The White Court was less conservative than the preceding
Fuller Court, though conservatism remained a powerful force on the bench (and would remain so until the early 1930s).[1] The most notable legacy of White's chief-justiceship was the development of the
rule of reason doctrine, used to interpret the
Sherman Antitrust Act, and foundational to
United States antitrust law. 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 the civil service.
Hammer v. Dagenhart (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. 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).
Abrams v. United States (1919): In a decision written by Justice Clarke, the court upheld the
Sedition Act of 1918 and the conviction of several defendants who had printed leaflets denouncing the
American intervention in the
Russian Civil War. 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, 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.
Newberry v. United States (1921): In a decision written by Justice McReynolds, the court overturned the conviction of
Truman Handy Newberry 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 to win office as Senator from Michigan.
Judicial philosophy
Though the White Court continued to strike down some economic regulations and issue conservative rulings, it was more open to such regulations than the other courts that preceded the
New Deal.[1][3] 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 to this trend.[3] The White Court also issued notable rulings in the wake of
World War I, and the court generally ruled in favor of the government.[4] 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.[1] Prior to his resignation, Hughes was often considered a progressive, while Lurton and Lamar did not serve long enough to develop strong ideological leanings.[5] 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 meant that many cases were decided unanimously.[6]
References
^
abcGalloway, Russell Wl Jr. (1 January 1985).
"The Taft Court (1921-29)". Santa Clara Law Review. 25 (1): 1–2. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
Abraham, Henry Julian (2008). Justices, Presidents, and Senators: A History of the U.S. Supreme Court Appointments from Washington to Bush II. Rowman & Littlefield.
ISBN9780742558953.
Hall, Kermit L.; Ely, James W. Jr.; Grossman, Joel B., eds. (2005). The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
ISBN9780195176612.
Hall, Kermit L.; Ely, James W. Jr., eds. (2009). The Oxford Guide to United States Supreme Court Decisions (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
ISBN978-0195379396.
Hall, Timothy L. (2001). Supreme Court Justices: A Biographical Dictionary. Infobase Publishing.
ISBN9781438108179.
Highsaw, Robert B. (1999). Edward Douglass White: Defender of the Conservative Faith. LSU Press.
ISBN9780807124284.
Hoffer, Peter Charles; Hoffer, WilliamJames Hull; Hull, N. E. H. (2018). The Supreme Court: An Essential History (2nd ed.). University Press of Kansas.
ISBN978-0-7006-2681-6.
Howard, John R. (1999). The Shifting Wind: The Supreme Court and Civil Rights from Reconstruction to Brown. SUNY Press.
ISBN9780791440896.