Van Devanter, Willis

AuthorJeffrey Lehman, Shirelle Phelps

Page 195

As an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1910 to 1937, Willis Van Devanter was considered the leading conservative justice of the era. Van Devanter's background in education, politics, and the law brought him to the bench, first as chief justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court and then as a U.S. circuit judge. In his twenty-six years on the U.S. Supreme Court, he consistently opposed the expansion of government power. His opposition was fiercest during the administration of President FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, when he joined three other conservative justices of the Supreme Court in fighting Roosevelt's legislative program, the NEW DEAL. Their like-minded opinions, which earned them the nickname the "Four Horsemen," led to a sharp confrontation with the president.

Born on April 17, 1859, in Marion, Indiana, Van Devanter was the first of eight children born to Violetta Spencer and Isaac Van Devanter, a lawyer and abolitionist. He excelled in academics, graduating in 1878 from Indiana Asbury University (now DePauw University) with a near perfect record in history, math, Greek, and Latin. In 1881 he earned a bachelor of laws degree from the Cincinnati Law School and established a law practice in Indiana. He soon moved to Wyoming where he represented railroads, helped to amend the state's statutes in 1886, and served as city attorney for two years. In 1888 he was a representative at the territorial legislature and chaired the Judiciary Committee. Van Devanter also found time for hunting grizzly bears with the legendary Buffalo Bill (William F. Cody).

For the next two decades, Van Devanter's energies were divided among the judiciary, education, and REPUBLICAN PARTY politics. He presided as chief justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court from 1889 to 1890. From 1896 to 1900, he was an assistant U.S. attorney general to the INTERIOR DEPARTMENT, concurrently serving as a delegate to the Republican National Committee. He also taught law at Columbian College, now GEORGE WASHINGTON University. In 1903 President THEODORE ROOSEVELT appointed him to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, and in 1910 President WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT nominated him to the Supreme Court.

"WE ARE OF THE OPINION THAT THE POWER OF INQUIRY?WITH PROCESS TO ENFORCE IT?IS AN ESSENTIAL AND APPROPRIATE AUXILIARY TO THE LEGISLATIVE FUNCTION."

?WILLIS VAN DEVANTER

On the Court, Van Devanter wrote few noteworthy opinions. His...

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