Wallace McCamant (September 22, 1867 – December 17, 1944) was an American jurist in

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

. A

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

native, he served as the 46th justice of the

Oregon Supreme Court The Oregon Supreme Court (OSC) is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States.United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

. As a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1920, McCamant surprised the GOP leadership by placing the name of Calvin Coolidge into nomination for Vice-President. Coolidge would become the 30th President of the United States upon the death of President Harding in 1923.

Education and career

Born on September 22, 1867 in

Hollidaysburg Hollidaysburg is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Blair County, Pennsylvania, Blair County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is located on the Juniata River, south of Altoona, Pennsylvania, Altoona and is part of ...

, McCamant was the son of Thomas McCamant and the former Delia Robbins.Corning, Howard M. ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956. He grew up in

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

, Pennsylvania and attended the public schools in that town. In 1888 he graduated from

Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 1832. The founders voted to name the college after General Laf ...

in Easton, Pennsylvania with a

Bachelor of Philosophy Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil, BPh, or PhB; la, Baccalaureus Philosophiae or ) is the title of an academic degree that usually involves considerable research, either through a thesis or supervised research projects. Unlike many other bachelor's d ...

degree. Wallace then read law and in 1890 was admitted to the bar in Pennsylvania and subsequently moved to

. He then entered private practice in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, Oregon at what is now

Miller Nash Graham & Dunn LLP Miller Nash LLP is an American law firm based in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. Established in 1873, the limited liability partnership has 153 attorneys firm wide. As of 2017, it was the third largest law firm in Portland when it had 86 at ...

. In 1893, he married Katherine S. Davis, and they had two sons. McCamant became a Master in Chancery for the

United States District Court for the District of Oregon The United States District Court for the District of Oregon (in case citations, D. Ore. or D. Or.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the state of Oregon. It was created in 1859 when the state was admitted to the Union ...

in 1904, serving until 1917. In 1909, he was president of the Portland chapter of the

Sons of the American Revolution The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR or NSSAR) is an American congressionally chartered organization, founded in 1889 and headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. A non-profit corporation, it has described its purpose ...

. He would serve as the President General of the Sons of the American Revolution from 1921 until 1922. During his private legal career McCamant appeared before the

United States Supreme Court 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 court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

in ''Ross v. State of Oregon'', 227 US 150 (1913). On January 8, 1917, McCamant was appointed to the

Oregon Supreme Court The Oregon Supreme Court (OSC) is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States.Robert Eakin Robert Eakin (March 15, 1848 – October 1, 1917) was an American judge and attorney in the state of Oregon. He served as the 19th Chief Justice on the Oregon Supreme Court. Eakin was the head judge of the court from 1911 to 1913, and was on t ...

Oregon Governor The governor of Oregon is the head of government of Oregon and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. ter ...

James Withycombe James Withycombe (March 21, 1854 – March 3, 1919) was an English-American Republican politician who served as the 15th Governor of Oregon. Biography Withycombe was born to tenant farmers Thomas and Mary Ann Withycombe in Tavistock, England, ...

.Oregon Blue Book: Earliest Authorities in Oregon - Supreme Court Justices of Oregon.
Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved January 11, 2008.Oregon State Archives: Oregon Governor's Records Guides.
Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved January 11, 2008. Eighteen months later, McCamant resigned on June 4, 1918 and was replaced by Charles A. Johns.

Failed Court of Appeals nomination

McCamant received a

recess appointment In the United States, a recess appointment is an appointment by the president of a federal official when the U.S. Senate is in recess. Under the U.S. Constitution's Appointments Clause, the President is empowered to nominate, and with the a ...

from President Calvin Coolidge on May 25, 1925, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

Erskine Mayo Ross Erskine Mayo Ross (June 30, 1845 – December 10, 1928) was an American attorney and jurist from California. He served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and of the United States Circuit ...

. He was nominated to the same position by President Coolidge on December 8, 1925. The

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

rejected his nomination on March 17, 1926. His service terminated on May 2, 1926, due to his resignation, though he would have been eligible to continue serving until the sine die adjournment of the first session of the 69th United States Congress on July 3, 1926.

Circumstances of nomination failure

The lack of confirmation was partly due to McCamant’s support for Coolidge over Senator

Hiram Johnson Hiram Warren Johnson (September 2, 1866August 6, 1945) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 23rd governor of California from 1911 to 1917. Johnson achieved national prominence in the early 20th century. He was elected in 191 ...

at the 1920 Republican Convention to select the Vice-Presidential nominee from the party. McCamant had been the delegate who first moved for the nomination of Coolidge after the Republican leadership had moved for and seconded Senator Irvine Lenroot of Wisconsin, which resulted in Coolidge's ascension to the Presidency upon

Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular sitting U.S. presidents. A ...

's death. With the Senate not confirming McCamant, he became the first rejected recess appointment to a

United States Court of Appeals United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

Later life

In 1922, McCamant dedicated the

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

Rough Rider statue in Portland's

South Park Blocks The South Park Blocks form a city park in downtown Portland, Oregon. ''The Oregonian'' has called it Portland's "extended family room", as Pioneer Courthouse Square is known as Portland's "living room". Twelve blocks in length, it is intersecte ...

. On December 17, 1944, McCamant died and was buried at River View Cemetery in Portland.

References

External links

*
Guide to Wallace McCamant papers

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCamant, Wallace Justices of the Oregon Supreme Court 1867 births 1944 deaths People from Blair County, Pennsylvania Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit United States court of appeals judges appointed by Calvin Coolidge 20th-century American judges Unsuccessful recess appointments to United States federal courts Burials at River View Cemetery (Portland, Oregon) Lafayette College alumni Pennsylvania Republicans Oregon Republicans Pennsylvania lawyers Sons of the American Revolution United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law