Fred Vinson

From Conservapedia

The Honorable Frederick Moore Vinson'(1890-1953) was the Chief Justice of the United States from 1946 to 1953, succeeding the Honorable Harlan Fiske Stone and preceding the Honorable Earl Warren. Prior to being elevated to the Supreme Court, he served as Secretary of the Treasury (1945-1946), a Judge of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals(1937-1943), and was a Congressman for Kentucky in the House of Representatives (1925-1929,1931-1937).

Life before the Court

Fred Vinson was born in Louisa, Kentucky. He attended Centre College in Danville where he received honors for high performance. After receiving his LL.B, he became the City Attorney of Louisa. He was elected District Attorney in 1921, a post he held for three years.

In 1924, he was elected to the House of Representatives as a Democrat. He was reelected in 1926, but lost his seat to a Republican challenger in 1928. However, he was able to reclaim the seat in 1930. Vinson was able to secure reelection until his resignation. He became assigned to the House Appropriations Committee as well as the Ways and Means Committee, where he was able to provide support for the New Deal program of President Franklin Roosevelt.

Roosevelt appointed him to the D.C. Court of Appeals in 1937, leading to his resignation from Congress. In 1943, he resigned his Appellate seat to work for the Roosevelt Administration in several jobs. This led to his appointment as Secretary of the Treasury in 1945, a post he held for several months.

Chief Justice

Main Article:Vinson Court

On April 22, 1946, Chief Justice Harlan Fiske Stone passed away. President Harold Truman chose Vinson as his replacement. His Court was noted for hearing a relatively small number of cases per term and initiating the tradition of having clerks write opinions. On September 8, 1953, after seven years as Chief Justice, he passed away in Washington D.C. at the age of 63 and was replaced by Earl Warren.