William R. Day
Encyclopedia
William Rufus Day was an American
diplomat and jurist, who served for nineteen years as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
.
, Ohio
, son of Luther Day of the Ohio Supreme Court. He graduated from the University of Michigan
in 1870 and spent the following year in the school's law department
. He settled in Canton, Ohio
in 1872, where he began practicing law. For twenty-five years, Day worked as a criminal and corporate lawyer in the growing industrial town while participating in Republican
politics.
During these years, Day became a good friend of William McKinley
. Day became McKinley's legal and political adviser during McKinley's candidacies for the Congress
, the governorship of Ohio, and the presidency of the United States
. After he won the presidency, McKinley appointed Day to be Assistant Secretary of State
under Secretary of State
John Sherman
. Sherman was considered to be ineffective, and in 1898, President McKinley replaced Sherman with Day
Five months later, Day vacated his cabinet position to helm the United States Peace Commission formed to negotiate an end to the Spanish-American War
with Spain. After the Spanish-American War
was declared, Day had argued that the Spanish colonies, other than Cuba
, should be returned to Spain
, contrary to McKinley's decision that the United States should take over from Spain control of the Philippines
, Puerto Rico
, and Guam
. Day, however, negotiated peace with Spain on McKinley's harsher terms. His final diplomatic effort was to lead the United States Peace Commission into Paris, France and sign the Treaty of Paris
ending the war.
On February 25, 1899, following Day's return from Europe, McKinley nominated Day to a new seat, on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
, created by . The Circuit included Day's home state of Ohio. Day was confirmed by the United States Senate
very quickly, on February 28, 1899, and received commission the same day. His position as head of the state department was filled by John Hay
.
President McKinley was assassinated in September 1901 and Vice President
Theodore Roosevelt
took his place. On February 19, 1903, Roosevelt nominated Day as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, to a seat vacated by George Shiras, Jr.
The Senate
confirmed the nomination on February 23, 1903, and Day received his commission the same day, thereafter taking his new position on March 2, 1903.
Day wrote 439 opinions during his tenure on the court, of which only 18 were dissents. He distrusted large corporations and voted with antitrust majorities throughout his time on the court. He sided with the government in the Standard Oil
, American Tobacco, and Union Pacific cases in 1911 and 1912 and again in the Southern Pacific
case in 1922.
He is recorded as asking his clerk for "regular updates" during the bench hearing of Standard Sanitary Mfg. Co. v. United States about the final game of the 1912 World Series.
Day retired from the court on November 13, 1922, and briefly served as an Umpire of the Mixed Claims Commission to Adjudicate War Claims against Germany. He died in 1923 following year on Mackinac Island
in Michigan
. He is buried at West Lawn Cemetery
in Canton, Ohio
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
diplomat and jurist, who served for nineteen years as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
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...
.
Biography
Day was born in RavennaRavenna, Ohio
* Chris Bangle; automobile designer* Bill Bower, last surviving pilot of the Doolittle Raid* David D. Busch; best-selling author* William Rufus Day; U.S. Supreme Court justice* Calvin Hampton; Classical organist* Robert B...
, 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...
, son of Luther Day of the Ohio Supreme Court. He graduated from 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...
in 1870 and spent the following year in the school's law department
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...
. He settled in Canton, Ohio
Canton, Ohio
Canton is the county seat of Stark County in northeastern Ohio, approximately south of Akron and south of Cleveland.The City of Caton is the largest incorporated area within the Canton-Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area...
in 1872, where he began practicing law. For twenty-five years, Day worked as a criminal and corporate lawyer in the growing industrial town while participating in Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
politics.
During these years, Day became a good friend of William McKinley
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
. Day became McKinley's legal and political adviser during McKinley's candidacies for the Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, the governorship of Ohio, and the presidency of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
. After he won the presidency, McKinley appointed Day to be Assistant Secretary of State
United States Assistant Secretary of State
In modern times, Assistant Secretary of State is a title used for many executive positions in the United States State Department. A set of six Assistant Secretaries reporting to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs manage diplomatic missions within their designated geographic regions, plus one...
under Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
John Sherman
John Sherman (politician)
John Sherman, nicknamed "The Ohio Icicle" , was a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from Ohio during the Civil War and into the late nineteenth century. He served as both Secretary of the Treasury and Secretary of State and was the principal author of the Sherman Antitrust Act...
. Sherman was considered to be ineffective, and in 1898, President McKinley replaced Sherman with Day
Five months later, Day vacated his cabinet position to helm the United States Peace Commission formed to negotiate an end to the 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...
with Spain. After the 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...
was declared, Day had argued that the Spanish colonies, other than Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, should be returned to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, contrary to McKinley's decision that the United States should take over from Spain control of the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, and Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
. Day, however, negotiated peace with Spain on McKinley's harsher terms. His final diplomatic effort was to lead the United States Peace Commission into Paris, France and sign the Treaty of Paris
Treaty of Paris (1898)
The Treaty of Paris of 1898 was signed on December 10, 1898, at the end of the Spanish-American War, and came into effect on April 11, 1899, when the ratifications were exchanged....
ending the war.
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Eastern District of Kentucky* Western District of Kentucky...
, created by . The Circuit included Day's home state of Ohio. Day 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...
very quickly, on February 28, 1899, and received commission the same day. His position as head of the state department was filled by John Hay
John Hay
John Milton Hay was an American statesman, diplomat, author, journalist, and private secretary and assistant to Abraham Lincoln.-Early life:...
.
President McKinley was assassinated in September 1901 and Vice President
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
took his place. On February 19, 1903, Roosevelt nominated Day as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, to a seat vacated by George Shiras, Jr.
George Shiras, Jr.
George Shiras, Jr. was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States who was nominated to the Court by Republican President Benjamin Harrison. At that time, he had 37 years of private legal practice, but had never judged a case...
The 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...
confirmed the nomination on February 23, 1903, and Day received his commission the same day, thereafter taking his new position on March 2, 1903.
Day wrote 439 opinions during his tenure on the court, of which only 18 were dissents. He distrusted large corporations and voted with antitrust majorities throughout his time on the court. He sided with the government in the Standard Oil
Standard Oil
Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as a corporation in Ohio, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational...
, American Tobacco, and Union Pacific cases in 1911 and 1912 and again in the Southern Pacific
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
case in 1922.
He is recorded as asking his clerk for "regular updates" during the bench hearing of Standard Sanitary Mfg. Co. v. United States about the final game of the 1912 World Series.
Day retired from the court on November 13, 1922, and briefly served as an Umpire of the Mixed Claims Commission to Adjudicate War Claims against Germany. He died in 1923 following year on Mackinac Island
Mackinac Island
Mackinac Island is an island and resort area covering in land area, part of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in Lake Huron, at the eastern end of the Straits of Mackinac, between the state's Upper and Lower Peninsulas. The island was home to a Native American settlement before European...
in Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. He is buried at West Lawn Cemetery
West Lawn Cemetery
West Lawn Cemetery is in Canton, Ohio adjacent to the McKinley National Memorial. It was the original resting place of William McKinley until his memorial was built, and has graves of other notable Cantonians.-History:...
in Canton, Ohio
Canton, Ohio
Canton is the county seat of Stark County in northeastern Ohio, approximately south of Akron and south of Cleveland.The City of Caton is the largest incorporated area within the Canton-Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area...
.
Important opinions authored by Day
- Ware & Leland v. Mobile CountyWare & Leland v. Mobile CountyWare & Leland v. Mobile County, 209 U.S. 405 , is a case in which the United States Supreme Court held that contracts for the sales of cotton for future delivery that do not oblige interstate shipments are not subjects of interstate commerce...
, 209 U.S. 405 (1908)--held that contracts for the sales of cotton for future delivery that do not oblige interstate shipments are not subjects of interstate commerce - Bobbs-Merrill Co. v. StrausBobbs-Merrill Co. v. StrausBobbs-Merrill Co. v. Straus, , was a United States Supreme Court decision concerning the scope of rights accorded owners of a copyright. This was a case of first impression concerning whether the copyright laws permit an owner to control a purchaser's subsequent sale of a copyrighted work...
, 210 U.S. 339 (1908)--helped establish "first-sale doctrineFirst-sale doctrineThe first-sale doctrine is a limitation on copyright that was recognized by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1908 and subsequently codified in the Copyright Act of 1976,...
" in United States copyright lawUnited States copyright lawThe copyright law of the United States governs the legally enforceable rights of creative and artistic works under the laws of the United States.Copyright law in the United States is part of federal law, and is authorized by the U.S. Constitution... - Muskrat v. United StatesMuskrat v. United StatesMuskrat v. United States, 219 U.S. 346 , is a case that appears in virtually every constitutional law casebook published, because of its delineation of the authority of United States federal courts to hear certain kinds of cases.-Facts:...
, 219 U.S. 346 (1911)--held that there must be an actual controversy between parties for the Federal courts to have jurisdiction - Bauer & Cie. v. O'DonnellBauer & Cie. v. O'DonnellBauer & Cie. v. O'Donnell, 229 U.S. 1 was a United States Supreme Court decision involving licensing terms on patented works.Bauer & Cie sold Sanatogen, a patented water soluble albuminoid, with this notice on each bag:...
, 229 U.S. 1 (1913)--held that patentPatentA patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
rights could not be extended by the holder by means of a licensing agreement. - Buchanan v. WarleyBuchanan v. WarleyBuchanan v. Warley, 245 U.S. 60 was a unanimous United States Supreme Court decision addressing civil government instituted racial segregation in residential areas. The Court held that a Louisville, Kentucky, city ordinance prohibiting the sale of real property to African Americans violated the...
, 245 U.S. 60 (1917)--held that municipal ordinances segregating neighborhoods were unconstitutional - Hammer v. DagenhartHammer v. DagenhartHammer v. Dagenhart, 247 U.S. 251 , was a United States Supreme Court decision involving the power of Congress to enact child labor laws...
, 247 U.S. 251 (1918)-- held that laws regulating child labor are beyond the scope of Congress's constitutional power under the commerce clause
External links
- William R. Day at Find A GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...
- William R. Day at The Political GraveyardThe Political GraveyardThe Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 224,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information.-History:...
- William R. Day biography at The Ohio Judicial Court
- William R. Day biography at Michael Ariens
- William R. Day biography at The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- William R. Day biography at The Raven Hall of Fame
- William R. Day biography at The United States State Department
- William R. Day biography at The Hall of the Secretaries of State