in Illinois, Ethan Snively, 1901 Archived 2011-07-20 at the Wayback Machine
9. Illinois Supreme Court biography Archived 2010-07-22 at the Wayback Machine
10. Speer, William S. (2003). Sketches of Prominent Tennesseans: Containing Biographies and Records of Many of the Families who Have Attained Prominence in Tennessee. Genealogical Publishing Com. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-8063-1715-1.

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