Persons of Interest: Earl Warren
Earl Warren is most famous for his career as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court and the liberal direction that he took the court in. Before that he was a three term Governor of California and the Republican Party's nominee for Vice-President in 1948.
Earl Warren (no middle name) was born in Los Angeles, on March 19, 1891. His parents were Mathias H. Warren, a Norwegian immigrant (the original family name was Varren) and Crystal Hernlund, a Swedish immigrant. His father worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad who was blacklisted for joining in a strike. The family moved to Bakersfield, California, where young Earl Warren grew up and went to school. Warren's father was murdered in Bakersfield during a robbery. His killer was never identified.
In 1912 Warren graduated with a B.A. in political science, from the University of California, Berkeley. Two years later he earned his J.D. at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. As an undergraduate, Warren also played clarinet in the Cal Band. He was admitted to the California bar in 1914. Warren worked a year for Associated Oil Company in San Francisco, before joining Robinson & Robinson, a law firm in Oakland.
In August 1917, Warren enlisted in the U.S. Army for World War I service. He was assigned to the 91st Division at Camp Lewis, Washington, achieving the rank of 1st Lieutenant Earl Warren, before being discharged in 1918. After the war, he served as a clerk of the Judicial Committee for the 1919 Session of the California State Assembly before becoming the Deputy City Attorney in Oakland, California. He was influenced by California Governor Hiram Johnson, another prosecutor and a leader of the Progressive movement.
In 1925, Warren was appointed as the District Attorney of Alameda County. He was re-elected to three four-year terms. In that role he investigated allegations that a deputy sheriff was taking bribes in connection with street-paving arrangements and earned a reputation as a tough-on-crime District Attorney who fought corruption. He prosecuted bootlegging and took a hard stance against labor. Warren ran his office in a nonpartisan manner.
Warren married Swedish-born widow Nina Elisabeth Palmquist Meyers on October 4, 1925. They had six children. He was a Free Mason and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Loyal Order of Moose and the American Legion. He rose through the ranks in the Masons, culminating in his election in 1935 as the Grand Master of the Freemasons for the state of California.
In 1938, Warren was elected as state attorney general without serious opposition. He led a statewide anti-crime effort that included a crack down on gambling ships operating off the coast of Southern California. As Attorney General, he led the Japanese internment during World War II. Over 120,000 Americans of Japanese descent were removed from the West Coast to inland internment camps, without any charges or due process. Anti-Japanese racism was very prevalent in California at the time, following the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. Warren also organized the state's civilian defense program. Warren later said he deeply regretted the removal order. He wrote in his memoirs, ""Whenever I thought of the innocent little children who were torn from home, school friends, and congenial surroundings, I was conscience-stricken. It was wrong to react so impulsively, without positive evidence of disloyalty."
Warren was elected Governor of California on November 3, 1942. He defeated the Democrat incumbent governor Culbert Olson. He was re-elected in 1946 and in 1950, becoming the first person elected governor of California three times. As governor, Warren initiated public works projects similar to those of the New Deal to provide jobs for returning veterans. He also built up the state's higher education infrastructure and he raised gasoline taxes to fund a massive program of freeway construction. After federal courts declared the segregation of Mexican schoolchildren illegal, he signed legislation ending the segregation of other groups such as Native Americans and Asians.
In 1948, Warren ran for Vice President of the United States on the Republican ticket with Thomas E. Dewey, a fellow former prosecutor and a fellow governor from a large state (Dewey was Governor of New York). Heavily favored to win, the duo lost in a stunning upset to the incumbent Democratic President Harry S. Truman and his VP running mate Alben W. Barkley.
At the 1952 Republican National Convention, Warren was a California "favorite son" candidate for the Presidential nomination, and he hoped to be a power broker in a convention that might be deadlocked. His fellow Californian, Senator Richard Nixon, was selected as the running mate of candidate Dwight Eisenhower. Despite being from the same state, Warren disliked Nixon and he privately referred to Nixon as “a crook and a thief”. Eisenhower planned to appoint Warren accepted as Solicitor General of the United States, with the promise of a seat on the Supreme Court. But before the appointment was announced, Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson died suddenly in September 1953 and Eisenhower picked Warren to replace him as Chief Justice of the United States.
At first the appointment looked promising for Eisenhower, who wanted an experienced jurist who could appeal both to liberals as well as law-and-order conservatives. But In the next few years, Warren led the Court in a series of liberal decisions that took the court much further to the left than Eisenhower had intended. Eisenhower is said to have once remarked that Warren's appointment was "the biggest damn fool mistake I ever made." The Warren Court, outlawed segregation in public schools and expanded the rights of accused accused persons, ended public school-sponsored prayers, and required "one man–one vote" rules of apportionment of election districts.
To date, Warren is the last Supreme Court justice to have served as governor of a U.S. state, the last justice to have been elected to statewide elected office, and the last serving politician to be elevated to the Supreme Court.
In June 1968, Warren was concerned that Nixon would be elected president that year, and he worked out an arrangement with President Lyndon Johnson in which Warren would retire upon confirmation of his successor, Abe Fortas as Chief Justice, and Homer Thornberry as an Associate Justice to take Fortas's seat. The plan was foiled by Senate conservatives, who blocked the nomination of Fortas with a filibuster. Warren remained on the Court, and Nixon was elected.
Warren presided over the Court's October 1968 term and retired in June 1969. Nixon named Warren E. Burger to succeed him. Warren later wrote "If I had ever known what was going to happen to this country and this Court, I never would have resigned. They would have had to carry me out of there on a plank".
Following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson tapped Warren to head the government commission that investigated the assassination. Warren did not want the assignment. Many conspiracy theorists have attacked the commission's findings. The Commission concluded that the assassination was the result of a single individual, Lee Harvey Oswald, acting alone.
While on the court, Warren became a favorite target for scorn among conservatives. Signs declaring "Impeach Earl Warren" could be seen around the country throughout the 1960s. The impeachment drive was led by the John Birch Society.
Five years after his retirement, Warren died in Washington, D.C., on July 9, 1974. On the day he died, Warren had been visited by Justices Brennan and Douglas. Warren asked them if the Court would order President Nixon to release the sixty-four tapes demanded by the Watergate investigation. Both justices assured him that the court had voted unanimously for the release of the tapes. Warren expressed satisfaction with their decision. He died a few hours later. His funeral was held at Washington National Cathedral, and he was interred at Arlington National Cemetery.
Earl Warren (no middle name) was born in Los Angeles, on March 19, 1891. His parents were Mathias H. Warren, a Norwegian immigrant (the original family name was Varren) and Crystal Hernlund, a Swedish immigrant. His father worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad who was blacklisted for joining in a strike. The family moved to Bakersfield, California, where young Earl Warren grew up and went to school. Warren's father was murdered in Bakersfield during a robbery. His killer was never identified.
In 1912 Warren graduated with a B.A. in political science, from the University of California, Berkeley. Two years later he earned his J.D. at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. As an undergraduate, Warren also played clarinet in the Cal Band. He was admitted to the California bar in 1914. Warren worked a year for Associated Oil Company in San Francisco, before joining Robinson & Robinson, a law firm in Oakland.
In August 1917, Warren enlisted in the U.S. Army for World War I service. He was assigned to the 91st Division at Camp Lewis, Washington, achieving the rank of 1st Lieutenant Earl Warren, before being discharged in 1918. After the war, he served as a clerk of the Judicial Committee for the 1919 Session of the California State Assembly before becoming the Deputy City Attorney in Oakland, California. He was influenced by California Governor Hiram Johnson, another prosecutor and a leader of the Progressive movement.
In 1925, Warren was appointed as the District Attorney of Alameda County. He was re-elected to three four-year terms. In that role he investigated allegations that a deputy sheriff was taking bribes in connection with street-paving arrangements and earned a reputation as a tough-on-crime District Attorney who fought corruption. He prosecuted bootlegging and took a hard stance against labor. Warren ran his office in a nonpartisan manner.
Warren married Swedish-born widow Nina Elisabeth Palmquist Meyers on October 4, 1925. They had six children. He was a Free Mason and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Loyal Order of Moose and the American Legion. He rose through the ranks in the Masons, culminating in his election in 1935 as the Grand Master of the Freemasons for the state of California.
In 1938, Warren was elected as state attorney general without serious opposition. He led a statewide anti-crime effort that included a crack down on gambling ships operating off the coast of Southern California. As Attorney General, he led the Japanese internment during World War II. Over 120,000 Americans of Japanese descent were removed from the West Coast to inland internment camps, without any charges or due process. Anti-Japanese racism was very prevalent in California at the time, following the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. Warren also organized the state's civilian defense program. Warren later said he deeply regretted the removal order. He wrote in his memoirs, ""Whenever I thought of the innocent little children who were torn from home, school friends, and congenial surroundings, I was conscience-stricken. It was wrong to react so impulsively, without positive evidence of disloyalty."
Warren was elected Governor of California on November 3, 1942. He defeated the Democrat incumbent governor Culbert Olson. He was re-elected in 1946 and in 1950, becoming the first person elected governor of California three times. As governor, Warren initiated public works projects similar to those of the New Deal to provide jobs for returning veterans. He also built up the state's higher education infrastructure and he raised gasoline taxes to fund a massive program of freeway construction. After federal courts declared the segregation of Mexican schoolchildren illegal, he signed legislation ending the segregation of other groups such as Native Americans and Asians.
In 1948, Warren ran for Vice President of the United States on the Republican ticket with Thomas E. Dewey, a fellow former prosecutor and a fellow governor from a large state (Dewey was Governor of New York). Heavily favored to win, the duo lost in a stunning upset to the incumbent Democratic President Harry S. Truman and his VP running mate Alben W. Barkley.
At the 1952 Republican National Convention, Warren was a California "favorite son" candidate for the Presidential nomination, and he hoped to be a power broker in a convention that might be deadlocked. His fellow Californian, Senator Richard Nixon, was selected as the running mate of candidate Dwight Eisenhower. Despite being from the same state, Warren disliked Nixon and he privately referred to Nixon as “a crook and a thief”. Eisenhower planned to appoint Warren accepted as Solicitor General of the United States, with the promise of a seat on the Supreme Court. But before the appointment was announced, Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson died suddenly in September 1953 and Eisenhower picked Warren to replace him as Chief Justice of the United States.
At first the appointment looked promising for Eisenhower, who wanted an experienced jurist who could appeal both to liberals as well as law-and-order conservatives. But In the next few years, Warren led the Court in a series of liberal decisions that took the court much further to the left than Eisenhower had intended. Eisenhower is said to have once remarked that Warren's appointment was "the biggest damn fool mistake I ever made." The Warren Court, outlawed segregation in public schools and expanded the rights of accused accused persons, ended public school-sponsored prayers, and required "one man–one vote" rules of apportionment of election districts.
To date, Warren is the last Supreme Court justice to have served as governor of a U.S. state, the last justice to have been elected to statewide elected office, and the last serving politician to be elevated to the Supreme Court.
In June 1968, Warren was concerned that Nixon would be elected president that year, and he worked out an arrangement with President Lyndon Johnson in which Warren would retire upon confirmation of his successor, Abe Fortas as Chief Justice, and Homer Thornberry as an Associate Justice to take Fortas's seat. The plan was foiled by Senate conservatives, who blocked the nomination of Fortas with a filibuster. Warren remained on the Court, and Nixon was elected.
Warren presided over the Court's October 1968 term and retired in June 1969. Nixon named Warren E. Burger to succeed him. Warren later wrote "If I had ever known what was going to happen to this country and this Court, I never would have resigned. They would have had to carry me out of there on a plank".
Following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson tapped Warren to head the government commission that investigated the assassination. Warren did not want the assignment. Many conspiracy theorists have attacked the commission's findings. The Commission concluded that the assassination was the result of a single individual, Lee Harvey Oswald, acting alone.
While on the court, Warren became a favorite target for scorn among conservatives. Signs declaring "Impeach Earl Warren" could be seen around the country throughout the 1960s. The impeachment drive was led by the John Birch Society.
Five years after his retirement, Warren died in Washington, D.C., on July 9, 1974. On the day he died, Warren had been visited by Justices Brennan and Douglas. Warren asked them if the Court would order President Nixon to release the sixty-four tapes demanded by the Watergate investigation. Both justices assured him that the court had voted unanimously for the release of the tapes. Warren expressed satisfaction with their decision. He died a few hours later. His funeral was held at Washington National Cathedral, and he was interred at Arlington National Cemetery.