The White Court refers to the
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. Federal tribunals in the United States, federal court cases, and over Stat ...
from 1910 to 1921, when
Edward Douglass White
Edward Douglass White Jr. (November 3, 1844 – May 19, 1921) was an American politician and jurist from Louisiana. White was a U.S. Supreme Court justice for 27 years, first as an associate justice from 1894 to 1910, then as the ninth chief ...
served as
Chief Justice of the United States. White, an
associate justice
Associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some sta ...
since 1894, succeeded
Melville Fuller
Melville Weston Fuller (February 11, 1833 – July 4, 1910) was an American politician, attorney, and jurist who served as the eighth chief justice of the United States from 1888 until his death in 1910. Staunch conservatism marked his ...
as Chief Justice after the latter's death, and White served as Chief Justice until his death a decade later. He was the first sitting associate justice to be elevated to chief justice in the Court's history. He was succeeded by former
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...
.
The White Court was less conservative than the preceding
Fuller Court, though conservatism remained a powerful force on the bench (and would remain so through the mid-1930s).
The most notable legacy of White's chief-justiceship was the development of the
rule of reason
The rule of reason is a legal doctrine used to interpret the Sherman Antitrust Act, one of the cornerstones of United States antitrust law. While some actions like price-fixing are considered illegal ''per se', ''other actions, such as po ...
doctrine, used to interpret the
Sherman Antitrust Act
The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 (, ) is a United States antitrust law which prescribes the rule of free competition among those engaged in commerce. It was passed by Congress and is named for Senator John Sherman, its principal author.
...
, and foundational to
United States antitrust law
In the United States, antitrust law is a collection of mostly federal laws that regulate the conduct and organization of businesses to promote competition and prevent unjustified monopolies. The three main U.S. antitrust statutes are the Sherm ...
. During this era the Court also established that the
Fourteenth Amendment protected the "liberty of contract." On the grounds of the Fourteenth Amendment and other provisions of the Constitution, it controversially overturned many state and federal laws designed to protect employees.
Membership
The White Court began in December 1910 when President William Howard Taft appointed White to succeed Melville Fuller as Chief Justice. White was the first incumbent associate justice to be appointed as Chief Justice.
Earlier in 1910, Taft had appointed
Horace Harmon Lurton
Horace Harmon Lurton (February 26, 1844 – July 12, 1914) was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States and previously was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and of th ...
and
Charles Evans Hughes
Charles Evans Hughes Sr. (April 11, 1862 – August 27, 1948) was an American statesman, politician and jurist who served as the 11th Chief Justice of the United States from 1930 to 1941. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the ...
to the Supreme Court. In 1911, Taft appointed
Willis Van Devanter
Willis Van Devanter (April 17, 1859 – February 8, 1941) was an American lawyer who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1911 to 1937. He was a staunch conservative and was regarded as a part of the Fo ...
and
Joseph Rucker Lamar to the court, filling vacancies that had arisen in 1910. The White Court thus began with the five Taft appointees and four veterans of the Fuller Court:
John Marshall Harlan
John Marshall Harlan (June 1, 1833 – October 14, 1911) was an American lawyer and politician who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1877 until his death in 1911. He is often called "The Great Dissenter" due to his ...
,
Joseph McKenna,
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (March 8, 1841 – March 6, 1935) was an American jurist and legal scholar who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1902 to 1932.Holmes was Acting Chief Justice of the Un ...
, and
William R. Day
William Rufus Day (April 17, 1849 – July 9, 1923) was an American diplomat and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1903 to 1922. Prior to his service on the Supreme Court, Day served as Unit ...
. Harlan died in 1911, and Taft appointed
Mahlon Pitney
Mahlon R. Pitney IV (February 5, 1858 – December 9, 1924) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician who served in the U.S. House of Representatives for two terms from 1895 to 1899. He later served as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Suprem ...
to replace him. Lurton died in 1914, and President
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
appointed
James Clark McReynolds
James Clark McReynolds (February 3, 1862 – August 24, 1946) was an American lawyer and judge from Tennessee who served as United States Attorney General under President Woodrow Wilson and as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Unite ...
to replace him.
In 1916, Lamar died and Hughes resigned to
accept
Accept may refer to:
* Acceptance, a person's assent to the reality of a situation etc.
* Accept (band), a German heavy metal band
** ''Accept'' (Accept album), their debut album from 1979
* ''Accept'' (Chicken Shack album), 1970
* ACCEPT (org ...
the
Republican nomination for president. Wilson appointed
Louis Brandeis
Louis Dembitz Brandeis (; November 13, 1856 – October 5, 1941) was an American lawyer and associate justice on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1916 to 1939.
Starting in 1890, he helped develop the " right to privacy" concep ...
and
John Hessin Clarke
John Hessin Clarke (September 18, 1857 – March 22, 1945) was an American lawyer and judge who served as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1916 to 1922.
Early life
Born in New Lisbon, Ohio, Clarke was the third and y ...
to replace them. The White Court ended with White's death in 1921; President
Warren G. Harding appointed Taft as White's successor.
Timeline
Other branches
Presidents during this court included
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...
,
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
, and
Warren G. Harding. Congresses during this court included
61st through the
67th United States Congresses.
Rulings of the Court
*''
Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. United States
''Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. United States''(1910), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States found Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey guilty of monopolizing the petroleum industry through a series of abusive and anticompe ...
'' (1911): In a decision written by Chief Justice White, the court upheld the government's prosecution of
Standard Oil
Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co- ...
as valid under the
Commerce Clause
The Commerce Clause describes an enumerated power listed in the United States Constitution ( Article I, Section 8, Clause 3). The clause states that the United States Congress shall have power "to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and amon ...
and the
Sherman Antitrust Act
The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 (, ) is a United States antitrust law which prescribes the rule of free competition among those engaged in commerce. It was passed by Congress and is named for Senator John Sherman, its principal author.
...
. The decision resulted in the break-up of Standard Oil. ''
United States v. American Tobacco Co.
''United States v. American Tobacco Company'', , was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States, United States Supreme Court, which held that the combination in this case is one in restraint of trade and an attempt to monopolize the busin ...
'' (1911) was decided on the same day for similar reasons, and led to the break-up of
American Tobacco Company
The American Tobacco Company was a tobacco company founded in 1890 by J. B. Duke through a merger between a number of U.S. tobacco manufacturers including Allen and Ginter and Goodwin & Company. The company was one of the original 12 members ...
.
*''
Houston East & West Texas Railway Co. v. United States'' (1914): In a decision written by Justice Hughes, the court allowed the
Interstate Commerce Commission
The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later trucking) to ensure fair rates, to elimina ...
to regulate intrastate railroad rates, ruling that the ICC could regulate activity that has a "close and substantial relation" to interstate commerce.
*''
Guinn v. United States
''Guinn v. United States'', 238 U.S. 347 (1915), was a United States Supreme Court decision that found certain grandfather clause exemptions to literacy tests for voting rights to be unconstitutional. Though these grandfather clauses were superf ...
'' (1915): In a decision written by Chief Justice White, the court found
grandfather clause
A grandfather clause, also known as grandfather policy, grandfathering, or grandfathered in, is a provision in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations while a new rule will apply to all future cases. Those exempt from t ...
exemptions to
literacy test
A literacy test assesses a person's literacy skills: their ability to read and write have been administered by various governments, particularly to immigrants. In the United States, between the 1850s and 1960s, literacy tests were administered ...
s to be unconstitutional. The court held that such clauses violated the
Fifteenth Amendment, though
Southern
Southern may refer to:
Businesses
* China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China
* Southern Airways, defunct US airline
* Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US
* Southern Airways Express, M ...
states continued to find ways to
disenfranchise African-American voters.
*''
Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad Co.'' (1916): In a decision written by Chief Justice White, the court upheld the federal income tax imposed by the
Revenue Act of 1913
The Revenue Act of 1913, also known as the Underwood Tariff or the Underwood-Simmons Act (ch. 16, ), re-established a federal income tax in the United States and substantially lowered tariff rates. The act was sponsored by Representative Oscar U ...
.
*''
Selective Draft Law Cases
''Arver v. United States'', 245 U.S. 366 (1918), also known as the ''Selective Draft Law Cases'', was a United States Supreme Court decision which upheld the Selective Service Act of 1917, and more generally, upheld conscription in the United Sta ...
'' (1918): In a decision written by Chief Justice White, the court upheld the
Selective Service Act of 1917
The Selective Service Act of 1917 or Selective Draft Act () authorized the United States federal government to raise a national army for service in World War I through conscription. It was envisioned in December 1916 and brought to President ...
, which provided for
conscription
Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to Ancient history, antiquity and it continues in some countries to th ...
.
*''
Hammer v. Dagenhart
''Hammer v. Dagenhart'', 247 U.S. 251 (1918), was a United States Supreme Court decision in which the Court struck down a federal law regulating child labor. The decision was overruled by ''United States v. Darby Lumber Co.'' (1941).
During the ...
'' (1918): In a 5–4 decision written by Justice Day, the court struck down the
Keating–Owen Act, which sought to limit the use of
child labor
Child labour refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such e ...
. The court held manufacturing itself does not constitute interstate commerce, and thus Congress did not have the power to regulate manufacturing conditions. ''Hammer'' was overruled by ''
United States v. Darby Lumber Co.'' (1941).
*''
International News Service v. Associated Press
''International News Service v. Associated Press'', 248 U.S. 215 (1918), also known as ''INS v. AP'' or simply the ''INS'' case, is a 1918 decision of the United States Supreme Court that enunciated the misappropriation doctrine of federal intell ...
'' (1918): In a decision written by Justice Pitney, the court formulated the
misappropriation doctrine The misappropriation doctrine is a U.S. legal theory conferring a "quasi-property right" on a person who invests "labor, skill, and money" to create an intangible asset. The right operates against another person (usually a competitor of the first pe ...
of federal
intellectual property
Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...
law. The case arose from the
International News Service
The International News Service (INS) was a U.S.-based news agency (newswire) founded by newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst in 1909. 's copying of reports about
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
written by the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...
, and the court held that the AP reports qualified as
quasi-property.
*''
Schenck v. United States'' (1919): In a decision written by Justice Holmes, the court upheld the
Espionage Act of 1917
The Espionage Act of 1917 is a United States federal law enacted on June 15, 1917, shortly after the United States entered World War I. It has been amended numerous times over the years. It was originally found in Title 50 of the U.S. Code (War ...
and the conviction of
Charles Schenck
''Schenck v. United States'', 249 U.S. 47 (1919), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court concerning enforcement of the Espionage Act of 1917 during World War I. A unanimous Supreme Court, in an opinion by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes ...
, a socialist organizer who handed out leaflets urging draftees to refuse to serve in World War I. Holmes laid out the
clear and present danger
''Clear and Present Danger'' is a political thriller novel, written by Tom Clancy and published on August 17, 1989. A sequel to '' The Cardinal of the Kremlin'' (1988), main character Jack Ryan becomes acting Deputy Director of Intelligence in ...
doctrine to determine what speech was not protected by the
First Amendment
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
. A similar case, ''
Debs v. United States
''Debs v. United States'' 249 U.S. 211 (1919) was a United States Supreme Court decision, relevant for US labor law and constitutional law, that upheld the Espionage Act of 1917.
Facts
Eugene V. Debs was an American labor and political leader an ...
'' (1919), upheld the conviction of perennial socialist presidential candidate
Eugene V. Debs.
*''
Abrams v. United States'' (1919): In a decision written by Justice Clarke, the court upheld the
Sedition Act of 1918
The Sedition Act of 1918 () was an Act of the United States Congress that extended the Espionage Act of 1917 to cover a broader range of offenses, notably speech and the expression of opinion that cast the government or the war effort in a ne ...
and the conviction of several defendants who had printed leaflets denouncing the
American intervention in the
Russian Civil War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Russian Civil War
, partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I
, image =
, caption = Clockwise from top left:
{{flatlist,
*Soldiers ...
. In a dissenting opinion, Justice Holmes argued that the defendants did not present a clear and present danger, and also noted that the Sedition Act only applied to the First World War.
*''
Missouri v. Holland'' (1920): In a decision written by Justice Holmes, the court upheld the
Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 (MBTA), codified at (although §709 is omitted), is a United States federal law, first enacted in 1918 to implement the convention for the protection of migratory birds between the United States and Canada ...
, which regulated the hunting of migratory waterfowl. The decision held that treaties take precedence over state law, and that the treaty did not violate the
Tenth Amendment.
*''
United States v. Wheeler'' (1920): In a decision written by Chief Justice White, the court held that the
Privileges and Immunities Clause
The Privileges and Immunities Clause ( U.S. Constitution, Article IV, Section 2, Clause 1, also known as the Comity Clause) prevents a state from treating citizens of other states in a discriminatory manner. Additionally, a right of interstate ...
establishes a
right to travel
Freedom of movement, mobility rights, or the right to travel is a human rights concept encompassing the right of individuals to travel from place to place within the territory of a country,Jérémiee Gilbert, ''Nomadic Peoples and Human Rights ...
.
*''
Newberry v. United States'' (1921): In a decision written by Justice McReynolds, the court overturned the conviction of
Truman Handy Newberry
Truman Handy Newberry (November 5, 1864 – October 3, 1945) was an American businessman and political figure. He served as the Secretary of Navy between 1908 and 1909. He was a Republican U.S. Senator from Michigan between 1919 and 1922.
Bio ...
and held that Congress has no authority to regulate the nominations processes of political parties. The decision struck down spending limits established by the
Federal Corrupt Practices Act. The case stemmed from the
1918 Senate elections, in which Newberry defeated
Henry Ford
Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that ...
to win office as Senator from Michigan.
Judicial philosophy
Though the White Court continued to strike down some economic regulations and make conservative rulings, it was more open to such regulations than the other courts that preceded the
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Con ...
.
The White Court issued several favorable rulings towards an expanded interpretation of the Commerce Clause and taxing powers, although ''Hammer'' stands as a notable exception. The White Court also issued notable rulings in the wake of World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, and the court generally ruled in favor of the government. After the 1916 appointments, the court had three ideological wings: Holmes, Brandeis, and Clarke were the progressives, McKenna, White, Pitney, and Day were centrists, and McReynolds and Van Devanter were conservative.[ Prior to his resignation, Hughes was often considered a progressive, while Lurton and Lamar did not serve long enough to develop strong ideological leanings.] Regardless of the ideological blocs, consensual norms and the high load of relatively mundane cases faced by the Supreme Court prior to the Judiciary Act of 1925
The Judiciary Act of 1925 (43 Stat. 936), also known as the Judge's Bill or Certiorari Act, was an act of the United States Congress that sought to reduce the workload of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Background
Although the Judiciary A ...
meant that many cases were decided unanimously.[Wood, 204, 211-212]
References
Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:White Court (justices)
1910s in the United States
1920s in the United States
United States Supreme Court history by court