Howell E. Jackson

Howell E. Jackson
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
In office March 4, 1893 – August 8, 1895[1]
Nominated by	Benjamin Harrison
Preceded by	Lucius Q. C. Lamar
Succeeded by	Rufus W. Peckham
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
In office June 16, 1891 – March 4, 1893
Nominated by	operation of law
Preceded by	Seat established by 26 Stat. 826
Succeeded by	Horace Harmon Lurton
Judge of the United States Circuit Courts for the Sixth Circuit
In office April 12, 1886 – March 4, 1893
Nominated by	Grover Cleveland
Preceded by	John Baxter
Succeeded by	Horace Harmon Lurton
United States Senator from Tennessee
In office March 4, 1881 – April 14, 1886
Preceded by	James E. Bailey
Succeeded by	Washington C. Whitthorne
Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives from Madison County
In office January 3, 1881 – February 9, 1881
Preceded by	Benjamin Tyson
Succeeded by	Hugh C. Anderson
Personal details
Born	Howell Edmunds Jackson (1832-04-08)April 8, 1832 Paris, Tennessee, US
Died	August 8, 1895(1895-08-08) (aged 63) Nashville, Tennessee, US
Resting place	Mount Olivet Cemetery
Political party	Democratic
Education	University of Virginia West Tennessee College (AB) Cumberland School of Law (LLB)
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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 history.

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 in the Confederate civil service after the Civil War broke out. 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.