Chief justice of the United States from 1910 to 1921
For the U.S. politician (1795-1847), see Edward Douglass White Sr.
Edward Douglass White
White in 1905
9th Chief Justice of the United States
In office December 19, 1910 – May 19, 1921[1]
Nominated by
William Howard Taft
Preceded by
Melville Fuller
Succeeded by
William Howard Taft
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
In office March 12, 1894 – December 18, 1910[1]
Nominated by
Grover Cleveland
Preceded by
Samuel Blatchford
Succeeded by
Willis Van Devanter
United States Senator from Louisiana
In office March 4, 1891 – March 12, 1894
Preceded by
James Eustis
Succeeded by
Newton Blanchard
Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court
In office January 1879 – April 1880
Nominated by
Francis T. Nicholls
Preceded by
William B. Giles Egan
Personal details
Born
Edward Douglass White Jr.
(1845-11-03)November 3, 1845 Thibodaux, Louisiana, U.S.
Died
May 19, 1921(1921-05-19) (aged 75) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Resting place
Oak Hill Cemetery
Political party
Democratic
Spouse
Leita Montgomery Kent
(m. 1894)
Education
Mount St. Mary's University (AB) Georgetown University Tulane University (LLB)
Signature
Edward Douglass White Jr. (November 3, 1845[2][3] – May 19, 1921) was an American politician and jurist. White, a native of Louisiana, was a U.S. Supreme Court justice for 27 years, first as an associate justice from 1894 to 1910, then as the ninth chief justice from 1910 until his death in 1921. White is known for siding with the Supreme Court majority in Plessy v. Ferguson, which upheld the legality of state segregation.
Born in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, White practiced law in New Orleans after graduating from the University of Louisiana, now Tulane University. He also attended the College of the Immaculate Conception, present-day Jesuit High School in New Orleans, class of 1865. His father, Edward Douglass White Sr., was the 10th Governor of Louisiana and a Whig US Representative. White fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War and was captured in 1865. After the war, White won election to the Louisiana State Senate and served on the Louisiana Supreme Court. As a member of the Democratic Party, White represented Louisiana in the United States Senate from 1891 to 1894.
In 1894, President Grover Cleveland appointed White as an associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1910, President William Howard Taft elevated him to the position of chief justice. The appointment surprised many contemporaries, as Taft was a member of the Republican Party. White served as chief justice until his death in 1921, when he was succeeded by Taft.
White sided with the Supreme Court majority in Plessy v. Ferguson, which upheld the legality of state segregation to provide "separate but equal" public facilities in the United States, despite the "equal protection of the laws" clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In one of several challenges to Southern states' grandfather clauses, used to disfranchise African-American voters at the turn of the century, he wrote for a unanimous court in Guinn v. United States, which struck many of them down. He also wrote the opinion in the Selective Draft Law Cases, which upheld the constitutionality of conscription.
^ ab"Justices 1789 to Present". www.supremecourt.gov. Washington, D.C.: Supreme Court of the United States. Archived from the original on April 15, 2010. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
^Birth-Baptismal Record of Edouard Douglas White (Record Number: 1844-606) child of E.D. White and Sidney Ringgold, baptized December 30, 1844, in Thibodaux, LA by Rev. Chs. M. Menard. Date of birth November 3, 1844. Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, Office of Archives, Historical Research Center, 205 Audubon Avenue, Thibodaux, LA 70301. Abstracted on April 8, 2008
^Reeves, William D. (1999). Dr. James White, Governor E.D. White and Chief Justice Edward Douglass white of Louisiana. Thibodaux, Louisiana: The Friends of the Edward Douglass White Historic Site. p. 96. ISBN 1-887366-33-4.
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