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JOIN US ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2024, AT 7:15 P.M. (Pacific Time)
FOR A PRESENTATION ON:
"LINCOLN'S SUPREME COURT"
WITH Ed Pearson, Attorney at Law and VP of the Pasadena CWRT
First photograph of the U.S. Supreme Court - 1867 (by Alexander Gardner) - Public Domain
The Chase Court - June 1865 to July 1867. Left to Right: Daniel Wesley Middleton (Clerk of the Supreme Court of the United States), Justices David Davis, Noah Haynes Swayne, Robert Cooper Grier, James Moore Wayne, Salmon P. Chase (Chief Justice of the United States), Samuel Nelson, Nathan Clifford, Samuel Freeman Miller, Stephen Johnson Field.
As a presidential election nears, the power of a president to appoint members of the Supreme Court is cited as a major factor in a citizen’s voting choice.
Abraham Lincoln assumed the Presidency with the Civil War looming on the horizon. That war would again reveal a facet of American political life – one that we still face as a nation – in the tension between national security and individual liberty. Often, that conflict plays out in the decisions of the Supreme Court.
Within a very short time after his inauguration, the Court was down to six justices, and there was not a Republican among them. At the helm was aging Chief Justice Roger Taney, the author of the Dred Scott decision, a decidedly pro-slavery opinion. How would Lincoln’s war measures fare in the face of a potentially hostile Court?
In his time in office, Lincoln appointed five justices, including a new Chief Justice, and these men collectively gave Lincoln wide latitude to conduct the war with the harsh measures that restricted individual freedoms and for which he was condemned by a wide swath of the public.
This talk will focus on the role of the Court in the time of the Civil War, including the way in the which the Court vacancies were filled, the “packing” of the Court with a tenth justice in 1863, the ascendancy of Samuel Chase to the position of Chief Justice, and how the Court handled the constitutional issues facing the country.
 Edward Pearson was born in San Diego to a Naval officer father. He bounced around the U.S., including two years spent at the Naval base at Guantanamo. He went to high school back in San Diego, then came up to LA to go to USC, then to USC Law School. Ed has been an attorney since 1978, practicing the field of Estate and Trust Law. He is currently with the firm of Overton, Lyman & Prince, whose claim is it is the oldest firm in Los Angeles. Ed has always been a student of history generally, U.S. history particularly, and Civil War history even more particularly. He is currently on the Board of Directors of the Pasadena CWRT, holds the office of Vice President, and serves as our "Trivia Master" at each meeting.
Last year, Ed began what has turned into a triumvirate of presentations with his talk on the executive branch of our government during the Civil War. This talk will cover the judicial branch, and continue next year with a presentation about the legislative branch. Attend all three presentations, and you'll collect the whole set!
This will be our last in-person CWRT meeting of the year. We go dark in November, due to the Thanksgiving holiday. In December, our annual "Show & Tell" program will be held via Zoom one week earlier than usual on Tuesday, December 17 at 7:15 p.m. (mark your calendars now so you don't miss it!).
Thanks to the volunteer efforts and expertise of our Pasadena CWRT members, Tina Miller and Monika Skerbelis, we are now able to record our monthly meetings and post the videos to our YouTube Channel for your enjoyment and edification if you are unable to join us for our live meetings. We invite you to check out the videos from our two years of virtual meetings, as well as our most recent presentations, at our YouTube Channel:
CLICK HERE
We are indebted to Tina and Monika for helping us to bring this wonderful added benefit to allow our non-local members and guests to enjoy the presentations of our distinguished roster of speakers.
PLEASE JOIN US FOR OUR IN-PERSON MEETING:
Pasadena CWRT - TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2024 - 7:15 PM (Pacific Time)
The Blinn House - 160 North Oakland Avenue - Pasadena
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