Fred M. Vinson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 13thChief Justice of the United States | |
| In office June 24, 1946 – September 8, 1953 | |
| Nominated by | Harry S. Truman |
| Preceded by | Harlan F. Stone |
| Succeeded by | Earl Warren |
| 53rdUnited States Secretary of the Treasury | |
| In office July 23, 1945 – June 23, 1946 | |
| President | Harry S. Truman |
| Preceded by | Henry Morgenthau Jr. |
| Succeeded by | John Wesley Snyder |
| Director of theOffice of Economic Stabilization | |
| In office May 28, 1943 – July 23, 1945 | |
| President | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| Preceded by | James F. Byrnes |
| Succeeded by | William Hammatt Davis |
| Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit | |
| In office December 15, 1937 – May 28, 1943 | |
| Nominated by | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| Preceded by | Charles Henry Robb |
| Succeeded by | Wilbur Kingsbury Miller |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromKentucky | |
| In office January 24, 1924 – March 3, 1929 | |
| Preceded by | William J. Fields |
| Succeeded by | Elva R. Kendall |
| Constituency | 9th district |
| In office March 4, 1931 – May 27, 1938 | |
| Preceded by | Elva R. Kendall |
| Succeeded by | Joe B. Bates |
| Constituency | 9th district (1931–1933) 8th district (1933–1938) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Frederick Moore Vinson (1890-01-22)January 22, 1890 Louisa, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Died | September 8, 1953(1953-09-08) (aged 63) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Resting place | Pinehill Cemetery, Louisa, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Centre College (BA,LLB) |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Rank | Private |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
Frederick Moore Vinson (January 22, 1890 – September 8, 1953) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 13thchief justice of the United States from 1946 until his death in 1953. Vinson was one of the few Americans to have servedin all three branches of the U.S. government. Before becoming chief justice, Vinson served as aU.S. Representative fromKentucky from 1924 to 1928 and 1930 to 1938, as a federal appellate judge on theU.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 1938 to 1943, and as theU.S. Secretary of the Treasury from 1945 to 1946.[1]
Born inLouisa,Kentucky, Vinson pursued a legal career and served in theU.S. Army duringWorld War I. After the war, he served as the Commonwealth's Attorney for the Thirty-Second Judicial District of Kentucky before winning election to theU.S. House of Representatives in 1924. He lost re-election in 1928 but regained his seat in 1930 and served in Congress until 1937. During his time in Congress, he became an adviser and confidante of Missouri SenatorHarry S. Truman. In 1937, PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt appointed Vinson to be a judge on the D.C. Circuit. Vinson resigned from the appellate court in 1943, when he became the Director of theOffice of Economic Stabilization. After Truman acceded to the presidency following Roosevelt's death in 1945, Truman appointed Vinson to the position of Secretary of the Treasury. Vinson negotiated the payment of theAnglo-American loan and presided over the establishment of numerous post-war organizations, including theInternational Bank for Reconstruction and Development (commonly called theWorld Bank) and theInternational Monetary Fund.
After the death of Chief JusticeHarlan F. Stone in 1946, Truman appointed Vinson to the Supreme Court. Vinson dissented in the case ofYoungstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer, which ruled against the Truman administration's control of the nation's steel mills during a strike. He ordered a rehearing of theBriggs v. Elliott case, which was eventually combined into the case known asBrown v. Board of Education.
Vinson, known universally as Fred, was born in the newly built, eight-room, red brick house in front of theLawrence Countyjail inLouisa,Kentucky, where his father served as the Lawrence County Jailer.[1] As a child he would help his father in the jail and even made friends with prisoners who would remember his kindness when he later ran for public office. Vinson worked odd jobs while in school. He graduated from Kentucky Normal School in 1909[2] and enrolled atCentre College, where he graduated at the top of his class with aBachelor of Arts degree. While at Centre, he was a member of the Kentucky Alpha Delta chapter ofPhi Delta Theta fraternity. He received aBachelor of Laws from the now defunct College of Law.[3] He entered private practice in Louisa.[4] He first ran for and was elected to office as the City Attorney of Louisa.[4][1]
Vinson joined the Army as aprivate duringWorld War I.[4] Following the war, he was elected as theCommonwealth's Attorney for the Thirty-Second Judicial District of Kentucky.[4] Vinson married Julia Roberta Dixon on January 24, 1924, inAshland, Kentucky. They had two sons.[1]
In 1924, Vinson ran in a special election forhis district's seat in Congress afterWilliam J. Fields resigned to become theGovernor of Kentucky. Vinson was elected as aDemocrat and then was reelected twice before losing in 1928. His loss was attributed to his refusal to dissociate his campaign fromAlfred E. Smith'spresidential campaign. However, Vinson came back to win re-election in 1930, and he served in Congress through 1937.[1]
While he was in Congress he befriendedMissouri SenatorHarry S. Truman, a friendship that would last throughout his life. He soon became a close advisor, confidant, card player, and dear friend to Truman. After Truman decided against running for another term as president in the early 1950s, he tried to convince a skeptical Vinson to seek the Democratic Party nomination, but Vinson turned down the President's offer.[5] After being equally unsuccessful in enlisting GeneralDwight D. Eisenhower, President Truman eventually landed onGovernor of IllinoisAdlai Stevenson as his preferred successor in the1952 presidential election.
In 1930, former congressman Vinson moved his law practice fromLouisa, Kentucky thirty miles north to Ashland. With aspirations to return to Washington, D.C. as congressman, Vinson formed a circle of Ashland friends who could aid him politically and professionally. This group included his next door neighborPaul G. Blazer.[6] Vinson returned to Washington, D.C. as congressman in 1931. Vinson would become a frontline supporter of President Roosevelt and his cabinet's New Deal revolution.[7]
Vinson was nominated by PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt on November 26, 1937, to an Associate Justice seat on theUnited States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (now theUnited States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit) vacated by Associate JusticeCharles Henry Robb.[4] He was confirmed by theUnited States Senate on December 9 of that year, and received his commission six days later.[4] He was designated by Chief JusticeHarlan F. Stone to serve as Chief Judge of theEmergency Court of Appeals.[4] His service terminated on May 28, 1943, due to his resignation.[4]
Vinson resigned from the bench to become Director of theOffice of Economic Stabilization, an executive agency charged with fightinginflation.[citation needed] He also spent time as Federal Loan Administrator (March 6 to April 3, 1945) and director of War Mobilization and Reconversion (April 4 to July 22, 1945).[citation needed] He was appointedUnited States Secretary of the Treasury by President Truman and served from July 23, 1945, to June 23, 1946.[citation needed]
His mission as Secretary of the Treasury was to stabilize the American economy during the last months of the war and to adapt the United States financial position to the drastically changed circumstances of the postwar world.[citation needed] Before the war ended, Vinson directed the last of the greatwar-bond drives.[citation needed]
At the end of the war, he negotiated payment of theBritish Loan of 1946, the largest loan made by the United States to another country ($3.75 billion), and thelend-lease settlements of economic and military aid given to the allies during the war.[citation needed] In order to encourage private investment in postwar America, he promoted a tax cut in theRevenue Act of 1945.[citation needed] He also supervised the inauguration of theInternational Bank for Reconstruction and Development and theInternational Monetary Fund, both created at theBretton Woods Conference of 1944, acting as the first chairman of their respective boards.[citation needed] In 1946, Vinson resigned from the Treasury to be appointedChief Justice of the United States by Truman.[citation needed]
Vinson wasnominated by PresidentHarry S. Truman on June 6, 1946, to becomeChief Justice of the United States, following the death ofHarlan F. Stone.[4] Vinson was recommended to Truman by former chief justiceCharles Evans Hughes and former associate justiceOwen Roberts. Both noted Vinson's experience in all three branches of the federal government, with Hughes telling Truman, "You have a Secretary of the Treasury who has been a Congressman, a Judge of the Court of Appeal, and an executive officer in President Roosevelt's and your cabinets".[8] He was confirmed by theUnited States Senate by a voice vote on June 20, 1946, received his commission on June 21,[4] and took the oath of office on June 24.[9] His appointment came at a time when theSupreme Court was deeply fractured, both intellectually and personally.[10] One faction was led by JusticeHugo Black, the other by JusticeFelix Frankfurter.[10] Vinson was credited with patching this fracture,[according to whom?] at least on a personal level.[citation needed] He was the presiding officer of theConference of Senior Circuit Judges (now theJudicial Conference of the United States) from 1946 to 1948, and presiding officer of theJudicial Conference of the United States from 1948 to 1953.[4] In addition to his chief justiceship, Vinson served as circuit justice for the Fourth Circuit and the District of Columbia Circuit from June 26, 1946, until his death on September 8, 1953.[4]
In his time on the Supreme Court, he wrote 77 opinions for the court and 13dissents. His most dramatic dissent was when the court voided President Truman's seizure of the steel industry during a strike in a June 3, 1952, decision,Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer.[citation needed] His final public appearance at the court was when he read the decision not to review the conviction and death sentence ofJulius and Ethel Rosenberg.[citation needed] After JusticeWilliam O. Douglas granted a stay of execution to the Rosenbergs at the last moment, Chief Justice Vinson sent special flights out to bring vacationing justices back to Washington in order to ensure the execution of the Rosenbergs.[citation needed] During his tenure as Chief Justice, one of hislaw clerks was future Associate JusticeByron White[11]
The major issues his court dealt with includedracial segregation,labor unions,communism andloyalty oaths.[citation needed] On racial segregation, he wrote that states practicing theseparate but equal doctrine must provide facilities that were truly equal, inSweatt v. Painter andMcLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents.[citation needed] The case ofBriggs v. Elliott was before the Court at the time of his death.[citation needed] Vinson, not wanting a 5–4 decision, had ordered a second hearing of the case.[citation needed] He died before the case could be reheard, and his vote may have been pivotal.[12] Upon his death,Earl Warren was appointed to the Court and the case was heard again.[citation needed]
When Secretary of StateDean Acheson came under fire from congressional Republicans for being "soft on communism" at the end of 1950 Vinson was briefly mentioned as the possible replacement as Secretary of State, which would have required his resignation from the court.[13] This, however, did not come about.
As Chief Justice, Vinson swore in Truman (in 1949) andDwight D. Eisenhower (in 1953) as President.
Vinson died on September 8, 1953, of aheart attack at his Washington home. His body was interred in Pinehill Cemetery in Louisa, Kentucky.[14][15]
An extensive collection of Vinson's personal and judicial papers is archived at theUniversity of Kentucky inLexington, where they are available for research.[16]
A portrait of Vinson hangs in the hallway of the chapter house of the Kentucky Alpha-Delta chapter ofPhi Delta Theta (ΦΔΘ) internationalfraternity, at Centre College.[citation needed] Vinson was a member of the chapter in his years at Centre.[citation needed] Affectionately known as "Dead Fred", the portrait is taken by fraternity members to Centre football and basketball games and other events.[citation needed][17]
TheFred M. Vinson Birthplace, in Louisa, Kentucky, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[18]
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| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromKentucky's 9th congressional district 1924–1929 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromKentucky's 9th congressional district 1931–1933 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromKentucky's 8th congressional district 1933–1938 | Succeeded by |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by | Associate Justice of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia 1937–1943 | Succeeded by |
| Position established | Chief Judge of theEmergency Court of Appeals 1942–1943 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chief Justice of the United States 1946–1953 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Director of theOffice of Economic Stabilization 1943–1945 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Secretary of the Treasury 1945–1946 | Succeeded by |
Justices of theSupreme Court of the United States | |||||||
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
