Today in History, July 11, 1921:
Former President William Howard Taft is sworn in as the 10th Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court, replacing the recently deceased Chief Justice that he himself had appointed when he was President.
It was Taft’s dream job, and he took to it enthusiastically. He would be the only person to be both President and Chief Justice, and therefore the only President to swear in other Presidents.
Today in History, July 11, 1921:
Former President William Howard Taft is sworn in as Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court, his dream job.
He had been a jurist in several different posts, Governor-General of the Philippines, Secretary of War and finally President. His former friend Theodore Roosevelt had tried to appoint him to the court several times, but he had refused because he felt responsibilities to the positions he filled at the time.
He never really wanted to be President, but Chief Justice had been his life long dream. President Warren G. Harding gave it to him, making him the only person to hold both jobs, and the only former President to swear in future Presidents.
Today in History, February 24: 1803 – Marbury vs. Madison. The Supreme Court establishes the principle of Judicial Review. In a case fraught with typical American skullduggery, the US Supreme Court gains it’s power. In the election of 1800, Thomas Jefferson had defeated the one term John Adams. In the time before the end of his term, Adams appointed as many judges and justice of the peace as he could, even working with his fellow party members to increase the number of judges. This resulted in the infamous “midnight judges” that were appointed at the last minute. Adams’ Secretary of State, John Marshall, wasn’t able to deliver all of the commissions to the judges and justices of the peace in time before Adams’ term ended, but figured the new Secretary of State, James Madison, would do so. He did not. Realizing they’d been snookered, Jefferson and Madison’s party did not deliver the new commissions. One of the Justices of the Peace, William Marbury, sued. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court…whose Chief Justice now was…John Marshall. Marshall made a decision that was a master stroke. The Court decided that the commissions should have been delivered…but at the same time decided that the court could not enforce the decision because Marbury did not have standing to file suit. While this initially seemed to emasculate the Court…in the end the decision established that the Court could render Congressional acts Unconstitutional if it chose to do so. The are dozens of examples of why appointments to the Court are important, not the least of which we are watching play out now.
Today in History, January 31: 1801 – John Marshall is appointed as the fourth Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court. His decisions would make the Supreme Court the true 3rd segment of the American Government, a “check and balance” of the other two. This only gives us faith in our government when the court makes decisions based on law, and not on politically biased opinions. Marshall, the longest serving Chief Justice, would serve for 34 years, taking part in over 1,000 decisions. He would affect law through six presidencies.
Mark Loves History! 