Pierce Butler was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
juristA 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...
who served as an
Associate JusticeAssociate 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 StatesThe 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...
from 1923 until his death in 1939. He is notable for being the first justice from
MinnesotaMinnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, and for being a
DemocratThe Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
appointed by a
RepublicanThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
.
Early life
Butler was born to Patrick and Mary Ann Butler,
CatholicThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
immigrants from
County WicklowCounty Wicklow is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wicklow, which derives from the Old Norse name Víkingalág or Wykynlo. Wicklow County Council is the local authority for the county...
,
IrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. (Coincidentally, they only met in
Galena, IllinoisGalena is the county seat of, and largest city in, Jo Daviess County, Illinois in the United States, with a population of 3,429 in 2010. The city is a popular tourist destination known for its history, historical architecture, and ski and golf resorts. Galena was the residence of Ulysses S...
, even though they left the same part of Ireland for the same reason - the
Irish Potato FamineIn Ireland, the Great Famine was a period of mass starvation, disease and emigration between 1845 and 1852. It is also known, mostly outside Ireland, as the Irish Potato Famine...
.) Soon, the couple settled in Pine Bend (now
RosemountAs of the census of 2000, there were 14,619 people, 4,742 households, and 3,931 families residing in the city. The population density was 434.2 people per square mile . There were 4,845 housing units at an average density of 143.9 per square mile...
),
Dakota CountyDakota County is the third most populous county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The county is bordered by the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers on the north, and the state of Wisconsin on the east. Dakota County comprises the southeast portion of seven-county Minneapolis-St. Paul, the thirteenth...
, Minnesota, where Butler was the sixth of nine children born in a log cabin; all but one, his sister, would live to adulthood.
He graduated from
Carleton CollegeCarleton College is an independent non-sectarian, coeducational, liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, USA. The college enrolls 1,958 undergraduate students, and employs 198 full-time faculty members. In 2012 U.S...
, where he was a member of
Phi Kappa PsiPhi Kappa Psi is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania on February 19, 1852. There are over a hundred chapters and colonies at accredited four year colleges and universities throughout the United States. More than 112,000 men have been...
Fraternity. Admitted to the bar in 1888, he was elected as county attorney in
Ramsey CountyRamsey County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota, founded in 1849. As of 2010, the population was 508,640. Its county seat is St. Paul, which is also Minnesota's state capital. The county is named for Alexander Ramsey , the first governor of the Minnesota Territory...
in 1892, and re-elected in 1894. Butler joined the law firm of How & Eller in 1896, which became How & Butler after the death of Homer C. Eller the following year. He accepted an offer to work in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he took care of railroad-related litigation for
James J. HillJames Jerome Hill , was a Canadian-American railroad executive. He was the chief executive officer of a family of lines headed by the Great Northern Railway, which served a substantial area of the Upper Midwest, the northern Great Plains, and Pacific Northwest...
, but returned to private practice in 1905 and rejoined Jared How. He had also served as a lawyer for the company owned by his five brothers. In 1908, Butler was elected President of the Minnesota State Bar Association. From 1912 to 1922, he worked in railroad law in
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, representing, alternately, shareholders of railroad companies and the Canadian government; he produced favorable results for both. When he was nominated to the United States Supreme Court in 1922, he was in the middle of winning approximately $12,000,000 for the Toronto Street Railway shareholders. He married Annie M. Cronin in 1891.
Nomination and Confirmation
Although he was supported by Chief Justice and former
PresidentThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
William Howard TaftWilliam Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
, Butler's opposition to "radical" and "disloyal" professors at the
University of MinnesotaThe University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
(where he had served on the Board of Regents) made him a controversial Supreme Court nominee when proposed by Republican President Warren Harding.
SenatorThe 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...
-elect
Henrik ShipsteadHenrik Shipstead was an American politician. He served in the United States Senate from March 4, 1923, to January 3, 1947, from the state of Minnesota in the 68th, 69th, 70th, 71st, 72nd, 73rd, 74th, 75th, 76th, 77th, 78th, and 79th Congresses...
of his home state opposed him, as did Progressive Senator Robert M. LaFollette, Sr. of
WisconsinWisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
. Also against his confirmation were labor activists, some liberal newspapers (the
New RepublicThe magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
and
The NationThe Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
), and the
Ku Klux KlanKu Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
. However, with the support of prominent Roman Catholics, fellow lawyers (the Minnesota State Bar Association strongly endorsed him), and business groups (especially railroad companies), as well as Minnesota's other senator,
Knute NelsonKnute 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...
, he was confirmed by a wide margin of 61 to 8. The Senators who voted against him were five Democrats (
Walter F. GeorgeWalter Franklin George was an American politician from the state of Georgia. He was a long-time United States Senator and was President pro tempore. He was a Democrat.-Early years:...
,
William J. HarrisWilliam Julius Harris was a United States Senator from the state of Georgia. He was a great-grandson of Charles Hooks, who had been a Representative from North Carolina, and son-in-law of Joseph Wheeler, Confederate General and Representative from Alabama.- Early life :Harris was born in Cedartown...
,
J. Thomas HeflinJames Thomas Heflin , nicknamed "Cotton Tom", was a leading proponent of white supremacy, most notably as a United States Senator from Alabama.-Biography:...
,
Morris SheppardJohn Morris Sheppard was a Democratic United States Congressman and United States Senator from Texas. He authored the Eighteenth Amendment and introduced it in the Senate, so that he is referred to as "the father of national Prohibition."-Biography:John Morris Sheppard was born in Morris County...
, and
Park TrammellPark Monroe Trammell , an American politician of the Democratic Party, was the 21st Governor of Florida and represented Florida in the United States Senate from 1917 until 1936....
) and three Republicans (Robert M. LaFollette, Sr.,
Peter NorbeckPeter Norbeck served as the ninth Governor of South Dakota, and as a United States Senator. Norbeck was the first Governor of South Dakota to have been born within the borders of the state.-Biography:...
, and George W. Norris). He took his seat on the Court on January 2, 1923.
Time on the Court
While on the Court, Butler vigorously opposed regulation of business and the handing out of welfare by the Federal government (as unconstitutional). He voted against many of fellow Democrat Franklin Roosevelt's "
New DealThe New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
" laws that came before the Court, earning him a place among the so-called "
Four HorsemenThe "Four Horsemen" was the nickname given by the press to four conservative members of the United States Supreme Court during the 1932–1937 terms, who opposed the New Deal agenda of President Franklin Roosevelt. They were Justices Pierce Butler, James Clark McReynolds, George Sutherland,...
," which also included
James Clark McReynoldsJames Clark McReynolds was an American lawyer and judge who served as United States Attorney General under President Woodrow Wilson and as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court...
,
George SutherlandAlexander George Sutherland was an English-born U.S. jurist and political figure. One of four appointments to the Supreme Court by President Warren G. Harding, he served as an Associate Justice of the U.S...
, and
Willis Van DevanterWillis Van Devanter was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, January 3, 1911 to June 2, 1937.- Early life and career :...
. He wrote the majority (6-3) opinion in
United States v. SchwimmerUnited States v. Schwimmer, 279 U.S. 644 , was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States.It concerned a pacifist applicant for naturalization who in the interview declared not to be willing to "take up arms personally" in defense of the United States...
, where the
HungarianHungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
immigrant's application for citizenship was denied. In
Palko v. ConnecticutPalko v. Connecticut, , was a United States Supreme Court case concerning the incorporation of the Fifth Amendment protection against double jeopardy.-Background:...
, he was the lone dissenter on the court; the rest of the justices believed that a
stateConnecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
was not restrained from
trying a man a second time for the same crimeDouble jeopardy is a procedural defense that forbids a defendant from being tried again on the same, or similar charges following a legitimate acquittal or conviction...
. Butler believed this violated the
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States ConstitutionThe Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments.Its Citizenship Clause provides a broad definition of citizenship that overruled the Dred Scott v...
. In
Buck v. BellBuck v. Bell, , was the United States Supreme Court ruling that upheld a statute instituting compulsory sterilization of the unfit, including the mentally retarded, "for the protection and health of the state." It was largely seen as an endorsement of negative eugenics—the attempt to improve...
, Butler was the only Justice who dissented from Justice
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. was an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1902 to 1932...
's opinion holding that the forced sterilization of an allegedly "feeble-minded" woman in
VirginiaThe 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...
was constitutional. Holmes believed that Butler's religion influenced his thinking in
Buck, remarking that "Butler knows this is good law, I wonder whether he will have the courage to vote with us in spite of his religion." . Although Butler dissented in both
Buck and
Palko, he did not write a dissenting opinion in either case; the practice of a Justice's noting a dissent without opinion was much more common then than it would be in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.
He died in Washington, DC, at the age of 73 while still on the court. He is buried in the Calvary Cemetery in St. Paul.
Justice Butler was one of thirteen Catholic justices out of 111 total through the appointment of Justice
Sonia SotomayorSonia 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....
, Justice
Samuel AlitoSamuel Anthony Alito, Jr. is an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. He was nominated by President George W. Bush and has served on the court since January 31, 2006....
, and Chief Justice John Roberts in the history of the Supreme Court.
See also