Byron B. Harlan
Encyclopedia
Byron Berry Harlan was an attorney, prosecutor
, jurist
and member of the United States House of Representatives
from Ohio
.
Byron B. Harlan was born in Greenville, Ohio
, and moved with his parents, Benjamin Berry and Margaret (Bond) Harlan, to Dayton, Ohio
, when he was eight. His father was a high school teacher
. Byron attended the Dayton public schools. He then attended the University of Michigan
where he was a member of Theta Chi
fraternity
and was graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from its College of Arts and Sciences in 1909 and LL. B. from its Law College in 1911. He was admitted to the Ohio bar and commenced practice in Dayton in 1911.
About 1914, Byron Berry Harlan married Sada B. Shaw (1887-1952) who was born in Canada
and came to the United States when she was three years old. They had three children.
Byron Harlan was assistant prosecuting attorney of Montgomery County, Ohio
, from 1912 to 1916. He served on the governing board of the Humane Society
of Dayton with Harry N. Routzohn
and other prominent citizens. In 1928, he became president of the Ohio Federated Humane Societies, serving in that capacity for fifteen years. In 1938, he was honorary vice president of the American Humane Association
.
In 1930, Byron B. Harlan was elected as a Democrat
from Ohio’s Third District to the Seventy-second Congress and to the three succeeding Congresses. He served as chairman of the Committee on Revision of the Laws
in the Seventy-second and Seventy-third Congresses.
In 1931, he indicated his intent to support repeal
of Prohibition
saying repeal would "preserve a government of law and particularly local government as much as possible. The money now going to corrupt government and finance crime would be diverted into legal channels."
In June 1933, a disgruntled Spanish-American War
veteran, who was cut off the pension and disability rolls of the Veterans Bureau, murdered the chief of the medical staff of the National Military Home in Dayton when his plans to kill Representative Harlan were frustrated. He had gone to the Gem City Democratic Club in Dayton several times, carrying bombs intended for Harlan. Each time, however, Harlan had been away. Harlan had voted for the Economy Act
in Congress which severely cut veterans benefits.
Byron B. Harlan, a strong New Deal
activist, strongly supported education through funding of the New Deal National Youth Administration
(NYA) that provided student aid to higher education. The college student-aid program proved to be politically successful in Ohio, drawing broad support from college students and administrators alike. College student-aid programs instituted under the Federal Emergency Relief Administration
and the NYA convinced college administrations that the federal government could be an ally. New Deal student aid programs led to the expanded role government would play in American higher education after World War II.
Representative Byron B. Harlan was an outspoken supporter of Roosevelt’s plan to pack
the Supreme Court
in 1937. Taking issue with suggestions for a constitutional amendment
to address the intransigense of the existing court, Mr. Harlan said such a course might delay essential legislation fifteen years. He took to the floor of the House to speak:
Harlan went to the airwaves to talk about the judiciary program, appearing frequently on the national radio network
s of the time. However, he was defeated as a candidate for reelection to a fifth term in 1938.
Byron B. Harlan returned to Dayton where he resumed the practice of law. He remained active in Democratic politics and was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention
in 1940. He was appointed United States attorney
for the southern district of Ohio
from May 1944 until March 1946 when he was appointed by President Truman
to fill a vacancy on the United States Tax Court
. He was reappointed to a full twelve-year term in 1948 but died November 11, 1949.
Byron Berry Harlan died of a heart attack while on a visit to his two sons in Cogan House, Pennsylvania. He is interred with his wife and parents in Woodland Cemetery, Dayton, Ohio
.
Prosecutor
The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system...
, jurist
Jurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
and member of the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
.
Byron B. Harlan was born in Greenville, Ohio
Greenville, Ohio
Greenville is a city in Darke County, Ohio, United States. The population was 13,227 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Darke County.-History:Greenville is the historic location of Fort Greene Ville,Greenville is a city in Darke County, Ohio, United States. The population was 13,227 at...
, and moved with his parents, Benjamin Berry and Margaret (Bond) Harlan, to Dayton, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
, when he was eight. His father was a high school teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
. Byron attended the Dayton public schools. He then attended the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
where he was a member of Theta Chi
Theta Chi
Theta Chi Fraternity is an international college fraternity. It was founded on April 10, 1856 as the Theta Chi Society, at Norwich University, Norwich, Vermont, U.S., and was the 21st of the 71 North-American Interfraternity Conference men's fraternities.-Founding and early years at Norwich:Theta...
fraternity
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
and was graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from its College of Arts and Sciences in 1909 and LL. B. from its Law College in 1911. He was admitted to the Ohio bar and commenced practice in Dayton in 1911.
About 1914, Byron Berry Harlan married Sada B. Shaw (1887-1952) who was born in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and came to the United States when she was three years old. They had three children.
Byron Harlan was assistant prosecuting attorney of Montgomery County, Ohio
Montgomery County, Ohio
Montgomery County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. The population was 535,153 in the 2010 Census. It was named in honor of Richard Montgomery, an American Revolutionary War general killed in 1775 while attempting to capture Quebec City, Canada. The county seat is Dayton...
, from 1912 to 1916. He served on the governing board of the Humane Society
Humane Society
A humane society may be a group that aims to stop human or animal suffering due to cruelty or other reasons, although in many countries, it is now used mostly for societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals...
of Dayton with Harry N. Routzohn
Harry N. Routzohn
Harry Nelson Routzohn was an attorney, jurist and member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio....
and other prominent citizens. In 1928, he became president of the Ohio Federated Humane Societies, serving in that capacity for fifteen years. In 1938, he was honorary vice president of the American Humane Association
American Humane Association
The American Humane Association is an organization founded in 1877 dedicated to the welfare of animals and children.The AHA's Film and Television Unit has monitored the welfare of animals during the production of films and television programs since 1940. They are the source of the familiar...
.
In 1930, Byron B. Harlan was elected as a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
from Ohio’s Third District to the Seventy-second Congress and to the three succeeding Congresses. He served as chairman of the Committee on Revision of the Laws
United States House Committee on the Judiciary
The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, also called the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is charged with overseeing the administration of justice within the federal courts, administrative agencies and Federal law enforcement...
in the Seventy-second and Seventy-third Congresses.
In 1931, he indicated his intent to support repeal
Repeal
A repeal is the amendment, removal or reversal of a law. This is generally done when a law is no longer effective, or it is shown that a law is having far more negative consequences than were originally envisioned....
of Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
saying repeal would "preserve a government of law and particularly local government as much as possible. The money now going to corrupt government and finance crime would be diverted into legal channels."
In June 1933, a disgruntled Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
veteran, who was cut off the pension and disability rolls of the Veterans Bureau, murdered the chief of the medical staff of the National Military Home in Dayton when his plans to kill Representative Harlan were frustrated. He had gone to the Gem City Democratic Club in Dayton several times, carrying bombs intended for Harlan. Each time, however, Harlan had been away. Harlan had voted for the Economy Act
Economy Act
The Economy Act of 1933, officially titled the Act of March 20, 1933 , is an Act of Congress that cut the salaries of federal workers and reduced benefit payments to veterans, moves intended to reduce the federal deficit in the United States....
in Congress which severely cut veterans benefits.
Byron B. Harlan, a strong New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
activist, strongly supported education through funding of the New Deal National Youth Administration
National Youth Administration
The National Youth Administration was a New Deal agency in the United States that focused on providing work and education for Americans between the ages of 16 and 24. It operated from 1935 to 1939 as part of the Works Progress Administration . Following the passage of the Reorganization Act of...
(NYA) that provided student aid to higher education. The college student-aid program proved to be politically successful in Ohio, drawing broad support from college students and administrators alike. College student-aid programs instituted under the Federal Emergency Relief Administration
Federal Emergency Relief Administration
Federal Emergency Relief Administration was the new name given by the Roosevelt Administration to the Emergency Relief Administration which President Herbert Hoover had created in 1932...
and the NYA convinced college administrations that the federal government could be an ally. New Deal student aid programs led to the expanded role government would play in American higher education after World War II.
Representative Byron B. Harlan was an outspoken supporter of Roosevelt’s plan to pack
Judiciary Reorganization Bill of 1937
The Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937, frequently called the court-packing plan, was a legislative initiative proposed by U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt to add more justices to the U.S. Supreme Court. Roosevelt's purpose was to obtain favorable rulings regarding New Deal legislation that...
the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
in 1937. Taking issue with suggestions for a constitutional amendment
Constitutional amendment
A constitutional amendment is a formal change to the text of the written constitution of a nation or state.Most constitutions require that amendments cannot be enacted unless they have passed a special procedure that is more stringent than that required of ordinary legislation...
to address the intransigense of the existing court, Mr. Harlan said such a course might delay essential legislation fifteen years. He took to the floor of the House to speak:
- "Packing the courts is a convenient phrase to crystallize prejudice and escape the necessity of thought," Mr. Harlan said. "No one is attempting to pack courts; the real effort being made is to unpack them.
- "The check which the courts have on Congress is not provided for in the Constitution. The check which Congress has on the courts is provided for, and those who are fearful of creating an unbalance of power by the exercise of this legislative prerogative which we have frequently exercised in the past are speaking, I submit, out of a fear of the dark rather than their own substantial danger.
- "What chance is there against this opposition of all the organized selfishness in this country to pass through an amendment to protect the hours and working conditions of adult laborers? None at all and the people who are proposing this method know it full well.
- "When these property rights come into conflict with the rights of human beingsHuman rightsHuman rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
to a living wage or with the rights of a democracy to plan its own economy, decisions are almost a foregone conclusion, not from any corrupt motives, quite the contrary, from the very highest motives, but their emotions just like yours and mine are the outgrowth of their training and experience. - "Yet if our courts prevent Congress from scientific, economic planning, and if we reject the President's proposal, there is no plan open to us other than to continue our efforts to spend ourselves into prosperity. Nobody likes that, but without it, nine million workers face starvation, and where is there a political party that will ever have the temerity to meet that situation? Governor LandonAlf LandonAlfred Mossman "Alf" Landon was an American Republican politician, who served as the 26th Governor of Kansas from 1933–1937. He was best known for being the Republican Party's nominee for President of the United States, defeated in a landslide by Franklin D...
attempted it in the beginning of his campaign, but before he was through, he was outbidding President RooseveltFranklin D. RooseveltFranklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
."
Harlan went to the airwaves to talk about the judiciary program, appearing frequently on the national radio network
Radio network
There are two types of radio networks currently in use around the world: the one-to-many broadcast type commonly used for public information and mass media entertainment; and the two-way type used more commonly for public safety and public services such as police, fire, taxicabs, and delivery...
s of the time. However, he was defeated as a candidate for reelection to a fifth term in 1938.
Byron B. Harlan returned to Dayton where he resumed the practice of law. He remained active in Democratic politics and was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention
Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention...
in 1940. He was appointed United States attorney
United States Attorney
United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
for the southern district of Ohio
United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio is one of two United States district courts in Ohio and includes forty-eight of the state's eighty-eight counties. Appeals from the court are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit at Cincinnati The...
from May 1944 until March 1946 when he was appointed by President Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
to fill a vacancy on the United States Tax Court
United States Tax Court
The United States Tax Court is a federal trial court of record established by Congress under Article I of the U.S. Constitution, section 8 of which provides that the Congress has the power to "constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court"...
. He was reappointed to a full twelve-year term in 1948 but died November 11, 1949.
Byron Berry Harlan died of a heart attack while on a visit to his two sons in Cogan House, Pennsylvania. He is interred with his wife and parents in Woodland Cemetery, Dayton, Ohio
Woodland Cemetery, Dayton, Ohio
Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum , located at 118 Woodland Avenue, Dayton, Ohio, is one of the oldest "garden" cemeteries in the United States....
.