 Emory Washburn ( February 14 , 1800 – March 18 , 1877 ) was a United States lawyer , politician , and historian . He was Governor of Massachusetts for one term ( from 1854 to 1855 ) , and served for many years on the faculty of Harvard Law School . His history of the early years of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is still considered a foundational work on the subject . 
