George Shiras Jr.

Life and career

Shiras was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, January 26, 1832. He attended Ohio University and then graduated from Yale College, Phi Beta Kappa, in 1853. He began law school at Yale Law School, but left before earning a law degree. He finished his training by reading law at a law office, then practiced law in Dubuque, Iowa, from 1855 to 1858, and in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1858 to 1892. In Pittsburgh, he became a prominent corporate attorney, and he was noted for his honesty and pragmatism while representing some of the nation's industrial giants.

On July 19, 1892, Shiras was nominated by President Benjamin Harrison as an associate justice, to succeed Joseph P. Bradley. He was recommended for the post by his third cousin, Secretary of State James G. Blaine. Shiras was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 26, 1892,

Although Shiras sat on the Court for more than 10 years authoring 253 majority decisions and 14 dissents, he is noted for his votes on just two landmark cases, Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. (1895), and Plessy v. Ferguson (1896). He sided with the majority in the 5–4 decision in Pollock to strike down the Income Tax Act of 1894 as unconstitutional. Some historians believe Shiras was the pivotal Justice who switched his vote, while other historians suspect that it was either Justice Horace Gray or Justice David Brewer. Regardless, the ruling in Pollock led to the need for a constitutional amendment to impose a federal income tax, and in 1913, the Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified. Shiras also voted with the 7–1 majority in Plessy v. Ferguson, which upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the doctrine of separate but equal, and which was effectively overruled in 1954.

Shiras retired from the Supreme Court on February 23, 1903. He is buried in Allegheny Cemetery in Pittsburgh.

His son, George Shiras III, served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for Pennsylvania.

Legacy

The World War II Liberty ship was named in his honor.

Notes

References

References

1. "Shiras, George, Jr.".
2. [http://www.pbk.org/userfiles/file/Famous%20Members/PBKSupremeCourtJustices.pdf Supreme Court Justices Who Are Phi Beta Kappa Members] {{Webarchive. link. (September 28, 2011 , Phi Beta Kappa website. Retrieved October 4, 2009)
3. [http://www.historycentral.com/BIO/rec/GeorgeShiras.html George Shiras] {{Webarchive. link. (July 15, 2007 , HistoryCentral.com. Retrieved October 10, 2009)
4. "Supreme Court Nominations (1789-Present)". United States Senate.
5. "Justices 1789 to Present". Supreme Court of the United States.
6. "George Shiras".
7. (2016). "Allegheny Cemetery: Images of America". Arcadia Publishing.