John Marshall Harlan #44 (1833-1911)

Board #180 - John Marshall Harlan #44 (1833-1911)

John Marshall Harlan #44 (1833-1911) Justice Harlan was nominated to the court by President Rutherford Hayes who took his seat by acclamation in 1881. Harlan was born in Kentucky to a slaveholding family but he was the only Justice to dissent in the case of Plessey v Ferguson. Until the 1880’s white and black Americans mixed freely. Plessey was 7/8th white and was accosted for not sitting in a negro train car. (this case was a mere challenge to a law that was expanding state by state across the united states. The result was the doctrine “separate but equal” Plessey was not reversed until the case on civil rights was decided in brown vs board of education in 1954.

Justice Harlan became known as the great dissenter and quite frankly most of his dissents became the law of the land. Harlan signs a card dating it 1911. There are 3 photographs, two in court robes and one playing golf. There is a group photo of the justices where justice Harlan is sitting to the right of the chief.

Board: 180

Offered For: $4660