William Hooper - Post-Revolution Years

Post-Revolution Years

After the Revolution Hooper returned to his career in law, but he lost favor with the public due to his political stance. Hooper fell in line with the Federalist Party due to his influential connections, his mistrust of the lower class, and his widely criticized soft dealings with Loyalists, toward whom he was generally forgiving. This kind and fair treatment made some even label him a Loyalist. Hooper was again called to public service in 1786, when he was appointed a federal judge in a border dispute between New York and Massachusetts, though the case was settled out of court. In 1787 and 1788 Hooper campaigned heavily for North Carolina to ratify the new United States Constitution, but by this time Hooper had become quite ill, eventually dying on October 14, 1790, at the age of 48. He was laid to rest in the Presbyterian Churchyard in Hillsborough, North Carolina. His remains were later reinterred at Guilford Courthouse National Military Ground.