Howell Edmunds Jackson (April 8, 1832 – August 8, 1895) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1893 until his death in 1895. His brief tenure on the Supreme Court is most remembered for his opinion in Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co., in which Jackson argued in dissent that a federal income tax was constitutional. Republican President Benjamin Harrison appointed Jackson, a Democrat, to the Court. His rulings demonstrated support for broad federal power, a skepticism of states' rights and an inclination toward judicial restraint. Jackson's unexpected death after only two years of service prevented him from having a substantial impact on American jurisprudence.
Born in Paris, Tennessee, in 1832, Jackson earned a law degree from Cumberland Law School and was admitted to the bar in 1856. He briefly practiced law in Jackson before moving to Memphis, Tennessee, in 1857. Although he had initially opposed secession, he took a position as a receiver of sequestered property in the Confederate civil service after the Civil War broke out and later made several unsuccessful attempts to secure a judicial commission in the Confederate Army. He returned to the practice of law after the war, but he also took an interest in politics. After an unsuccessful run for the Tennessee Supreme Court, he was elected to a seat in the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1880. When the legislature deadlocked over the selection of a U.S. Senator, Jackson was selected as a consensus candidate, garnering bipartisan support. Despite being a loyal Democrat, he was held in high regard by fellow officeholders of both political parties, including Democrat Grover Cleveland and Republican Benjamin Harrison. When Cleveland became president, he appointed Jackson to a seat on the federal circuit court for the Sixth Circuit. While on the circuit court, he sided with businesses in a major antitrust dispute and supported an expansive view of constitutional freedoms in a civil rights case.
Shortly after President Harrison – Jackson's former Senate colleague – lost reelection, Supreme Court Justice Lucius Q. C. Lamar died. Harrison wanted to select a Republican replacement for Lamar, but he realized Democratic senators would likely stall the nomination until he left office. He chose Jackson, whom he viewed both as a close friend and a well-regarded jurist. The Senate unanimously confirmed Jackson just before Harrison left office in 1893. Not long after assuming office, Jackson developed tuberculosis, preventing him from playing a major role in Supreme Court affairs. He authored only forty-six opinions, many of which were in patent disputes or other insignificant cases. He left Washington hoping that a better climate would aid his health but returned to the capital after the remaining eight justices split 4–4 in Pollock. Yet Jackson ended up dissenting in the landmark income tax case, likely because of a change in another justice's vote. While Jackson's opinion in Pollock kept him from total obscurity in the annals of history, the journey to Washington also worsened his health considerably: he died on August 8, 1895, only eleven weeks after the ruling was handed down.
Early life and career
Jackson was born in Paris, Tennessee, on April 8, 1832. His parents, natives of Virginia, moved to Tennessee in 1827. A Whig, Alexander later served in the Tennessee legislature and as mayor of Jackson, Tennessee. and began practicing law in the town of Jackson. The firm was successful, and it provided Jackson with experience in corporate litigation. Judge West H. Humphreys appointed Jackson to enforce Confederate sequestration law in western Tennessee, placing him in charge of confiscating and selling the property of Union loyalists. Extant newspaper accounts show Jackson auctioned off a wide variety of property, including almonds, pickles, chairs, alcohol, tobacco and dried peaches. The firm was successful, arguing numerous cases before the Memphis courts. A Redeemer, he was against Reconstruction-era policies and efforts toward racial equality. After his first wife died in 1873, he returned to the town of Jackson, where he started a law practice with General Alexander W. Campbell. In 1875, however, he was appointed a judge of the temporary Court of Arbitration for Western Tennessee, which heard cases stemming from the large backlog created by the Civil War. When that court was dissolved, Jackson sought the Democratic nomination for a seat on the Tennessee Supreme Court, running against incumbent Thomas J. Freeman. He was given the chairmanship of the committee on public grounds and buildings, but his prompt elevation to the U.S. Senate prevented him from making any substantial impact in that position.
The most urgent task before the legislature during Jackson's tenure was the election of a U.S. Senator. The Speaker of the House, a Maynard loyalist, followed suit, arguing that Jackson was the best choice among the Democrats. After a special election, he was succeeded later in the month by Hugh C. Anderson, who represented the district composed of Haywood, Hardeman, and Madison counties in the previous legislative session. In the Senate, Jackson advocated for civil service reform and for the creation of the Interstate Commerce Commission. Jackson became a friend of President Grover Cleveland, whose tariff policies he supported. Cleveland asked his friend Jackson, who was still serving in the Senate, to recommend potential replacements, but the President ignored his advice and instead offered the seat to him. The ruling in Greene rejected a Sherman Act indictment against whiskey producers on the basis that the defendants were not preventing other firms from entering the whiskey market. Jackson's narrow interpretation of the Act set the stage for later consequential antitrust cases, including United States v. E. C. Knight Co. (1895), and it continued to influence interstate commerce law for half a century. Wishing to return the favor, the Republican Brown suggested that the Democratic Jackson would be an ideal candidate for Harrison to select. Harrison agreed to nominate Jackson, doing so on February 2. Jackson's nomination was held up initially in committee, According to the plaintiff, the law imposed a direct tax without apportioning it among the states, in violation of a provision of the Constitution. Jackson was ill, but the eight remaining justices heard the case. They struck down certain other provisions of the act but split 4–4 on the constitutionality of the income tax. While this suggestion continues to have its adherents, His tenure on the Supreme Court had lasted for less than two and a half years. When Harding died in 1886, the two Jackson brothers and their wives inherited the Belle Meade Plantation, where thoroughbred horses were raised. Howell's role was minimal, and he sold his stake in the horses to his brother in 1890.
He was a devout Christian, serving as an elder of the First Presbyterian Church of Nashville. His participation in Pollock, however, prevented him from being entirely covered with what Schiffman called the "shroud of anonymity".
See also
- List of justices of the Supreme Court of the United States