The Stone Court: Justices, Rulings, and Legacy (ABC-Clio Supreme Court Handbooks)

336 Pages·2001·1.05 MB·English

by  Peter Renstrom

The Stone Court
ABC-CLIO SUPREME COURT HANDBOOKS
The Burger Court, Tinsley E. Yarbrough
The Stone Court, Peter G. Renstrom
The Warren Court,Melvin I. Urofsky
Forthcoming:
The Fuller Court,James Ely
The Hughes Court,Michael E. Parrish
The Jay-Ellsworth Court,Matthew Harrington
The Rehnquist Court,Thomas R. Hensley
The Taft Court,Peter G. Renstrom
The Taney Court,Timothy S. Huebner
The Vinson Court,Michal R. Belknap
Peter G. Renstrom, Series Editor
ABC-CLIO SUPREME COURT HANDBOOKS
The Stone Court
Justices,
Rulings, and
Legacy
Peter G. Renstrom
Western Michigan University
Santa Barbara, California • Denver, Colorado • Oxford, England
Copyright © 2001 by Peter G. Renstrom
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval sys-
tem, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without
prior permission in writing from the publishers.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Renstrom, Peter G., 1943–
The Stone court : justices, rulings, and legacy / Peter G. Renstrom.
p. cm. — (ABC-CLIO Supreme Court handbooks)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-57607-153-7 (hard : acid-free paper) —- ISBN 1-57607-582-6
(e-book : acid-free paper)
1. United States. Supreme Court—History-—20th century. 2. Stone,
Harlan Fiske, 1872–1946. 3. Constitutional history—United States.
I. Title. II. Series.
KF8742 .R48 2001
347.73'26—dc21 2001-000012
07 06 05 04 03 02 01 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ABC-CLIO, Inc.
130 Cremona Drive, P.O. Box 1911
Santa Barbara, California 93116-1911
This book is printed on acid-free paper I.
Manufactured in the United States of America
To my parents, Mildred and Franklin Renstrom, who
lived through the Stone Court era. They withstood the
misery of the Great Depression and survived the horror
of world war by embracing the values of middle America.
They lived by these values and passed them on to their
sons. Most remarkable, if not unique, and greatly
appreciated.

Contents
Series Foreword, ix
Preface, xi
PART ONE
Justices, Rulings, and Legacy, 1
1 The Stone Court and the Period, 3
The Great Depression, 4
The New Deal, 7
The Hughes Court Response, 9
The Election of 1936—the “Referendum” on the New Deal, 12
Reforming the Courts: The Court-Packing Proposal, 12
The “Other” War: From Neutrality to Intervention, 16
Assembling the Stone Court, 20
The Stone Court: An Aggregate Profile, 30
Stone and Hughes: A Comparison, 32
References, 36
2 The Justices,37
The Coolidge Appointment, 39
The Hoover Appointment, 42
The Roosevelt Appointments, 46
The Truman Appointment, 82
References, 87
3 Significant Decisions,89
Individual Rights, 90
First Amendment Issues, 92
Rights of the Accused, 105
vii
viii
Contents
Discrimination, 112
Civil Liberties and the War, 120
Government Authority in Wartime, 145
Federalism, 157
References, 177
4 Legacy and Impact,179
World War II, 183
Regulatory Authority Independent of the War: The Commerce Power, 190
Civil Liberties, 193
Conclusion, 201
References, 204
PART TWO
Reference Materials, 205
Key People, Laws, and Events,207
Appendix I: Selected Documents on the Relocation
of the Japanese,249
Appendix II: Footnote Four to United States v.
Carolene Products Co.,255
Chronology, 257
Table of Cases,271
Glossary, 277
Annotated Bibliography, 289
Index, 305
About the Author, 319
Series Foreword
T
here is an extensive literature on the U.S. Supreme Court, but it contains dis-
cussion familiar largely to the academic community and the legal profession.
The ABC-CLIO Supreme Court series is designed to have value to the aca-
demic and legal communities also, but each volume is intended as well for the gen-
eral reader who does not possess an extensive background on the Court or American
constitutional law. The series is intended to effectively represent each of fourteen
periods in the history of the Supreme Court with each of these fourteen eras defined
by the chief justice beginning with John Jay in 1789. Each Court confronted consti-
tutional and statutory questions that were of major importance to and influenced by
the historical period. The Court’s decisions were also influenced by the values of each
of the individual justices sitting at the time. The issues, the historical period, the jus-
tices, and the Supreme Court’s decisions in the most significant cases will be exam-
ined in the volumes of this series.
ABC-CLIO’s Supreme Court series provides scholarly examinations of the Court
as it functioned in different historical periods and with different justices. Each vol-
ume contains information necessary to understand each particular Court and an
interpretative analysis by the author of each Court’s record and legacy. In addition to
representing the major decisions of each Court, institutional linkages are examined
as well—the political connections among the Court, Congress, and the president.
These relationships are important for several reasons. Although the Court retains
some institutional autonomy, all the Court’s justices are selected by a process that
involves the other two branches. Many of the significant decisions of the Court
involve the review of actions of Congress or the president. In addition, the Court fre-
quently depends on the other two branches to secure compliance with its rulings.
The authors of the volumes in the ABC-CLIO series were selected with great care.
Each author has worked extensively with the Court, the period, and the personalities
about which he or she has written. ABC-CLIO wanted each of the volumes to examine
several common themes, and each author agreed to work within certain guidelines.
Each author was free, however, to develop the content of each volume, and many of the
volumes advance new or distinctive conclusions about the Court under examination.
ix
x
Series Foreword
Each volume contains four substantive chapters. The first chapter will intro-
duce the Court and the historical period in which it served. The second chapter will
examine each of the justices who sat on the particular Court. The third chapter will
represent the most significant decisions rendered by the particular Court. Among
other things, the impact of the historical period and the value orientations of the indi-
vidual justices will be developed. A fourth and final chapter will address the impact
of each particular Court on American constitutional law—its doctrinal legacy.
Each volume contains several features designed to make the volume more valu-
able to those whose previous exposure to the Supreme Court and American constitu-
tional law is limited. Each volume will have a reference section that will contain brief
entries on some of the people, statutes, events, and concepts introduced in the four
substantive chapters. Entries in this section are arranged alphabetically. Each volume
will also contain a glossary of selected legal terms used in the text. Following each of
the four chapters, a list of sources used in the chapter and suggestions for further read-
ing will appear. Each volume will also have a comprehensive annotated bibliography.
A listing of Internet sources is presented at the end of the bibliography. Finally, there
will be a comprehensive subject index and a list of cases (with citation numbers) dis-
cussed in each volume. ABC-CLIO is delighted with the quality of scholarship repre-
sented in each volume and is proud to offer this series to the reading public.
Permit me to conclude with a personal note. This project has been an extraor-
dinarily rewarding undertaking for me as series editor. Misgivings about serving in
this capacity were plentiful at the outset of the project. After tending to some admin-
istrative business pertaining to the series, securing authors for each volume was the
first major task. I developed a list of possible authors after reviewing previous work
and obtaining valuable counsel from several recognized experts in American consti-
tutional history. In virtually every instance, the first person on my list agreed to par-
ticipate in the project. The high quality of the series was assured and enhanced as
each author signed on. I could not have been more pleased. My interactions with each
author have been most pleasant, and the excellence of their work will be immediately
apparent to the reader. I sincerely thank each author.
Finally, a word about ABC-CLIO and its staff. ABC-CLIO was enthusiastic about
the project from the beginning and has done everything necessary to make this series
successful. I am very appreciative of the level of support I have received from ABC-
CLIO. Alicia Merritt, senior acquisitions editor, deserves special recognition. She has
held my hand throughout the project. She has facilitated making this project a reality
in every conceivable way. She has encouraged me from the beginning, provided
invaluable counsel, and given me latitude to operate as I wished while keeping me on
track at the same time. This project would not have gotten off the ground without Ali-
cia, and I cannot thank her enough.
—Peter G. Renstrom