Difference between revisions of "John Harlan I"
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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 | + | ===Political career=== |
Harlan started his political career as a member of the [[Whig Party]], like his father.<ref name="ANB"/> "In the spring of 1851, while he was still at Transylvania and not yet eighteen years old, he was offered the post of Kentucky adjutant general. Although Harlan, citing his age, demurred at the time, that autumn he was appointed to the post by the governor."<ref name="ANB"/> | Harlan started his political career as a member of the [[Whig Party]], like his father.<ref name="ANB"/> "In the spring of 1851, while he was still at Transylvania and not yet eighteen years old, he was offered the post of Kentucky adjutant general. Although Harlan, citing his age, demurred at the time, that autumn he was appointed to the post by the governor."<ref name="ANB"/> | ||
Revision as of 22:46, 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 career
Harlan started his political career as a member of the Whig Party, like his father.[2] "In the spring of 1851, while he was still at Transylvania and not yet eighteen years old, he was offered the post of Kentucky adjutant general. Although Harlan, citing his age, demurred at the time, that autumn he was appointed to the post by the governor."[2]
In 1854, Harlan was elected city attorney of Frankfort, Kentucky, and he was re-elected to the position in 1856.[2] When the Whig Party was dissolved around this time, Harlan became a member of the Know Nothing Party.[2] Harlan gave several speeches as a Know Nothing member that were anti-immigrant in nature "that would later haunt him."[2] In 1858, Harlan was elected as county judge of Franklin County, Kentucky as a Know Nothing.[2] Harlan later switched party affiliation to the Opposition Party, and ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 1859.[2]
In 1860, Harlan switched parties again to the Constitutional Union Party and supported it's candidate, John Bell, for president.[2] He supported the party because it supported the Union as opposed to succession but opposed abolitionism.[2] During the Civil War, Harlan was a strong supporter of remaining in the Union, and in September 1861, he "formed the Tenth Kentucky Volunteers, serving as the unit's colonel and seeing action in both his home state and Tennessee."[2] In February of 1863, president Abraham Lincoln"recommended to Congress that Harlan be promoted to brigadier general," however, due to the recent death of his father, Harlan declined the nomination and resigned from the army.[2]
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.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 John Marshall Harlan. 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).
External links
- Biography according to The Supreme Court Historical Society