Howell Edmunds Jackson

Howell Edmunds Jackson
Born	8 4, 1832
Birthplace	Paris, Tennessee, U.S.
Died	Template:Death date and age West Meade, Tennessee, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Jurist, politician
Known for	Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Education	University of Virginia; Cumberland School of Law
Spouse(s)	Mary E. Harding (m. 1859; d. 1873); Mary E. "Sophia" Malloy (m. 1874)

Howell Edmunds Jackson (April 8, 1832 – August 8, 1895) was an American jurist and politician who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1893 until his death in 1895. A Tennessee native who rose through the legal and political ranks of the post-Civil War South, Jackson held positions as a United States Senator from Tennessee and as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit before his appointment to the nation's highest court by President Benjamin Harrison. His tenure on the Supreme Court was among the shortest in the institution's history, cut short by tuberculosis, but it was marked by his consequential participation in the landmark income tax case Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. (1895), in which he filed a notable dissent. Jackson's career reflected the complexities of Reconstruction-era politics in the South, as he navigated between Whig traditions, Democratic Party affiliations, and cross-party judicial appointments during a period of significant constitutional transformation in the United States.

Early Life

Howell Edmunds Jackson was born on April 8, 1832, in Paris, Tennessee, the seat of Henry County in the western part of the state. He came from a prominent and politically connected family. His father, Alexander Jackson, was a lawyer and judge who had a successful career in the Tennessee legal profession. The Jackson family maintained a position of social and economic standing in the region, and young Howell grew up in an environment that valued education, public service, and the law.

Jackson's early years were spent in western Tennessee during a period of significant growth and change in the state. The region was still relatively young, having been opened for widespread settlement only a few decades earlier, and families like the Jacksons played a role in establishing its civic institutions. The values of the antebellum Southern professional class — respect for legal tradition, political engagement, and social hierarchy — shaped Jackson's upbringing and would influence his later career in law and politics.

Jackson had family connections that would prove significant throughout his life. His half-brother, William Hicks Jackson, became a Confederate brigadier general during the Civil War. These familial ties to the Confederate cause would complicate but not ultimately hinder Howell Jackson's own political trajectory in the postwar period, as he charted a more moderate course during and after the conflict.

Education

Jackson pursued his education at some of the most respected institutions in the South. He attended West Tennessee College before enrolling at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, one of the premier institutions of higher learning in the antebellum South. The University of Virginia, founded by Thomas Jefferson, was known for its rigorous academic standards and its emphasis on law and the classical liberal arts.

After completing his studies at the University of Virginia, Jackson went on to study law at Cumberland School of Law in Lebanon, Tennessee (then affiliated with Cumberland University). Cumberland was one of the most important legal training grounds in the South during the nineteenth century, producing numerous judges, legislators, and attorneys who shaped the region's legal culture. Jackson completed his legal education and was admitted to the bar, setting the stage for a career that would span several decades and carry him from local practice to the highest court in the land.

Career

Early Legal Career

After completing his legal education, Jackson began the practice of law in the towns of western Tennessee. He established himself first in Jackson, Tennessee, and later in Memphis, which was rapidly growing into one of the major commercial centers of the mid-South. Jackson built a reputation as a skilled and knowledgeable attorney, developing expertise in areas of commercial law, property law, and appellate practice that would serve him well in his later judicial career.

During the Civil War, Jackson's position was somewhat complex. While his half-brother William Hicks Jackson served as a Confederate general, Howell Jackson's own involvement with the Confederate cause was more limited. He was not a secessionist firebrand, and his political sympathies drew more from the Whig tradition of moderation and unionism that had been strong in parts of Tennessee before the war. Nevertheless, like many prominent Southerners, he navigated the wartime period while maintaining his legal practice and social position.

After the war, Jackson resumed and expanded his legal career. He practiced law in Memphis during the turbulent Reconstruction era, a period that saw dramatic changes in the political, social, and economic landscape of the South. Memphis itself experienced significant upheaval during this period, including racial violence, political conflict, and public health crises such as the devastating yellow fever epidemics of the 1870s. Through these challenges, Jackson maintained his standing as one of the city's leading attorneys.

Jackson's legal practice brought him into contact with the major commercial and railroad interests that were driving economic development in the post-Civil War South. His expertise in these areas gave him a broad understanding of the legal issues surrounding commerce, taxation, and federal-state relations that would become central to his later judicial work.

Political Career and the United States Senate

Jackson's entry into politics came through the Tennessee state legislature, where he served as a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives. His experience in the legislature gave him a grounding in the practical workings of government and the legislative process, and it raised his profile within the Democratic Party in Tennessee.

In 1881, Jackson was elected to the United States Senate by the Tennessee General Assembly, as was the practice before the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913. He took his seat in the Senate on March 4, 1881, and served until April 14, 1886, when he resigned to accept a federal judicial appointment. During his time in the Senate, Jackson was known as a moderate Democrat who was willing to work across party lines on certain issues. He served on several committees and developed a reputation for careful, thorough work rather than fiery oratory or partisan grandstanding.

Jackson's Senate tenure coincided with a period of significant national debate over issues such as tariff policy, civil service reform, railroad regulation, and the monetary system. The 1880s saw the passage of landmark legislation such as the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883 and growing agitation for what would become the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. Jackson's moderate temperament and legal expertise made him a respected voice on matters of constitutional law and federal jurisdiction during these debates.

His willingness to cooperate with Republicans in the Senate would later have significant consequences for his career, as it brought him to the attention of Republican presidents who valued his judicial temperament and legal acumen regardless of his party affiliation.

Federal Judiciary: Court of Appeals

In 1886, President Grover Cleveland, a fellow Democrat, appointed Jackson to serve as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, which had jurisdiction over federal cases arising in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Jackson resigned his Senate seat to accept this appointment, signaling his preference for judicial work over legislative politics.

On the Sixth Circuit, Jackson distinguished himself as a careful and learned jurist. The federal appellate courts in the late nineteenth century handled a growing caseload that reflected the rapid industrialization and economic transformation of the United States. Cases involving railroads, interstate commerce, corporate law, taxation, and constitutional questions came before the court with increasing frequency, and Jackson's prior experience in commercial law served him well in addressing these matters.

Jackson served on the Sixth Circuit for approximately seven years, during which time he earned the respect of the legal community and his fellow judges. His opinions were noted for their thoroughness and their grounding in legal precedent. He developed a close working relationship with William Howard Taft, who also served on the Sixth Circuit during this period and who would later become the 27th President of the United States and the 10th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The collegial relationship between Jackson and Taft reflected the bipartisan respect that Jackson's judicial work commanded.

Appointment to the Supreme Court

Jackson's appointment to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1893 was unusual in several respects. President Benjamin Harrison, a Republican, nominated Jackson, a Democrat, to fill the vacancy created by the death of Justice Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II on January 23, 1893. The nomination came in the final weeks of Harrison's presidency — he had already lost the 1892 presidential election to Grover Cleveland, who would be inaugurated on March 4, 1893.

The cross-party nomination reflected several factors. Harrison and Jackson had developed a mutual respect, reportedly influenced by their shared connections through the Sixth Circuit and by Jackson's reputation for fairness and legal ability. Additionally, the political dynamics of the lame-duck period may have made a bipartisan appointment more palatable than a controversial partisan choice. The Senate confirmed Jackson's nomination on February 18, 1893, and he received his commission on March 4, 1893.

Jackson thus became one of the relatively few justices in American history to be appointed to the Supreme Court by a president of the opposing political party. This distinction underscored the nonpartisan reputation he had cultivated throughout his judicial career.

Supreme Court Tenure

Jackson's tenure on the Supreme Court was tragically brief. Almost from the time of his appointment, his health was in decline. He suffered from tuberculosis, a disease that was widespread and often fatal in the nineteenth century. The illness progressively limited his ability to participate fully in the Court's work, and he was absent from the bench for extended periods as he sought treatment and rest.

Despite his illness, Jackson made his most significant mark on American constitutional law during his time on the Court. The most notable case of his brief tenure was Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co., decided in 1895. This landmark case challenged the constitutionality of the federal income tax imposed by the Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act of 1894.

The Pollock case came before the Court in two rounds of argument. In the first hearing, the Court was divided 4-4 on some of the key questions, with Jackson absent due to his illness. The significance of the case and the split on the Court led to a rehearing, and Jackson, despite being gravely ill, made the effort to travel to Washington to participate in the second round of arguments and the decision.

In the final decision, the Court ruled 5-4 that the income tax was unconstitutional, finding that it constituted a "direct tax" that was required by the Constitution to be apportioned among the states according to their populations. The majority opinion, delivered by Chief Justice Melville Fuller, struck down the tax and represented a significant victory for opponents of federal taxation power.

Jackson filed a vigorous dissent in Pollock, arguing that the income tax was constitutional and that the majority's interpretation of the direct tax clause was too restrictive. His dissent contended that the Constitution granted Congress broad power to tax and that the majority's ruling would unduly constrain the federal government's ability to raise revenue. Jackson's dissent reflected a more expansive view of federal taxing power that would eventually prevail — the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1913, overturned the Pollock decision and explicitly authorized the federal income tax.

Jackson's participation in the Pollock case despite his severe illness demonstrated his commitment to his judicial duties and his belief in the importance of the issues at stake. His effort to attend the rehearing was widely noted at the time and has been cited by legal historians as evidence of his dedication to the Court and to what he saw as the correct constitutional outcome.

Beyond Pollock, Jackson's participation in other cases during his brief tenure was limited by his health. He was unable to contribute a large body of opinions during his time on the Court, which lasted only slightly more than two years.

Personal Life

Howell Edmunds Jackson married twice. His first wife was Mary E. Harding, whom he married in 1859. Mary Harding was a daughter of a prominent Tennessee family; her father was William Giles Harding, a wealthy plantation owner and horse breeder associated with Belle Meade Plantation near Nashville. Through this marriage, Jackson became connected to one of the most influential families in Tennessee. Mary Harding Jackson died in 1873.

In 1874, Jackson married Mary E. "Sophia" Malloy. The couple remained together until Jackson's death in 1895.

Jackson and his family were associated with the Nashville area for much of his later life, maintaining a residence at West Meade in Davidson County, Tennessee. The family's social connections and their ties to the Belle Meade community placed them at the center of Nashville's elite society in the late nineteenth century.

Jackson's half-brother, William Hicks Jackson, married Selene Harding, another daughter of William Giles Harding, further intertwining the Jackson and Harding families and their connections to Belle Meade Plantation.

Jackson's health declined significantly during his final years. Tuberculosis, which had been undermining his constitution for some time, became increasingly debilitating after his appointment to the Supreme Court. He spent periods away from Washington seeking treatment and recuperation, but the disease proved fatal. Howell Edmunds Jackson died on August 8, 1895, at his home in West Meade, Tennessee, at the age of 63. He was buried in Nashville.

Recognition

Jackson's most enduring recognition in American legal history stems from his dissent in Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. The passage of the Sixteenth Amendment in 1913, which authorized the federal income tax, vindicated the position that Jackson had articulated in his dissent eighteen years earlier. Legal scholars have cited his dissent as a prescient and well-reasoned argument for a broader interpretation of federal taxing power.

Jackson's career is also noted for its illustration of cross-party judicial appointments in American history. His nomination to the Supreme Court by a president of the opposing party remains a frequently cited example of bipartisan judicial selection, and it has been referenced in discussions of judicial nominations and the role of partisanship in the appointment process.

Within Tennessee, Jackson is remembered as one of the state's most prominent legal figures of the nineteenth century. His connections to institutions such as the University of Virginia and Cumberland School of Law, and his service in both the United States Senate and the federal judiciary, mark him as a figure of significant statewide and national importance.

Jackson's brief tenure on the Supreme Court — approximately two years and five months — ranks among the shortest in the Court's history. While the brevity of his service limited his overall impact on jurisprudence, the significance of his participation in the Pollock case and the eventual vindication of his dissent have ensured that his name remains part of the historical record of American constitutional development.

Legacy

Howell Edmunds Jackson's legacy is shaped by the intersection of his moderate political temperament, his cross-party judicial appointment, and his consequential dissent in one of the most important tax cases in American history. His career trajectory — from Tennessee lawyer to United States Senator to federal appellate judge to Supreme Court justice — reflected the possibilities available to members of the Southern professional class who navigated the complexities of Reconstruction and the Gilded Age with skill and moderation.

The Pollock dissent remains the centerpiece of Jackson's legal legacy. By arguing that the federal government possessed broad constitutional authority to levy an income tax, Jackson anticipated the constitutional amendment that would transform the fiscal capacity of the United States government in the twentieth century. The Sixteenth Amendment, ratified nearly two decades after Jackson's death, established the legal framework for the modern federal income tax system, which became the primary source of revenue for the United States government. In this sense, Jackson's dissent was not merely a footnote in legal history but a precursor to one of the most significant structural changes in American governance.

Jackson's bipartisan appointment also carries historical significance. In an era of increasing partisan polarization over judicial nominations, his selection by President Harrison across party lines serves as a historical example of a different approach to the appointment process. The mutual respect between Jackson, a Democrat, and his Republican colleagues on the bench and in the executive branch illustrated a model of judicial selection that prioritized legal ability and temperament over partisan loyalty.

The brevity of Jackson's Supreme Court tenure, caused by the ravages of tuberculosis, lends a poignant dimension to his legacy. His determination to participate in the Pollock rehearing despite his grave illness demonstrated a commitment to judicial duty that has been noted by historians and legal commentators. The image of a dying justice traveling to Washington to cast what he believed to be a crucial vote encapsulates the seriousness with which Jackson and his contemporaries regarded the work of the Supreme Court.

Jackson's life and career also reflect broader themes in American history: the resilience of Southern elites through the Civil War and Reconstruction, the growing importance of the federal judiciary in American governance during the Gilded Age, and the evolving constitutional debates over federal power that would shape the twentieth century.