Sherman Minton, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

    

Sherman Minton

U.S. Senator from Indiana, later Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court

Date of Birth: 20-Oct-1890

Place of Birth: Georgetown, Indiana, United States

Date of Death: 09-Apr-1965

Profession: judge, lawyer, politician

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Libra


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About Sherman Minton

  • Sherman "Shay" Minton (October 20, 1890 – April 9, 1965) was a United States Senator from Indiana and later an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
  • He was a member of the Democratic Party. After attending college and law school, Minton served as a captain in World War I, following which he launched a legal and political career.
  • In 1930, after multiple failed election attempts, and serving as a regional leader in the American Legion, he became a utility commissioner under the administration of Indiana Governor Paul V.
  • McNutt.
  • Four years later Minton was elected to the United States Senate.
  • During the campaign, he defended New Deal legislation in a series of addresses in which he suggested it was not necessary to uphold the United States Constitution during the Great Depression.
  • Minton's campaign was denounced by his political opponents, and he received more widespread criticism for an address that became known as the "You Cannot Eat the Constitution" speech.
  • As part of the New Deal Coalition, Minton championed President Franklin D.
  • Roosevelt's unsuccessful court packing plans in the Senate and became one of his top Senate allies. After Minton failed in his 1940 Senate reelection bid, Roosevelt appointed him as a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
  • After Roosevelt's death, President Harry S.
  • Truman, who had developed a close friendship with Minton during their time together in the Senate, nominated him to the Supreme Court.
  • He was confirmed by the Senate on October 4, 1949, by a vote of 48 to 16, 15 Republicans and one Democrat (Harry Flood Byrd of Virginia) voting against him.
  • He served on the Supreme Court for seven years.
  • An advocate of judicial restraint, Minton was a regular supporter of the majority opinions during his early years on the Court; he became a regular dissenter after President Dwight Eisenhower's appointees altered the court's composition.
  • In 1956, poor health forced Minton to retire, after which he traveled and lectured until his death in 1965. Historians note the unusual contrast between his role as a partisan liberal Senator and his role as a conservative jurist.
  • They attribute his shift in position as a reaction to the relationship between the New Deal senators and the conservative 1930s Court, which ruled much of the New Deal legislation unconstitutional.
  • When Minton became a Justice, the Senate had become more conservative and the Court more activist, causing him to support conservative minority positions.
  • He often played peacemaker and consensus builder during a period when the Court was riven by feuds.
  • He generally ruled in favor of order over freedom as a result of his broad interpretation of governmental powers.
  • These rulings and their limited impact lead some historians to have a negative opinion of his judicial record.
  • Other historians consider Minton's strong commitment to his judicial principles laudable.
  • In 1962, the Sherman Minton Bridge in southern Indiana and the Minton-Capehart Federal Building in Indianapolis were named in his honor.

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