- Born:
- Oct. 11, 1872, Chesterfield, N.H., U.S.
- Died:
- April 22, 1946, Washington, D.C. (aged 73)
- Role In:
- New Deal
Harlan Fiske Stone
-
Who was Harlan Fiske Stone?
Harlan Fiske Stone (1872–1946) was the 12th chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1941–46). He was also an associate justice of the court from 1925–41.
Earlier in his career, Stone taught at Columbia University from 1899 and became dean of its law school in 1910, while also maintaining a private law practice in New York City. In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge appointed him attorney general, where he reorganized the Federal Bureau of Investigation following scandals during President Warren G. Harding’s administration. Stone was then appointed associate justice of the Supreme Court in 1925.
Stone is sometimes regarded as a liberal who believed in judicial self-restraint, and his tenure on the Supreme Court saw him advocate for civil liberties and economic regulation.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What position did Harlan Fiske Stone hold on the United States Supreme Court?
Harlan Fiske Stone served on the U.S. Supreme Court as both an associate justice (1925–41) and the 12th chief justice of the United States (1941–46).
During his early years on the court, Stone was known as one of the "three great dissenters" against a conservative majority that opposed legislative regulation of business. During Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency, Stone generally supported the legislative reforms of the New Deal.
Stone was also known for his advocacy for protecting individual civil liberties from governmental coercion. He often struggled to build consensus among the associate justices, which resulted in a divided Supreme Court during his time as chief justice.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
When did Stone serve as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court?
Harlan Fiske Stone served as the 12th chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1941 to 1946. Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Stone as chief justice in 1941 to succeed Charles Evans Hughes. Stone was an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1925 to 1941.
3 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What were some major decisions or cases during his time as Chief Justice?
Harlan Fiske Stone served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1925 to 1941 and as the 12th chief justice from 1941 to 1946. He believed government efforts to meet social and political conditions should be restricted only based on unconstitutionality, not undesirability.
During Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency, Stone generally affirmed the New Deal's legislative reforms. Stone dissented in United States v. Butler (1936), where the court majority invalidated the Agricultural Adjustment Act.
Stone was also concerned with protecting individual civil liberties from governmental coercion. He dissented in Minersville School District v. Gobitis (1940), but this decision was overruled in 1943 while Stone was chief justice. In Girouard v. United States (1946), the court followed Stone’s dissent, arguing that religious pacifists who refused to bear arms could be naturalized as citizens.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How did Harlan Fiske Stone influence the Supreme Court or its decisions?
Harlan Fiske Stone, as both Associate Justice and Chief Justice, significantly influenced the Supreme Court through his advocacy for judicial self-restraint and protection of civil liberties.
Initially one of the "three great dissenters" against a conservative majority, Stone later supported New Deal legislation, including the Social Security Act. He dissented in Minersville School District v. Gobitis (1940), arguing against mandatory flag salutes for Jehovah's Witnesses, a view that later prevailed. Stone's commitment to impartiality was evident in his numerous opinions on constitutional matters. However, his tenure as Chief Justice was marked by a divided court, hindering his ability to build consensus.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What is Harlan Fiske Stone's impact on American law and history today?
Harlan Fiske Stone served as both an associate justice (1925–41) and the 12th chief justice (1941–46) of the U.S. Supreme Court. He advocated judicial self-restraint, arguing governmental efforts should only be restricted based on unconstitutionality, not undesirability.
Initially one of the "three great dissenters" against a conservative majority, Stone later supported New Deal reforms, including the Social Security Act of 1935. He championed individual civil liberties, dissenting in Minersville School District v. Gobitis (1940), which initially upheld mandatory flag salutes for Jehovah’s Witnesses. Stone's impartiality was notable across his 600 opinions, though he often struggled to achieve consensus among justices, leading to a divided court during his tenure as chief justice.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Harlan Fiske Stone (born Oct. 11, 1872, Chesterfield, N.H., U.S.—died April 22, 1946, Washington, D.C.) was an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1925–41) and the 12th chief justice of the United States (1941–46). Sometimes considered a liberal and occasionally espousing libertarian ideas, he believed primarily in judicial self-restraint: the efforts of government to meet changing 20th-century social and political conditions should be restricted only on the basis of unconstitutionality rather than undesirability.
Stone graduated from Amherst College in 1894 and received his law degree in 1898 from the law school of Columbia University. He then taught at Columbia from 1899 and served as the dean of its law school from 1910, while also conducting a private law practice in New York City. President Calvin Coolidge appointed him attorney general of the United States (1924), in which post he reorganized the Federal Bureau of Investigation after its reputation had been tarnished by the Teapot Dome and other scandals of President Warren G. Harding’s administration. Stone’s effectiveness prompted Coolidge to appoint him an associate justice of the Supreme Court (1925), and President Franklin D. Roosevelt promoted him to chief justice in succession to Charles Evans Hughes (1941).
In his early years on the court, Stone was bracketed with Justices Louis Brandeis and Oliver Wendell Holmes (and later with Benjamin Nathan Cardozo, who replaced Holmes in 1932) as one of the “three great dissenters” against a conservative majority that disliked legislative regulation of business. During Roosevelt’s presidency (1933–45), Stone generally affirmed the legislative reforms of the New Deal, upholding, for instance, the Social Security Act of 1935 and the enactment of a national minimum-wage law in 1938. In a leading case involving federal New Deal legislation, United States v. Butler, 297 U.S. 1 (1936), he opposed the court majority’s invalidation of the Agricultural Adjustment Act.
Besides advocating a new tolerance for state regulation of economic activity, Stone was instrumental in asserting the court’s concern for protecting individual civil liberties from governmental coercion. He was the lone dissenter when, in Minersville School District v. Gobitis, 310 U.S. 586 (1940), the court upheld a state ruling that children who were Jehovah’s Witnesses must join in saluting the American flag in public schools. This decision was overruled (1943) while Stone was chief justice. In Girouard v. United States, 328 U.S. 61, 76 (1946), the court followed Stone’s dissent in a similar case, United States v. Macintosh, 283 U.S. 605 (1931), in which he had argued that religious pacifists who refused to take the statutory oath to bear arms could nonetheless be naturalized as citizens.
Stone was renowned for the judicial impartiality and objectivity that he displayed in his more than 600 opinions, many of them on important constitutional questions. He was often less successful, however, in building a consensus among his associate justices, with the result that the Supreme Court during his chief justiceship was often a bitterly divided body.