Harold Hitz Burton

Harold Hitz Burton
Born	22 6, 1888
Birthplace	Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, United States
Died	Template:Death date and age Washington, D.C., United States
Nationality	American
Occupation	Politician, jurist
Known for	Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (1945–1958); Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio
Education	Bowdoin College (A.B.); Harvard Law School (LL.B.)

Harold Hitz Burton (June 22, 1888 – October 28, 1964) was an American politician and jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1945 to 1958. Before his appointment to the nation's highest court, Burton had built a distinguished career in Ohio politics, serving as a member of the Ohio state legislature, as law director for the city of Cleveland, and most prominently as mayor of Cleveland from 1935 to 1940. He then represented Ohio in the United States Senate from 1941 until his nomination to the Supreme Court by President Harry S. Truman in September 1945. A Republican nominated by a Democratic president, Burton's appointment was a notable example of bipartisan governance in the immediate aftermath of World War II. During his thirteen years on the bench, Burton participated in landmark decisions including Brown v. Board of Education (1954), in which the Court unanimously struck down racial segregation in public schools. While scholars have generally assessed Burton as a moderate justice rather than one of towering influence, his role in moving the Court through the transition from the New Deal era to the civil rights era gave his tenure lasting significance.

Early Life

Harold Hitz Burton was born on June 22, 1888, in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, a neighborhood of Boston. He was raised in a New England environment that would shape his early intellectual development and civic-mindedness. Burton's upbringing in Massachusetts provided him with exposure to the deep traditions of American civic life and public service that characterized the region during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

As a young man, Burton demonstrated academic aptitude and a serious disposition that would later define his career in law and public life. His formative years were spent in the northeastern United States before he eventually relocated to Ohio, the state that would become the base of his political career and with which he would be most closely identified throughout his public life.

Burton's early life unfolded during a period of significant transformation in American society. The Progressive Era was reshaping American politics, and the reform movements of the period would influence Burton's own approach to governance and public service in the decades to come. His move from Massachusetts to Ohio represented a pivotal transition, as Ohio was one of the most politically important states in the nation during the early twentieth century, having produced numerous presidents and national political figures.

Education

Burton attended Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, where he earned his undergraduate degree. Bowdoin, a small liberal arts college with a distinguished history, provided Burton with a rigorous education in the liberal arts tradition. The college had a long record of producing graduates who went on to careers in law, politics, and public service.

Following his graduation from Bowdoin College, Burton pursued legal studies at Harvard Law School, one of the nation's preeminent law schools. At Harvard, he received a thorough grounding in American law and constitutional jurisprudence that would serve as the intellectual foundation for his later careers as a practicing attorney, legislator, mayor, senator, and Supreme Court justice. Burton earned his law degree and subsequently moved to Ohio, where he began his legal career and eventually entered politics.

Career

Early Legal and Political Career in Ohio

After completing his legal education, Burton established himself as an attorney in Ohio. He became involved in local and state politics, serving in the Ohio state legislature before taking on the role of law director for the city of Cleveland. These early positions provided Burton with practical experience in government administration and municipal law that proved instrumental in his subsequent career.

Burton's entry into Cleveland politics came during a period of significant urban challenges. Like many large American cities in the early twentieth century, Cleveland faced issues related to infrastructure, public services, and governance reform. Burton's background in law and his growing experience in municipal government positioned him as a capable administrator and a rising figure in Ohio Republican politics.

Mayor of Cleveland

Harold Hitz Burton served as the mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, from 1935 to 1940, a period that encompassed some of the most difficult years of the Great Depression. His tenure as mayor was widely regarded as a period of effective governance for the city. Burton brought a reputation for integrity and competence to the office, and his administration focused on improving city services and managing the fiscal challenges that confronted Cleveland during the economic downturn of the 1930s.

Burton's record as mayor established him as one of the more notable political figures in Cleveland's history. His ability to govern effectively during a period of economic crisis enhanced his statewide reputation and set the stage for his successful campaign for the United States Senate. Cleveland, as the largest city in Ohio at the time, served as a significant platform from which to launch a career in national politics.

Burton's connection to Cleveland remained an important part of his identity throughout his career. Even after ascending to the Supreme Court, he was frequently identified as a former Cleveland mayor, a distinction that highlighted the unusual path he had taken to the nation's highest court. He is buried in Greater Cleveland, where his grave remains among those of other notable figures associated with the region's history.

United States Senate

In 1940, Burton was elected to the United States Senate, representing Ohio as a Republican. He took office in January 1941, a year that would prove momentous in American and world history with the entry of the United States into World War II following the attack on Pearl Harbor in December of that year. Burton served in the Senate during the critical wartime years, establishing a reputation as a capable and moderate Republican legislator.

During his time in the Senate, Burton developed a working relationship with fellow Senator Harry S. Truman of Missouri, a Democrat. Both men served together in the upper chamber during the war years, and their collegial relationship would have profound consequences for Burton's future career. The bipartisan friendship between the two senators was rooted in mutual respect and a shared commitment to pragmatic governance during wartime.

Burton's Senate career, while relatively brief, was marked by his participation in the legislative work of the wartime Congress. The Senate during this period addressed a wide range of issues related to wartime mobilization, military strategy, postwar planning, and the shape of the emerging international order. Burton's moderate Republicanism and his willingness to work across party lines made him a respected, if not especially prominent, figure in the chamber.

Nomination to the Supreme Court

On September 18, 1945, President Harry S. Truman nominated Harold Burton to a seat on the Supreme Court of the United States. The nomination was notable for several reasons. Truman, a Democrat, chose Burton, a Republican, for the vacancy on the Court, making it a significant act of bipartisan statesmanship in the period immediately following the end of World War II. The decision reflected both the personal relationship between the two men and Truman's desire to demonstrate national unity in the postwar era.

The nomination also had practical political implications. By selecting a sitting Republican senator for the Court, Truman removed a Republican vote from the Senate, where the balance of power was closely contested. Ohio's governor, a Democrat, would be able to appoint a replacement, potentially shifting the partisan composition of the chamber. However, the nomination was also broadly viewed as an effort by Truman to place a qualified and moderate jurist on the Court, and Burton's confirmation proceeded without significant opposition.

Burton was confirmed by the Senate and took his seat on the Supreme Court, beginning a tenure that would last thirteen years, from 1945 to 1958. His appointment came at a critical juncture in the Court's history, as the justices were grappling with the legal legacy of the New Deal, the constitutional implications of wartime government powers, and the emerging questions of civil rights and civil liberties that would dominate American jurisprudence in the decades to come.

Supreme Court Tenure (1945–1958)

Harold Hitz Burton served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court from 1945 to 1958, a period that spanned the tenures of two Chief Justices: Fred M. Vinson (1946–1953) and Earl Warren (1953–1969). Burton's time on the Court encompassed significant legal and constitutional developments, including the Court's movement away from the economic regulation cases that had defined the New Deal era toward a new emphasis on civil rights and individual liberties.

During the Vinson Court era (1946–1953), Burton served alongside justices who represented a wide spectrum of judicial philosophies. The Court during this period handled cases involving loyalty oaths, labor relations, the scope of executive power, and the early civil rights cases that would lay the groundwork for the landmark decisions of the Warren Court era. Burton generally occupied a moderate-to-conservative position on the bench, though he demonstrated a willingness to join liberal colleagues on certain issues.

The most historically significant case in which Burton participated was Brown v. Board of Education, decided on May 17, 1954. In this unanimous decision, authored by Chief Justice Earl Warren, the Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in public schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Burton was one of the eight Associate Justices who concurred in the unanimous ruling, making him a participant in one of the most consequential decisions in American legal history.

The Brown decision represented a watershed moment not only in constitutional law but in American society more broadly. The unanimous nature of the ruling was itself significant, as Chief Justice Warren had worked to ensure that no dissenting opinions would undermine the moral and legal authority of the decision. Burton's willingness to join the unanimous opinion reflected his position as a moderate justice who, despite his generally conservative leanings, recognized the constitutional imperative of ending state-mandated racial segregation in education.

The Supreme Court of Ohio has noted that while Burton "can in no way be considered a justice of major influence, he nonetheless played an important role in moving the court from its New Deal" orientation toward the civil rights era that followed. This assessment captures the scholarly consensus on Burton's tenure: he was a competent and conscientious justice who contributed to the Court's work without leaving a distinctive individual mark on American jurisprudence. His opinions tended to be carefully reasoned rather than rhetorically sweeping, and he was not known for developing novel constitutional theories or doctrines.

Burton retired from the Supreme Court in 1958, after thirteen years of service. His departure came during a period of significant change on the Court, as the Warren Court was beginning to issue a series of landmark decisions that would reshape American law in areas including criminal procedure, voting rights, and freedom of expression.

Personal Life

Harold Hitz Burton maintained his connection to Cleveland and Ohio throughout his life, even during his years of service in Washington, D.C., as both a senator and a Supreme Court justice. He was identified throughout his public career with the city of Cleveland, where he had served as mayor, and with the state of Ohio, which he had represented in the Senate.

Burton died on October 28, 1964, in Washington, D.C., at the age of 76. He had lived long enough to witness the ongoing impact of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, as well as the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson earlier that same year. His burial took place in the Greater Cleveland area, where his grave is among those of other notable figures associated with the region, including industrialist John D. Rockefeller and President James A. Garfield.

Recognition

Burton's career has been recognized in various ways, particularly in Ohio, where he remains a notable figure in the state's political and legal history. The Supreme Court of Ohio has included Burton in its Grand Concourse, which highlights figures of interest in the history of Ohio's legal system and its connection to national jurisprudence.

His role in the Brown v. Board of Education decision has received renewed attention in the decades since the ruling. On the 70th anniversary of the Brown decision in 2024, the Cleveland Plain Dealer published a feature highlighting Burton's participation in the case, noting that a former Cleveland mayor had been among the justices who delivered one of the most important rulings in American history. The article underscored the unusual trajectory of Burton's career, from city hall to the Supreme Court, and his place in the history of the civil rights movement.

Burton's nomination to the Supreme Court by a president of the opposing party has also been cited as a historical example in discussions of bipartisan judicial appointments. When debates arise about the politicization of the Supreme Court nomination process, Burton's appointment by Truman is sometimes invoked as an instance of a president prioritizing qualifications and personal regard over partisan considerations.

While Burton is not typically ranked among the most influential or consequential justices in Supreme Court history, his contributions to the Court's work during a transformative period in American law have earned him a place of respect in the historiography of the Court. His participation in the unanimous Brown decision alone ensures that his name is associated with one of the defining moments of twentieth-century American jurisprudence.

Legacy

Harold Hitz Burton's legacy is multifaceted, encompassing his contributions to Cleveland municipal government, Ohio politics, the United States Senate, and the Supreme Court. His career arc—from New England origins through Bowdoin College and Harvard Law School, to a mayorship, a Senate seat, and ultimately the Supreme Court—represents a distinctive path through American public life in the twentieth century.

As mayor of Cleveland, Burton is remembered as a steady and effective leader during the difficult years of the Great Depression. His ability to maintain city services and govern competently during a period of profound economic distress contributed to his reputation as a capable public servant and launched him onto the national stage.

In the Senate, Burton's moderate Republicanism and his willingness to collaborate across party lines reflected a style of governance that has become less common in subsequent decades. His friendship with Harry Truman, a friendship that transcended partisan boundaries and ultimately led to his elevation to the Supreme Court, stands as an example of the kind of bipartisan cooperation that characterized certain aspects of mid-twentieth-century American politics.

On the Supreme Court, Burton's thirteen-year tenure coincided with one of the most significant periods of judicial transformation in American history. While the Supreme Court of Ohio has noted that Burton was not a justice of major influence in terms of shaping legal doctrine, his role in the Court's transition from the New Deal era to the civil rights era was meaningful. His concurrence in the unanimous Brown v. Board of Education decision placed him on the right side of history in one of the most important legal and moral questions of his time.

Burton's career also illustrates the historical significance of Ohio in American politics. The state produced numerous presidents, senators, and other national figures during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and Burton's trajectory from Cleveland mayor to Supreme Court justice fits within this broader pattern of Ohio's outsize role in national governance.