Edward Douglass White in the United States
Edward Douglass White, Jr. (1845-1921), American jurist and politician, was born on a plantation in the parish of Lafourche, La., Nov. 3 1845. His father was seventh governor of Louisiana. He was educated at Mount St. Mary’s, Md., Georgetown (D.C.) College, and, after the outbreak of the Civil War, at the Jesuit College in New Orleans. During the latter part of the war he served as a private in the Confederate army. He studied law in the office of Edward Bermudez, later chief justice of Louisiana, was admitted to the bar in 1868, and practised law in New Orleans.
In 1874 he was elected to the state Senate, and four years later was appointed associate justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court. In 1891 he was elected to the U.S. Senate, and before completing his term was appointed, in 1894, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court by President Cleveland. In 1910 he was appointed chief justice by President Taft. Many of his notable opinions were delivered in connexion with the Sherman anti-trust law. Of special importance were his opinions requiring the dissolution of the Standard Oil Co. and the American Tobacco Co. in 1911. As chief justice he administered the oath of office to President Wilson in 1913 and 1917, and to President Harding in 1921. He died at Washington, D.C., May 19 1921.
Further Reading
- Highsaw, Robert B. (1981) Edward Douglass White: Defender of the Conservative Faith, Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press.
- Pratt, Walter F. (1999) The Supreme Court Under Edward Douglass White, 1910–1921. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press.
- Reeves, William D., Paths to Distinction: Dr. James White, Governor E.D. White and Chief Justice Edward Douglass White of Louisiana. Thibodaux, La., 1999: Friends of the Edward Douglass White Historic Site.
- Cassidy, Lewis C. (1923) Life of Edward Douglass White: Soldier, Statesman, Jurist, 1845-1921. Ph.D. dissertation, Georgetown University.
- Miller, William Timothy. (1933) Edward Douglass White: A Study in Constitutional History. Ph.D. dissertation, Ohio State University.
- Ramke, Diedrich. (1940) Edward Douglass White —- Statesman and Jurist. Ph.D. dissertation, Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College.
White Edward Douglass
Introduction to Edward Douglass White
Edward Douglass White (1845-1921), American lawyer and politician, who became chief justice of the United States in 1910, and who is known for his judicial opinions on antitrust legislation. He was born in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, and educated at Jesuit College, New Orleans, and Georgetown University. He fought with the Confederate army during the American Civil War, studied law, and was admitted to the Louisiana bar in 1868. A state senator from 1874 to 1878, he served on the Louisiana supreme court in 1879 and 1880. He was a Democratic member of the U.S. Senate in 1891-94, until President Grover Cleveland appointed him to the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1910 White was made the ninth chief justice by President William Howard Taft, becoming the first southerner to hold that office since Roger Brooke Taney.
Many of White’s judicial opinions, especially those relating to antitrust legislation, were of fundamental importance. In 1897 he formulated the so-called rule of reason, which held that the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 applied only to those combines and companies that exercised an unreasonable degree of restraint upon trade and commerce. The rule of reason was applied in the Supreme Court majority opinion, written by him in 1911, that dissolved the Standard Oil Company (New Jersey) and the American Tobacco Company. Although White generally upheld the federal government in antitrust cases, his rule of reason weakened enforcement of the antitrust act.
Another famous majority opinion written by him, in Wilson v. New (March 1917), affirmed the constitutionality of the Adamson Act (1916), which established the eight-hour day for railroad workers.” (1)
Resources
Notes and References
- Information about Edward Douglass White in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia
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