Difference between revisions of "John Harlan I"
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==Biography== | ==Biography== | ||
| + | ===Early life and education=== | ||
Harlan was born in Boyle County, Kentucky in 1833.<ref name="ANB">[John Marshall Harlan http://www.anb.org/articles/11/11-00385.html]. ''American National Biography Online''. Retrieved August 27, 2016.</ref> Harlan was the son of James Harlan, a prominent lawyer and politician who served in a variety of positions<ref>[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000210 HARLAN, James, (1800 - 1863)]. ''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress''. Retrieved August 27, 2016.</ref> including Congress, Attorney General of Kentucky, and Secretary of State of Kentucky.<ref name="ANB"/> A strong supporter of the [[Whig Party]] and a close friend of [[Henry Clay]], James Harlan named his son after John Marshall, the "Whig party's patron saint [and] the Supreme Court's 'great chief justice'".<ref name="ANB"/> | Harlan was born in Boyle County, Kentucky in 1833.<ref name="ANB">[John Marshall Harlan http://www.anb.org/articles/11/11-00385.html]. ''American National Biography Online''. Retrieved August 27, 2016.</ref> Harlan was the son of James Harlan, a prominent lawyer and politician who served in a variety of positions<ref>[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000210 HARLAN, James, (1800 - 1863)]. ''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress''. Retrieved August 27, 2016.</ref> including Congress, Attorney General of Kentucky, and Secretary of State of Kentucky.<ref name="ANB"/> A strong supporter of the [[Whig Party]] and a close friend of [[Henry Clay]], James Harlan named his son after John Marshall, the "Whig party's patron saint [and] the Supreme Court's 'great chief justice'".<ref name="ANB"/> | ||
John Harlan graduated from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, in 1850 at the age of 17, and studied law for two years at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky.<ref name="ANB"/> After that, he finished his legal education in his father's law office, something that was common at the time.<ref name="ANB"/> | John Harlan graduated from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, in 1850 at the age of 17, and studied law for two years at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky.<ref name="ANB"/> After that, he finished his legal education in his father's law office, something that was common at the time.<ref name="ANB"/> | ||
| + | ===Political involvement=== | ||
Harlan was active in the Whig Party like his father, and then became a [[Know nothing party|Know-Nothing]] after the demise of the [[Whig Party]], and he was first elected as a county judge in 1858. He gave many recorded racist and states' rights speeches that became an embarrassment after the [[Civil War]], in which he served on the [[Union]]. | Harlan was active in the Whig Party like his father, and then became a [[Know nothing party|Know-Nothing]] after the demise of the [[Whig Party]], and he was first elected as a county judge in 1858. He gave many recorded racist and states' rights speeches that became an embarrassment after the [[Civil War]], in which he served on the [[Union]]. | ||
| + | ===Supreme Court Justice=== | ||
Harlan helped deliver key votes to [[Rutherford B. Hayes]] at the nominating convention in 1876, and Hayes remembered that in nominating Harlan to a seat on the Supreme Court vacated by the surprising resignation of Justice [[David Davis]], which was apparently so Davis could avoid serving on the Electoral Commission deciding the outcome of the 1876 election. Harlan then served 34 years on the Court, one of the longest tenures ever. | Harlan helped deliver key votes to [[Rutherford B. Hayes]] at the nominating convention in 1876, and Hayes remembered that in nominating Harlan to a seat on the Supreme Court vacated by the surprising resignation of Justice [[David Davis]], which was apparently so Davis could avoid serving on the Electoral Commission deciding the outcome of the 1876 election. Harlan then served 34 years on the Court, one of the longest tenures ever. | ||
Revision as of 21:50, August 27, 2016
| John Marshall Harlan | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Former Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court From: November 29, 1877 – October 14, 1911 | |||
| Nominator | Rutherford B. Hayes | ||
| Predecessor | David Davis | ||
| Successor | Mahlon Pitney | ||
| Information | |||
| Spouse(s) | Malvina French "Mallie" Shanklin | ||
| Religion | Presbyterian | ||
John Marshall Harlan (the first) (June 1, 1833 – October 14, 1911[1]) was an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1877–1911. Born into a privileged slaveowning family, Harlan himself briefly owned slaves but later became famous for dissenting from the "separate but equal" racial doctrine once established in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896). He earned the title of the "great dissenter" during his time on the Supreme Court.[1]
Biography
Early life and education
Harlan was born in Boyle County, Kentucky in 1833.[2] Harlan was the son of James Harlan, a prominent lawyer and politician who served in a variety of positions[3] including Congress, Attorney General of Kentucky, and Secretary of State of Kentucky.[2] A strong supporter of the Whig Party and a close friend of Henry Clay, James Harlan named his son after John Marshall, the "Whig party's patron saint [and] the Supreme Court's 'great chief justice'".[2]
John Harlan graduated from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, in 1850 at the age of 17, and studied law for two years at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky.[2] After that, he finished his legal education in his father's law office, something that was common at the time.[2]
Political involvement
Harlan was active in the Whig Party like his father, and then became a Know-Nothing after the demise of the Whig Party, and he was first elected as a county judge in 1858. He gave many recorded racist and states' rights speeches that became an embarrassment after the Civil War, in which he served on the Union.
Supreme Court Justice
Harlan helped deliver key votes to Rutherford B. Hayes at the nominating convention in 1876, and Hayes remembered that in nominating Harlan to a seat on the Supreme Court vacated by the surprising resignation of Justice David Davis, which was apparently so Davis could avoid serving on the Electoral Commission deciding the outcome of the 1876 election. Harlan then served 34 years on the Court, one of the longest tenures ever.
Harlan dissented so often that Justice Felix Frankfurter called him “an eccentric exception,” in Adamson v. California (1947).
Harlan was prescient both on civil rights and on incorporation of the Bill of Rights into the Fourteenth Amendment, to apply them against the states.[4] Harlan also voted in favor of the constitutionality of an income tax.[5] He dissented from the Lochner v. New York (1905) decision that was later overturned. Harlan's rare misstep was to reject the Court's adoption of the rule of reason for the Sherman Antitrust Act in Standard Oil v. United States (1911), as reflected by Harlan's last published opinion[6]
Harlan had a temper, and was known to read his dissents from the bench while wagging a finger at fellow Justices. He adhered to the Bible along with the U.S. Constitution, and kept both dear to his heart.
Harlan's grandson John Marshall Harlan II was also a justice of United States Supreme Court.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "John M. Harlan". Oyez. Chicago-Kent College of Law at Illinois Tech, n.d. Aug 27, 2016.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 [John Marshall Harlan http://www.anb.org/articles/11/11-00385.html]. American National Biography Online. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
- ↑ HARLAN, James, (1800 - 1863). Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
- ↑ Hurtado v. California (1884).
- ↑ Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. (1895).
- ↑ United States v. American Tobacco Co. (1911).