John Catron

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the member of the Virginia Senate, see John H. Catron.
"Justice Catron" redirects here. For New Mexico Supreme Court justice Charles C. Catron, see List of justices of the New Mexico Supreme Court.
John Catron
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
In office
May 1, 1837[1] – May 30, 1865[1]
Nominated byAndrew Jackson
Appointed byMartin Van Buren
Preceded bySeat established
Succeeded bySeat abolished
Personal details
Born(1786-01-07)January 7, 1786
Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedMay 30, 1865(1865-05-30) (aged 79)
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseMatilda Childress

John Catron (January 7, 1786 – May 30, 1865) was an

associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1837 to 1865, during the Taney Court
.

Early and family life

Little is known of Catron's early life, other than that all of his grandparents emigrated from Germany to Virginia, as part of the extensive emigration of Swiss and Germans from Hesse and the Palatinate due to wars, and economic and religious insecurity in the area. His father, Peter (Catron) Kettering, had immigrated as a child with his parents from Mittelbrun in the German Palatinate and settled in Montgomery County (later Wythe County). His mother was Maria Elizabetha Houck, whose parents had settled in Virginia after emigrating from the Palatinate by way of Pennsylvania. His only sibling, Mary, later married Thomas Swift and moved to Missouri and, ultimately, Oregon. John Catron was a second cousin to Thomas Benton Catron, who later became one of the first senators to represent the state of New Mexico. Catron's father had served in Captain William Doack's militia company from Montgomery County during the Revolutionary War.

The family relocated to Kentucky in the first years of the 19th century. Catron served in the

Texas Republic
and chaired the committee that drafted the Constitution of the Republic of Texas. John and Mathilda Catron had no children.

A slaveholder all his adult life, Catron had a relationship with

St. Louis, Missouri valued at $250,000.[3]
Thomas was Catron's only known child.

Law practice

Catron was in private legal practice in

Tennessee state legislature abolished the chief justice position, and Catron retired and returned to private practice in Nashville.[4] During the election of 1836, Catron directed Martin Van Buren's presidential campaign in Tennessee against native son Hugh Lawson White
.

Supreme Court tenure

The number of seats on the Supreme Court was expanded from seven to nine in 1837, as a result of the

William Smith, was also confirmed, but he subsequently declined to serve.[6] Catron took the judicial oath on May 1, 1837, and served for 28 years, until his death in May 1865.[1]

Catron supported slavery and sided with the majority in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case (exchanging letters with president-elect James Buchanan in February 1857).[7] However, he opposed secession and urged Tennessee to remain with the Union. For a brief time after Tennessee seceded from the Union but prior to Nashville being occupied by Federal troops, Catron left his residence in Nashville and temporarily lived in Louisville, Kentucky.

Some thoughts on freedom and slavery, from Justice Catron (Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky., Dec. 13, 1859)

While he wrote few opinions, it is still possible to decipher his stance on certain political issues and determine his importance to the court. John Catron's political views primarily coincided with the views of his fellow Tennessean Andrew Jackson. Just as Jackson opposed the idea of the national bank, Catron also became an outspoken critic of the national bank. This view coincides with his political view on corporations. While Catron ultimately believed that corporate power could threaten the livelihoods of American citizens, his views were not always this way. During his early years on the Court, particularly in the case of Bank of Augusta v. Earle (1839), Catron actually concurred with the majority and agreed with the idea that corporations had the ability to conduct business nationwide. The Justices ruled in Bank of Augusta that a state could exclude a foreign corporation from doing business within that state, but, that the state would have to do so explicitly.

Catron's overpowering anti-corporate views were more evident in Piqua Branch of the State Bank of Ohio v. Knoop,

Daniel, however, dissented. In his dissent, Catron argued, "The sovereign political power is not the subject of contract so as to be vested in an irrepealable charter of incorporation, and taken away from, and placed beyond the reach of, future legislatures."[8] With this statement, Catron argued against the power of corporations and for the power of the federal government. Catron made the stance that political power was not only sovereign but that it also was not to be overruled by a contract, especially a corporate charter. Essentially Catron argued that in this case, corporate power exceeded federal power. Because John Catron was a Jacksonian, he felt the American Union should always be the most powerful entity within the United States and therefore dissented in this case which he saw as granting more power to corporations than to the federal government. Catron argued that because of this ruling, corporations could overrule the government as long as a contract was present. Another case that exemplified Catron's anti-corporation views was the case of Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Co. v. DeBolt, 57 U.S. 416 (1853). This case primarily dealt with the power to tax corporations, but took on bigger-picture questions such as the role of corporations in American society and whether they had begun to possess more power than the states had originally granted them. Catron again dissented from the majority and re-stated his Jacksonian beliefs when he voiced his concern about "the vast amount of property, power, and exclusive benefits, prejudicial to other classes of society that are vested in and held by these numerous bodies of associated wealth."[9] Catron also stated "that a different doctrine would tend to sap and eventually might destroy the state constitutions and governments"[9]
in his dissent when referring to the power that corporate charters and contracts could have over the United States government.

Despite Catron's opinion in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case and his pro-slavery stance, Catron resented the secession of his home state of Tennessee because he felt the American Union should be preserved at all costs, a reflection of his Jacksonian views. Following President Abraham Lincoln's inauguration, Catron left to "ride circuit" in the states of Missouri, Tennessee, and Kentucky. However, when Catron attempted to return to Nashville to perform his circuit duties, he was told that his very life could be in danger due to his views. Catron was forced to flee the state of Tennessee and reside permanently in Louisville, Kentucky, away from his wife and friends, who sympathized with the Confederacy. Catron's stance on the southern rebels was to "punish treason and will." This belief was present in his ruling in United States v. Republican Banner Officers (C.C.D. Tenn. 1863). This case raised the issue of whether non-personal property could be confiscated due to the federal Confiscation Act of 1861. The Republican Banner was a newspaper that at the time, was spreading very anti-Union and pro-Confederacy propaganda throughout the South. The employees of the Banner argued that because the newspaper was not a personal property, it could not be confiscated. In this case, Catron ruled that the Act authorized the confiscation. Catron argued that when, "there being then a formidable rebellion in progress, the intention of Congress in enacting this law must have been to deter persons from so using and employing their property as to aid and promote the insurrection.".[10] Even to the end of his legal and judicial career, Catron held fast to his protection of the rights of states and his stance on preserving the Union whatever the cost.

Death

Catron died on May 30, 1865, at the age of 79.[4] He is interred at Nashville's Mount Olivet Cemetery.

After Catron's death, Congress eliminated his seat from the Court under the Judicial Circuits Act of 1866 as a way to prevent President Andrew Johnson from appointing any justices.[11]

Legacy and honors

John Catron was an outspoken critic of the national bank, an advocate for federal power over corporate power, and a pro-Union, pro-slavery supporter. Many of his beliefs stemmed from the beliefs of his friend and battlefield leader, Andrew Jackson. Catron fought against corporations of accumulated wealth and privilege and for the rights of citizens. He remained true to his pro-slavery stance in the most important case the Supreme Court had ever seen until that point, Dred Scott v. Sandford. Despite his pro-slavery stance, Catron was a strong advocate for the Union and remained steadfast to this view, even leaving his wife and friends to help in the preservation of the United States. Ultimately, John Catron's most important contribution to the Supreme Court of the United States was his loyalty to the Constitution and his undying support of the Federal Union, despite the political costs.

During World War II the Liberty ship SS John Catron was built in Brunswick, Georgia, and named in his honor.[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Justices 1789 to Present". supremecourt.gov. Washington, D.C.: Supreme Court of the United States. Archived from the original on April 15, 2010. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  2. ^ James B. Peterson (2012-06-17). "The Original Deadbeat Dads". Archived from the original on 2012-06-20. Retrieved 2012-06-17.
  3. S2CID 159571742. Archived
    (PDF) from the original on 2020-06-15. Retrieved 2019-07-13.
  4. ^ a b "Timeline of the Justices: John Catron, 1837-1865". supremecourthistory.org. Washington, D.C.: Supreme Court Historical Society. Archived from the original on May 2, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  5. ^ "Landmark Legislation: Eighth and Ninth Circuits". Washington, D.C.: Federal Judicial Center. Archived from the original on October 4, 2017. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  6. ^ "Supreme Court Nominations: present-1789". Washington, D.C.: Office of the Secretary, United States Senate. Archived from the original on December 9, 2020. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  7. ISBN 0-19-502883-X
    .
  8. ^ Piqua Branch of the State Bank of Ohio v. Knoop, 14 U.S 369, 404 (1854).
  9. ^ a b Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Co. v. DeBolt. 57 U.S. 416, 441 (1853) (Catron, J., dissenting).
  10. ^ United States v. Republican Banner Officers. 27 Fed. Cases 783 (No. 16,148) (C.C.D. Tenn. 1863).
  11. ^ "Landmark Legislation: Reorganization of the Judicial Circuits". Washington, D.C.: Federal Judicial Center. Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  12. ISBN 978-1476617541. Archived
    from the original on 14 October 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2017.

Further reading

Legal offices
New seat Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
1837–1865 		Seat abolished
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Catron&oldid=1195062257"