Wade H. McCree
Encyclopedia
Wade Hampton McCree, Jr. (July 3, 1920 – August 30, 1987) was an American
attorney, judge, public official and law professor. He was the first African American
appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and the second African American Solicitor General
in the history of the United States. He joined the faculty of the University of Michigan Law School
after leaving government service in 1981, and taught there until the time of his death.
McCree was born in Des Moines, Iowa
to Wade Hampton McCree Sr., a graduate of Fisk University who had worked his way through college as a butler and who became the first African-American pharmacist and pharmacy owner in Iowa. McCree senior was later employed as first African-American narcotics inspector for the Food and Drug Administration. McCree grew up mainly in Boston, and attended the prestigious Boston Latin School
. Like his father, McCree worked his way through Fisk University
. He was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa society and graduated summa cum laude in 1941. After serving a four-year stint as a Captain in the United States Army during World War II
, McCree entered Harvard Law School
and graduated 12th in his class in 1948.
McCree and his wife, Dores, a graduate of Simmons College
, then moved to her hometown of Detroit, Michigan
where they raised three children. McCree practiced law at the legendary black law firm of Bledsoe & Taylor from 1948 to 1952. He began his long career in public service in 1953 when was appointed to the Workman's Compensation Commission by Michigan Governor G. Mennen Williams
. Two years later McCree became the first African-American to be appointed to the Circuit Court for Wayne County, Michigan
, and served on that court from 1954 to 1961.
President John F. Kennedy
nominated McCree to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on September 18, 1961, another first for an African-American. His nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate
11 days later, and he received his commission on September 29, 1961. On August 16, 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson
nominated McCree to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. He was confirmed by the Senate on September 7, 1966 and received his commission the same day.
While sitting on the federal bench, McCree was known to have expressed his views on race and justice. When a lawyer argued that McCree could not impartially decide a case involving a black and a white litigant McCree replied: "the ultimate of arrogance is achieved when a white person thinks another white person can make a judgment without being influenced by race, and a black person cannot."
When his eldest daughter was refused admission to an all-girls school in Detroit because she was black, McCree founded the interracial Friends School in 1965. He was also a founder of the statewide Higher Education Opportunity Committee, a program which identifies promising middle school students and provides them with college scholarships.
McCree served on the 6th Circuit until 1977, when President Jimmy Carter
appointed him United States Solicitor General. As Solicitor General, McCree served as the head appellate lawyer for the U.S. government and represented the administration in cases before the U. S. Supreme Court. He personally argued 25 cases before the Supreme Court, including the Richard Nixon
presidential tapes
case and the Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
affirmative action case. In the Bakke case, McCree argued that race could be one factor in deciding whether an applicant was admitted to medical school. He said at the time that he was "in favor of special admissions programs, but people who can outgrow them should not become dependent on them." Often called the "10th Justice", McCree served as Solicitor General for four years.
McCree resigned his commission as Solicitor General in 1981 when conservative Republican President Ronald Reagan
took office. McCree then became the Lewis M. Simes Professor of Law at the University of Michigan, where he taught until his death. During these years he also consulted on various cases and served as Special Master
for U.S. Supreme Court cases of original jurisdiction
.
McCree died at age 67 of bone cancer and a heart ailment at Henry Ford Hospital
in Detroit, Michigan. President Jimmy Carter said at his memorial service that McCree was "a true American hero". McCree is interred at Woodlawn Cemetery
.
McCree's daughter, Kathleen McCree Lewis
, was nominated by President Bill Clinton
to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in 1999. However, the Republican controlled U.S. Senate failed to act on Lewis' nomination.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
attorney, judge, public official and law professor. He was the first African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and the second African American Solicitor General
United States Solicitor General
The United States Solicitor General is the person appointed to represent the federal government of the United States before the Supreme Court of the United States. The current Solicitor General, Donald B. Verrilli, Jr. was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 6, 2011 and sworn in on June...
in the history of the United States. He joined the faculty of the University of Michigan Law School
University of Michigan Law School
The University of Michigan Law School is the law school of the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor. Founded in 1859, the school has an enrollment of about 1,200 students, most of whom are seeking Juris Doctor or Master of Laws degrees, although the school also offers a Doctor of Juridical...
after leaving government service in 1981, and taught there until the time of his death.
McCree was born in Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
to Wade Hampton McCree Sr., a graduate of Fisk University who had worked his way through college as a butler and who became the first African-American pharmacist and pharmacy owner in Iowa. McCree senior was later employed as first African-American narcotics inspector for the Food and Drug Administration. McCree grew up mainly in Boston, and attended the prestigious Boston Latin School
Boston Latin School
The Boston Latin School is a public exam school founded on April 23, 1635, in Boston, Massachusetts. It is both the first public school and oldest existing school in the United States....
. Like his father, McCree worked his way through Fisk University
Fisk University
Fisk University is an historically black university founded in 1866 in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. The world-famous Fisk Jubilee Singers started as a group of students who performed to earn enough money to save the school at a critical time of financial shortages. They toured to raise funds to...
. He was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa society and graduated summa cum laude in 1941. After serving a four-year stint as a Captain in the United States Army during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, McCree entered Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
and graduated 12th in his class in 1948.
McCree and his wife, Dores, a graduate of Simmons College
Simmons College of Kentucky
Simmons College of Kentucky, also referred to as Simmons College and Simmons Bible College, is a private, co-educational college located in Louisville, Kentucky. Founded in 1879, Simmons College is a historically black college...
, then moved to her hometown of Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
where they raised three children. McCree practiced law at the legendary black law firm of Bledsoe & Taylor from 1948 to 1952. He began his long career in public service in 1953 when was appointed to the Workman's Compensation Commission by Michigan Governor G. Mennen Williams
G. Mennen Williams
Gerhard Mennen "Soapy" Williams, , was a politician from the US state of Michigan. An heir to a personal grooming products fortune, he was known as "Soapy," and wore a trademark green bow tie with white polka dots....
. Two years later McCree became the first African-American to be appointed to the Circuit Court for Wayne County, Michigan
Wayne County, Michigan
-History:Wayne County was one of the first counties formed when the Northwest Territory was organized. It was named for the American general "Mad Anthony" Wayne. It originally encompassed the entire area of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, as well as small sections that are now part of northern...
, and served on that court from 1954 to 1961.
President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
nominated McCree to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on September 18, 1961, another first for an African-American. His nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
11 days later, and he received his commission on September 29, 1961. On August 16, 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
nominated McCree to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. He was confirmed by the Senate on September 7, 1966 and received his commission the same day.
While sitting on the federal bench, McCree was known to have expressed his views on race and justice. When a lawyer argued that McCree could not impartially decide a case involving a black and a white litigant McCree replied: "the ultimate of arrogance is achieved when a white person thinks another white person can make a judgment without being influenced by race, and a black person cannot."
When his eldest daughter was refused admission to an all-girls school in Detroit because she was black, McCree founded the interracial Friends School in 1965. He was also a founder of the statewide Higher Education Opportunity Committee, a program which identifies promising middle school students and provides them with college scholarships.
McCree served on the 6th Circuit until 1977, when President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
appointed him United States Solicitor General. As Solicitor General, McCree served as the head appellate lawyer for the U.S. government and represented the administration in cases before the U. S. Supreme Court. He personally argued 25 cases before the Supreme Court, including the Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
presidential tapes
Watergate tapes
The Watergate tapes, a subset of the Nixon tapes, are a collection of recordings of conversations between Richard Nixon and his fellow conspirators plotting a break in to the Watergate Hotel. U.S. President Richard Nixon and various White House staff started communicating on February 1971 and...
case and the Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States that ruled unconstitutional the admission process of the Medical School at the University of California at Davis, which set aside 16 of the 100 seats for African American...
affirmative action case. In the Bakke case, McCree argued that race could be one factor in deciding whether an applicant was admitted to medical school. He said at the time that he was "in favor of special admissions programs, but people who can outgrow them should not become dependent on them." Often called the "10th Justice", McCree served as Solicitor General for four years.
McCree resigned his commission as Solicitor General in 1981 when conservative Republican President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
took office. McCree then became the Lewis M. Simes Professor of Law at the University of Michigan, where he taught until his death. During these years he also consulted on various cases and served as Special Master
Special master
In law, a special master is an authority appointed by a judge to make sure that judicial orders are actually followed.In England, at common law, there were "Masters in Chancery," who acted in aid of the Equity Courts. There were also "Masters in Lunacy," who conducted inquiries of the same nature...
for U.S. Supreme Court cases of original jurisdiction
Original jurisdiction
The original jurisdiction of a court is the power to hear a case for the first time, as opposed to appellate jurisdiction, when a court has the power to review a lower court's decision.-France:...
.
McCree died at age 67 of bone cancer and a heart ailment at Henry Ford Hospital
Henry Ford Hospital
Henry Ford Hospital, the flagship facility for , is an 805-bed tertiary care hospital, education and research complex located in Detroit ....
in Detroit, Michigan. President Jimmy Carter said at his memorial service that McCree was "a true American hero". McCree is interred at Woodlawn Cemetery
Woodlawn Cemetery (Detroit, Michigan)
Woodlawn Cemetery is a cemetery located at 19975 Woodward Avenue, across from the Michigan State Fairgrounds, between 7 Mile Road and 8 Mile Road, in Detroit, Michigan. It is one of the area's most well-known cemeteries.-History:...
.
McCree's daughter, Kathleen McCree Lewis
Kathleen McCree Lewis
Kathleen McCree Lewis was an American lawyer and former federal judicial nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.- Early life and education :Lewis was born in Boston...
, was nominated by President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in 1999. However, the Republican controlled U.S. Senate failed to act on Lewis' nomination.