Edward Douglass White
Encyclopedia
Edward Douglass White, Jr. (November 3, 1845 May 19, 1921), American
politician
and jurist
, was a United States senator
, Associate Justice
of the United States Supreme Court
and the ninth Chief Justice of the United States
. He was best known for formulating the Rule of Reason
standard of antitrust law
. He also sided with the Supreme Court majority in the 1896 decision of Plessy v. Ferguson
, which upheld the legality of segregation
in the United States, though he did write for a unanimous court in Guinn v. United States
(1915), which struck down many Southern states' grandfather clause
s that disenfranchised blacks.
) in Lafourche Parish in south Louisiana
. He was the son of Edward Douglass White Sr.
, a former governor of Louisiana, and grandson of Dr. James White
, a U.S. representative, physician, and judge. On his mother's side, he was the grandson of U.S. Marshal Tench Ringgold
, and related to the Lee family
of Virginia
. The White family's large plantation
cultivated sugar cane and refined it into a finished product.
White's paternal ancestors were of Irish descent
, and he was a devout Roman Catholic his entire life. He studied first at the Jesuit College in New Orleans, then at Mount St. Mary’s College
, near Emmitsburg, Maryland
, and then attended Georgetown University
in Washington, D.C.
where he was a member of the Philodemic Society
. He later studied law at the University of Louisiana
, renamed Tulane University
in 1884.
White's studies at Georgetown were interrupted by the American Civil War
. It has been suggested that he returned to Bayou Lafourche
, where he supposedly enlisted as an infantry
man in the Confederate States Army
under General Richard Taylor
and eventually attained the rank of lieutenant
. This is questionable, as his widowed mother had remarried and was living with the rest of the family in New Orleans at the time. When he returned to Louisiana, it was probably to his primary home in New Orleans. An apocryphal account states that White was almost captured by General Godfrey Weitzel
's Union army
when they invaded Bayou Lafourche in October 1862, but that he evaded capture by hiding beneath hay in a barn. It is possible that White enlisted in the Lafourche militia, as its muster rolls are not complete. There is no documentation, however, that White served in any Confederate volunteer unit or militia unit engaged in campaigns in the Lafourche area.
Another account suggests that he was assigned as an aide to Confederate General W. N. R. Beall
and accompanied him to Port Hudson
. Port Hudson had a garrison of 18,000 Confederate soldiers, but a numerically superior Union force surrounded it. After a siege
lasting from May 21 to July 8, 1863 (the longest siege in North American history), the Confederate forces unconditionally surrendered after learning of the fall of Vicksburg. White's presence at Port Hudson is supported by a secondhand account of a postwar dinner conversation he had with Senator Knute Nelson
of Minnesota, a Union veteran of Port Hudson, and another recounted by Admiral George Dewey
(then a Federal naval officer at Port Hudson), in both of which White mentioned his presence during the siege. However, White's name does not appear on any list of prisoners captured at Port Hudson. According to another account of questionable reliability, White was supposedly sent to a Mississippi
prisoner of war camp. (As practically all Confederate soldiers of enlisted rank of the Port Hudson garrison were paroled, and officers sent to prison in New Orleans and later at Johnson's Island, Ohio, this account is probably untrue.) When he was paroled, he supposedly returned to the family plantation, but it was abandoned, the canefields were barren, and most of the former slaves had left.
The only "hard" evidence of White's Confederate service consists of the account of his capture on March 12, 1865 in an action in Morganza
in Pointe Coupee Parish contained in the Official Records of the American Civil War
, and his service records in the National Archives
, documenting his subsequent imprisonment in New Orleans and parole in April 1865. These records confirm his service as a lieutenant in Captain W. B. Barrow's company of a Louisiana cavalry regiment, for all practical purposes a loosely-organized band of irregulars or "scouts" (guerrillas). One organizing officer of this regiment, sometimes called "Barrow's Regiment" or the "9th Louisiana Cavalry Regiment," was Major Robert Pruyn. Pruyn (a postwar mayor of Baton Rouge, Louisiana) served as courier relaying messages from Port Hudson's commander, General Franklin Gardner
, to General Joseph E. Johnston
, crossing the Union siege lines by swimming the Mississippi
. Pruyn escaped from Port Hudson prior to its surrender in the same manner. It is interesting to speculate that perhaps White accompanied Pruyn during that escape, which would explain White's absence from Port Hudson's prisoner rolls and later service in Pruyn's regiment. According to another account, after his parole in April 1865 and following the surrender of the western Confederate forces, White ended his military career by walking (his clothing in rags) to a comrade's family home in Livonia in Pointe Coupee Parish.
White's Civil War service was a matter of common knowledge at the time of his initial nomination to the United States Supreme Court, and the Confederate Veteran periodical, published for the United Confederate Veterans, congratulated him upon his affirmation. White was one of three ex-Confederate soldiers to serve on the Supreme Court. The others were Associate Justices Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar (II) and Horace Harmon Lurton
. The Court's other ex-Confederate, Associate Justice Howell Edmunds Jackson
, held a civil position under the Confederate government.
Tulane University
While living on the abandoned plantation, White began his legal studies. He then enrolled at the University of Louisiana
, now named Tulane University
, to complete his study of the law at what is now known as the Tulane University Law School
. He subsequently was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in New Orleans in 1868. He briefly served in the Louisiana State Senate in 1874 and as an Associate Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court
from 1879 to 1880. He was politically affiliated with Governor Francis T. Nicholls
, a former Confederate general.
He became famous in Louisiana for helping to abolish the Louisiana Lottery
, a hotbed of corruption the fate of which was taken before the state's Supreme Court which ordered it discontinued in 1894.
The state's legislature appointed White to the United States Senate in 1891 to succeed James B. Eustis
. He served until his resignation on March 12, 1894, when he was nominated by President Grover Cleveland
(D) to be an Associate Justice
of the Supreme Court of the United States
. In 1896 he sided with the seven justices whose majority opinion in Plessy v. Ferguson
approved segregation.
to the position of Chief Justice of the United States
upon the death of Melville Fuller
. At the time, it was a controversial appointment for two reasons. First, White was a Democrat while Taft was a Republican. The media of the day widely expected Taft to name Republican Justice Charles Evans Hughes
to the post. Second, White was the first Associate Justice to be appointed Chief Justice since John Rutledge
in 1795. Some historians believe that President Taft appointed White, who was 65 years old at the time and overweight, in the hope that White would not serve all that long and that Taft himself might someday be appointed—-which is just what happened eleven years later.
White was generally seen as one of the more conservative members of the court. Besides being the originator of the “Rule of Reason
," White also wrote the decision upholding the constitutionality of the Adamson Act
, which mandated a maximum eight-hour work day for railroad employees, in 1916. White wrote for a unanimous Court in Guinn v. United States
(1915), which invalidated the Oklahoma and Maryland grandfather clauses (and, by extension, those in other Southern states) as "repugnant to the Fifteenth Amendment and therefore null and void." However, in practice the Southern states found other methods to disfranchise blacks which withstood Court scrutiny.
As Chief Justice, White swore in Presidents Woodrow Wilson
(twice) and Warren G. Harding
.
When he left the High Court, he was succeeded by William Howard Taft, making White the only Chief Justice to be followed by the President who appointed him.
Chief Justice White was one of thirteen Catholic justices out of 111 total through the appointment of Justice Sonia Sotomayor
in the history of the Supreme Court.
He married Leita Montgomery Kent, the widow of Linden Kent, on November 6, 1894, in New York City
.
. The Georgetown graveyard overlooks Rock Creek; also interred there are Associate Justice Noah Swayne and "almost-Justice" Edwin M. Stanton
. Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase
was also buried there, but his body was transferred after 14 years to Cincinnati, Ohio
's Spring Grove Cemetery
.
White's statue is one of the two honoring Louisiana natives in the National Statuary Hall
in the U.S. Capitol. Another statue is in front of the Louisiana Supreme Court
building in New Orleans
. The second statue is a local landmark on the New Orleans scene. "Big Green Ed", as his likeness is often referred to, is a favorite of locals and tourists alike. Visitors are often seen sitting at the base of his likeness, discussing issues of the day. Moreover, local custom holds that those who run around the statue in a counterclockwise direction will not be arrested that night.
Edward Douglas White Catholic High School
in Thibodaux, Louisiana
, bears his name (although it dropped the extra "s" at the end of Douglass).
In his honor, the Edward Douglass White Lectures take place annually at the Louisiana State University Law Center. They have featured such distinguished speakers as Chief Justices Warren E. Burger
and William H. Rehnquist.
The play "Father Chief Justice: Edward Douglass White and the Constitution" by LSU Law Center
professor Paul Baier was based on White's life.
In early January 2009 the State of Louisiana commissioned American Memorial Restoration of Sherman Texas to restore and preserve the memorial statue of Chief Justice Edward Douglass White, Jr., that resides on the front steps of the Louisiana Supreme Court Building at 400 Royal Street in the heart of the French Quarter
of New Orleans. Photos of the statue's new look are at American Memorial Restoration.
In 1995, White was posthumously inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame
in Winnfield
.
Edward Douglass White Council #2473 of the Knights of Columbus
in Arlington VA is named in his honor.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and jurist
Jurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
, was a United States senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, Associate Justice
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States are the members of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the Chief Justice of the United States...
of the United States Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
and the ninth Chief Justice of the United States
Chief Justice of the United States
The Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal court system and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Chief Justice is one of nine Supreme Court justices; the other eight are the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States...
. He was best known for formulating the Rule of Reason
Rule of reason
The Rule of Reason is a doctrine developed by the United States Supreme Court in its interpretation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. The rule, stated and applied in the case of Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. United States, 221 U.S...
standard of antitrust law
Competition law
Competition law, known in the United States as antitrust law, is law that promotes or maintains market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies....
. He also sided with the Supreme Court majority in the 1896 decision of Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 , is a landmark United States Supreme Court decision in the jurisprudence of the United States, upholding the constitutionality of state laws requiring racial segregation in private businesses , under the doctrine of "separate but equal".The decision was handed...
, which upheld the legality of segregation
Racial segregation in the United States
Racial segregation in the United States, as a general term, included the racial segregation or hypersegregation of facilities, services, and opportunities such as housing, medical care, education, employment, and transportation along racial lines...
in the United States, though he did write for a unanimous court in Guinn v. United States
Guinn v. United States
Guinn v. United States, 238 U.S. 347 , was an important United States Supreme Court decision that dealt with provisions of state constitutions that set qualifications for voters. It found grandfather clause exemptions to literacy tests to be unconstitutional...
(1915), which struck down many Southern states' grandfather clause
Grandfather clause
Grandfather clause is a legal term used to describe a situation in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations, while a new rule will apply to all future situations. It is often used as a verb: to grandfather means to grant such an exemption...
s that disenfranchised blacks.
Early life and education
White was born on his parents' plantation near the town of Thibodeauxville (now ThibodauxThibodaux, Louisiana
Thibodaux is a small city in and the parish seat of Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States, along the banks of Bayou Lafourche in the northwestern part of the parish. The population was 14,431 at the 2000 census. Thibodaux is a principal city of the Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux...
) in Lafourche Parish in south Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. He was the son of Edward Douglass White Sr.
Edward Douglass White Sr.
Edward Douglass White, Sr. was the tenth Governor of Louisiana and a member of the United States House of Representatives. He served five nonconsecutive terms in Congress as an adherent of Henry Clay of Kentucky and the Whig Party.White was born in Maury County, Tennessee, the illegitimate son of...
, a former governor of Louisiana, and grandson of Dr. James White
James White (politician)
James White was an American physician, lawyer, and politician. He was an early settler at Nashville, Tennessee and in Louisiana. He was a delegate for North Carolina in the Continental Congress and a non-voting member of the U.S. House for the Southwest Territory.White was born into a prosperous...
, a U.S. representative, physician, and judge. On his mother's side, he was the grandson of U.S. Marshal Tench Ringgold
Tench Ringgold
Tench Ringgold was a U.S. marshal of the District of Columbia; he was appointed by President James Monroe and served in the position through the first two years of the administration of Andrew Jackson. Ringgold was from a prominent early-American family that came to America in the early seventeenth...
, and related to the Lee family
Lee family
The Lee family of the United States is a historically significant Virginia and Maryland political family, whose many prominent members are known for their accomplishments in politics and the military. Through the past few hundred years it was believed that Colonel Richard Lee of Virginia descended...
of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. The White family's large plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
cultivated sugar cane and refined it into a finished product.
White's paternal ancestors were of Irish descent
Irish American
Irish Americans are citizens of the United States who can trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,278,332 Americans—estimated at 11.9% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau...
, and he was a devout Roman Catholic his entire life. He studied first at the Jesuit College in New Orleans, then at Mount St. Mary’s College
Mount Saint Mary's University
Mount St. Mary's University, also known as The Mount, is a private, liberal arts, Catholic university in the Catoctin Mountains near Emmitsburg, Maryland. It was founded by French émigré Father John DuBois in 1808 and is the oldest independent Catholic college in the United States...
, near Emmitsburg, Maryland
Emmitsburg, Maryland
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 2,290 people, 811 households, and 553 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,992.9 people per square mile . There were 862 housing units at an average density of 750.2 per square mile...
, and then attended Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
where he was a member of the Philodemic Society
Philodemic Society
The Philodemic Society is a student debating organization at Georgetown University. It was founded in 1830 by Father James Ryder, S.J., in whose honor an award is given every Spring at the Merrick Debate. The Philodemic is among the oldest such societies in the United States and is the oldest...
. He later studied law at the University of Louisiana
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
, renamed Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
in 1884.
American Civil War service
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. It has been suggested that he returned to Bayou Lafourche
Bayou Lafourche
Bayou Lafourche, originally called Chetimachas River, is a bayou in southeastern Louisiana, United States, that flows into the Gulf of Mexico. The first settlements of Acadians in southern Louisiana were near Bayou Lafourche and Bayou des Écores, which led to a close association of the bayou with...
, where he supposedly enlisted as an infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
man in the Confederate States Army
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
under General Richard Taylor
Richard Taylor (general)
Richard Taylor was a Confederate general in the American Civil War. He was the son of United States President Zachary Taylor and First Lady Margaret Taylor.-Early life:...
and eventually attained the rank of lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
. This is questionable, as his widowed mother had remarried and was living with the rest of the family in New Orleans at the time. When he returned to Louisiana, it was probably to his primary home in New Orleans. An apocryphal account states that White was almost captured by General Godfrey Weitzel
Godfrey Weitzel
Godfrey Weitzel was a major general in the Union army during the American Civil War, as well as the acting Mayor of New Orleans during the Federal occupancy of the city.-Early life and career:...
's Union army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
when they invaded Bayou Lafourche in October 1862, but that he evaded capture by hiding beneath hay in a barn. It is possible that White enlisted in the Lafourche militia, as its muster rolls are not complete. There is no documentation, however, that White served in any Confederate volunteer unit or militia unit engaged in campaigns in the Lafourche area.
Another account suggests that he was assigned as an aide to Confederate General W. N. R. Beall
William Beall
William Nelson Rector Beall was a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He is most noted for his supply efforts on behalf of Confederate prisoners of war.-Early life and career:...
and accompanied him to Port Hudson
Port Hudson, Louisiana
Port Hudson is a small unincorporated community in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, United States. Located about northwest of Baton Rouge, it is most famous for an American Civil War battle known as the Siege of Port Hudson.-Geography:...
. Port Hudson had a garrison of 18,000 Confederate soldiers, but a numerically superior Union force surrounded it. After a siege
Siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit". Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static...
lasting from May 21 to July 8, 1863 (the longest siege in North American history), the Confederate forces unconditionally surrendered after learning of the fall of Vicksburg. White's presence at Port Hudson is supported by a secondhand account of a postwar dinner conversation he had with Senator Knute Nelson
Knute Nelson
Knute Nelson was an Norwegian American politician. A Republican, he served in the Wisconsin Legislature and Minnesota Legislature, in the U.S. House of Representatives, as the 12th Governor of Minnesota, and as a U.S...
of Minnesota, a Union veteran of Port Hudson, and another recounted by Admiral George Dewey
George Dewey
George Dewey was an admiral of the United States Navy. He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War...
(then a Federal naval officer at Port Hudson), in both of which White mentioned his presence during the siege. However, White's name does not appear on any list of prisoners captured at Port Hudson. According to another account of questionable reliability, White was supposedly sent to a Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
prisoner of war camp. (As practically all Confederate soldiers of enlisted rank of the Port Hudson garrison were paroled, and officers sent to prison in New Orleans and later at Johnson's Island, Ohio, this account is probably untrue.) When he was paroled, he supposedly returned to the family plantation, but it was abandoned, the canefields were barren, and most of the former slaves had left.
The only "hard" evidence of White's Confederate service consists of the account of his capture on March 12, 1865 in an action in Morganza
Morganza, Louisiana
Morganza is an incorporated village near the Mississippi River in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 659 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area. The village's zip code is 70759...
in Pointe Coupee Parish contained in the Official Records of the American Civil War
Official Records of the American Civil War
The Official Records of the War of the Rebellion or often more simply the Official Records or ORs, constitute the most extensive collection of primary sources of the history of the American Civil War. Cornell University lists the official title as, "The War of the Rebellion: a Compilation of the...
, and his service records in the National Archives
National Archives and Records Administration
The National Archives and Records Administration is an independent agency of the United States government charged with preserving and documenting government and historical records and with increasing public access to those documents, which comprise the National Archives...
, documenting his subsequent imprisonment in New Orleans and parole in April 1865. These records confirm his service as a lieutenant in Captain W. B. Barrow's company of a Louisiana cavalry regiment, for all practical purposes a loosely-organized band of irregulars or "scouts" (guerrillas). One organizing officer of this regiment, sometimes called "Barrow's Regiment" or the "9th Louisiana Cavalry Regiment," was Major Robert Pruyn. Pruyn (a postwar mayor of Baton Rouge, Louisiana) served as courier relaying messages from Port Hudson's commander, General Franklin Gardner
Franklin Gardner
Franklin Gardner was a Confederate general in the American Civil War, best noted for his service at the Siege of Port Hudson.-Early life:...
, to General Joseph E. Johnston
Joseph E. Johnston
Joseph Eggleston Johnston was a career U.S. Army officer, serving with distinction in the Mexican-American War and Seminole Wars, and was also one of the most senior general officers in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War...
, crossing the Union siege lines by swimming the Mississippi
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. Pruyn escaped from Port Hudson prior to its surrender in the same manner. It is interesting to speculate that perhaps White accompanied Pruyn during that escape, which would explain White's absence from Port Hudson's prisoner rolls and later service in Pruyn's regiment. According to another account, after his parole in April 1865 and following the surrender of the western Confederate forces, White ended his military career by walking (his clothing in rags) to a comrade's family home in Livonia in Pointe Coupee Parish.
White's Civil War service was a matter of common knowledge at the time of his initial nomination to the United States Supreme Court, and the Confederate Veteran periodical, published for the United Confederate Veterans, congratulated him upon his affirmation. White was one of three ex-Confederate soldiers to serve on the Supreme Court. The others were Associate Justices Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar (II) and Horace Harmon Lurton
Horace Harmon Lurton
Horace Harmon Lurton was an American jurist who served for four years as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Appointed at the age of 65, Lurton was the oldest justice appointed to the Court.-Life:...
. The Court's other ex-Confederate, Associate Justice Howell Edmunds Jackson
Howell Edmunds Jackson
Howell Edmunds Jackson was an American jurist and politician. He served on the United States Supreme Court, in the U.S. Senate, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and the Tennessee House of Representatives. He authored notable opinions on the Interstate Commerce Act and the...
, held a civil position under the Confederate government.
Tulane University
Political career
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
, now named Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
, to complete his study of the law at what is now known as the Tulane University Law School
Tulane University Law School
Tulane University Law School is the law school of Tulane University. It is located on Tulane's Uptown campus in New Orleans, Louisiana. Established in 1847, it is the 12th oldest law school in the United States....
. He subsequently was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in New Orleans in 1868. He briefly served in the Louisiana State Senate in 1874 and as an Associate Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court
Louisiana Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Louisiana is the highest court and court of last resort in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The modern Supreme Court, composed of seven justices, meets in the French Quarter of New Orleans....
from 1879 to 1880. He was politically affiliated with Governor Francis T. Nicholls
Francis T. Nicholls
Francis Redding Tillou Nicholls was an American attorney, politician, judge, and a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War...
, a former Confederate general.
He became famous in Louisiana for helping to abolish the Louisiana Lottery
Louisiana State Lottery Company
The Louisiana State Lottery Company was a private corporation that in the mid-19th century ran the Louisiana lottery. It was for a time the only legal lottery in the United States, and for much of that time had a very foul reputation as a swindle of the state and citizens and a repository of...
, a hotbed of corruption the fate of which was taken before the state's Supreme Court which ordered it discontinued in 1894.
The state's legislature appointed White to the United States Senate in 1891 to succeed James B. Eustis
James B. Eustis
James Biddle Eustis was a United States Senator from Louisiana.-Biography:Born in New Orleans, he was the son of George Eustis and Clarice Allain. His father was a lawyer who served as a Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court...
. He served until his resignation on March 12, 1894, when he was nominated by President Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
(D) to be an Associate Justice
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States are the members of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the Chief Justice of the United States...
of the Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
. In 1896 he sided with the seven justices whose majority opinion in Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 , is a landmark United States Supreme Court decision in the jurisprudence of the United States, upholding the constitutionality of state laws requiring racial segregation in private businesses , under the doctrine of "separate but equal".The decision was handed...
approved segregation.
The White Court, 1910-1921
In 1910, he was elevated by President William Howard TaftWilliam Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
to the position of Chief Justice of the United States
Chief Justice of the United States
The Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal court system and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Chief Justice is one of nine Supreme Court justices; the other eight are the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States...
upon the death of Melville Fuller
Melville Fuller
Melville Weston Fuller was the eighth Chief Justice of the United States between 1888 and 1910.-Early life and education:...
. At the time, it was a controversial appointment for two reasons. First, White was a Democrat while Taft was a Republican. The media of the day widely expected Taft to name Republican Justice Charles Evans Hughes
Charles Evans Hughes
Charles Evans Hughes, Sr. was an American statesman, lawyer and Republican politician from New York. He served as the 36th Governor of New York , Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States , United States Secretary of State , a judge on the Court of International Justice , and...
to the post. Second, White was the first Associate Justice to be appointed Chief Justice since John Rutledge
John Rutledge
John Rutledge was an American statesman and judge. He was the first Governor of South Carolina following the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the 31st overall...
in 1795. Some historians believe that President Taft appointed White, who was 65 years old at the time and overweight, in the hope that White would not serve all that long and that Taft himself might someday be appointed—-which is just what happened eleven years later.
White was generally seen as one of the more conservative members of the court. Besides being the originator of the “Rule of Reason
Rule of reason
The Rule of Reason is a doctrine developed by the United States Supreme Court in its interpretation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. The rule, stated and applied in the case of Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. United States, 221 U.S...
," White also wrote the decision upholding the constitutionality of the Adamson Act
Adamson Act
The Adamson Act was a United States federal law passed in 1916 that established an eight-hour workday, with additional pay for overtime work, for interstate railroad workers....
, which mandated a maximum eight-hour work day for railroad employees, in 1916. White wrote for a unanimous Court in Guinn v. United States
Guinn v. United States
Guinn v. United States, 238 U.S. 347 , was an important United States Supreme Court decision that dealt with provisions of state constitutions that set qualifications for voters. It found grandfather clause exemptions to literacy tests to be unconstitutional...
(1915), which invalidated the Oklahoma and Maryland grandfather clauses (and, by extension, those in other Southern states) as "repugnant to the Fifteenth Amendment and therefore null and void." However, in practice the Southern states found other methods to disfranchise blacks which withstood Court scrutiny.
As Chief Justice, White swore in Presidents Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
(twice) and Warren G. Harding
Warren G. Harding
Warren Gamaliel Harding was the 29th President of the United States . A Republican from Ohio, Harding was an influential self-made newspaper publisher. He served in the Ohio Senate , as the 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and as a U.S. Senator...
.
When he left the High Court, he was succeeded by William Howard Taft, making White the only Chief Justice to be followed by the President who appointed him.
Chief Justice White was one of thirteen Catholic justices out of 111 total through the appointment of Justice Sonia Sotomayor
Sonia Sotomayor
Sonia Maria Sotomayor is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, serving since August 2009. Sotomayor is the Court's 111th justice, its first Hispanic justice, and its third female justice....
in the history of the Supreme Court.
He married Leita Montgomery Kent, the widow of Linden Kent, on November 6, 1894, in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Death and legacy
White died in office and his remains were buried at the Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. The Georgetown graveyard overlooks Rock Creek; also interred there are Associate Justice Noah Swayne and "almost-Justice" Edwin M. Stanton
Edwin M. Stanton
Edwin McMasters Stanton was an American lawyer and politician who served as Secretary of War under the Lincoln Administration during the American Civil War from 1862–1865...
. Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase
Salmon P. Chase
Salmon Portland Chase was an American politician and jurist who served as U.S. Senator from Ohio and the 23rd Governor of Ohio; as U.S. Treasury Secretary under President Abraham Lincoln; and as the sixth Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.Chase was one of the most prominent members...
was also buried there, but his body was transferred after 14 years to Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
's Spring Grove Cemetery
Spring Grove Cemetery
Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum is a nonprofit garden cemetery and arboretum located at 4521 Spring Grove Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the second largest cemetery in the United States and is recognized as a U.S. National Historic Landmark....
.
White's statue is one of the two honoring Louisiana natives in the National Statuary Hall
National Statuary Hall
National Statuary Hall is a chamber in the United States Capitol devoted to sculptures of prominent Americans. The hall, also known as the Old Hall of the House, is a large, two-story, semicircular room with a second story gallery along the curved perimeter. It is located immediately south of the...
in the U.S. Capitol. Another statue is in front of the Louisiana Supreme Court
Louisiana Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Louisiana is the highest court and court of last resort in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The modern Supreme Court, composed of seven justices, meets in the French Quarter of New Orleans....
building in New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
. The second statue is a local landmark on the New Orleans scene. "Big Green Ed", as his likeness is often referred to, is a favorite of locals and tourists alike. Visitors are often seen sitting at the base of his likeness, discussing issues of the day. Moreover, local custom holds that those who run around the statue in a counterclockwise direction will not be arrested that night.
Edward Douglas White Catholic High School
Edward Douglas White Catholic High School
Edward Douglas White Catholic High School is a private, Roman Catholic junior and senior high school in Thibodaux, Louisiana in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux...
in Thibodaux, Louisiana
Thibodaux, Louisiana
Thibodaux is a small city in and the parish seat of Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States, along the banks of Bayou Lafourche in the northwestern part of the parish. The population was 14,431 at the 2000 census. Thibodaux is a principal city of the Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux...
, bears his name (although it dropped the extra "s" at the end of Douglass).
In his honor, the Edward Douglass White Lectures take place annually at the Louisiana State University Law Center. They have featured such distinguished speakers as Chief Justices Warren E. Burger
Warren E. Burger
Warren Earl Burger was the 15th Chief Justice of the United States from 1969 to 1986. Although Burger had conservative leanings, the U.S...
and William H. Rehnquist.
The play "Father Chief Justice: Edward Douglass White and the Constitution" by LSU Law Center
Paul M. Hebert Law Center
The Paul M. Hebert Law Center is a law school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, part of the Louisiana State University System and located on the main campus of Louisiana State University....
professor Paul Baier was based on White's life.
In early January 2009 the State of Louisiana commissioned American Memorial Restoration of Sherman Texas to restore and preserve the memorial statue of Chief Justice Edward Douglass White, Jr., that resides on the front steps of the Louisiana Supreme Court Building at 400 Royal Street in the heart of the French Quarter
French Quarter
The French Quarter, also known as Vieux Carré, is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. When New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city was originally centered on the French Quarter, or the Vieux Carré as it was known then...
of New Orleans. Photos of the statue's new look are at American Memorial Restoration.
In 1995, White was posthumously inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame
Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame
The Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield, Louisiana, highlights the careers of more than a hundred of the state’s leading politicians and political journalists. Because three governors, Huey P. Long, Jr., Oscar K...
in Winnfield
Winnfield, Louisiana
Winnfield is a city in and the parish seat of Winn Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,749 at the 2000 census. It has long been associated with the Long faction of the Louisiana Democratic Party and was home to three governors of Louisiana.-Geography:Winnfield is located at ...
.
Edward Douglass White Council #2473 of the Knights of Columbus
Knights of Columbus
The Knights of Columbus is the world's largest Catholic fraternal service organization. Founded in the United States in 1882, it is named in honor of Christopher Columbus....
in Arlington VA is named in his honor.
See also
- Demographics of the Supreme Court of the United StatesDemographics of the Supreme Court of the United StatesThe demographics of the Supreme Court of the United States encompass the gender, ethnic, religious, geographic, and economic backgrounds of the 112 justices appointed to the Supreme Court. Certain of these characteristics have been raised as an issue since the Court was established in 1789. For its...
- List of Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States
- List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States
- List of United States Chief Justices by time in office
- List of U.S. Supreme Court Justices by time in office
- United States Supreme Court cases during the Fuller Court
- United States Supreme Court cases during the White Court
Further reading
- Cassidy, Lewis C. (1923) Life of Edward Douglass White: Soldier, Statesman, Jurist, 1845-1921. Ph.D. dissertation, Georgetown UniversityGeorgetown UniversityGeorgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
. - Mele, Joseph C. (Fall 1962) Edward Douglass White’s Influence on the Louisiana Anti-Lottery Movement. Southern Speech Journal 28: 36-43.
- Miller, William Timothy. (1933)Edward Douglass White: A Study in Constitutional History. Ph.D. dissertation, Ohio State UniversityOhio State UniversityThe Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
. - Ramke, Diedrich. (1940) Edward Douglass White —- Statesman and Jurist. Ph.D. dissertation, Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College.
- Reeves, William Dale. (1999) Paths to distinction: Dr. James White, Governor E.D. White, and Chief Justice Edward Douglass White of Louisiana. Friends of the Edward Douglass White Historic Site. ISBN 1887366334
- U.S. Supreme Court. (1921) Proceedings of the Bar and Officers of the Supreme Court of the United States in Memory of Edward Douglass White, December 17, 1921. Washington: Government Printing Office,
External links
- Ariens, Michael, Edward Douglass White.
- Bust of Edward Douglass White, OyezOyez.orgThe Oyez Project at the Chicago-Kent College of Law is an unofficial online multimedia archive of the Supreme Court of the United States, especially audio of oral arguments...
. official Supreme Court media. - The E. D. White Historic Site, including the original plantation home, operated by the Louisiana State Museum
- Edward Douglas White biography, Supreme Court Historical SocietySupreme Court Historical SocietyThe Supreme Court Historical Society is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and communicating the history of the U.S. Supreme Court.-History:...
. - Edward Douglas White, official Supreme Court media, OyezOyez.orgThe Oyez Project at the Chicago-Kent College of Law is an unofficial online multimedia archive of the Supreme Court of the United States, especially audio of oral arguments...
. - The White Court, 1910-1921, History of the Court, Supreme Court Historical Society.
- Edward Douglass White memorial at Find a GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...
.