[3] Livingston practiced law, owned a small farm with a few tenants, and ran a store in Poughkeepsie with the brother of prominent politician Melancton Smith.
His law partners included the renowned jurist James Kent[4] as well as Smith Thompson, who later married Livingston's daughter Sarah.
[1] Serving in the New York State Assembly from 1777-1778 and 1788-1789, he opposed price-fixing, supported tenants' rights, and warned against attempts by loyalists to gain power.
[1] Livingston is now remembered most for his participation in the critical state convention, held in Poughkeepsie during the summer of 1788, that ratified the U.S. Constitution.
He said that members of the U.S. Senate would be "strangers to the condition of the common people," and that a state government would be sufficient to deal with the "depravity of human nature.
[6] Livingston said he would only support ratification if amendments were made: "I will steadily persevere, in every possible means, to secure this desirable object, a revision of the Constitution."