John McKinley
John McKinley was a notable figure in American politics in the 19th century, beginning his career in the Alabama state legislature in 1820. He briefly served in the U.S. Senate after the death of Henry Chambers and championed policies that supported individual settlers over large land speculators, alongside advocating for bankruptcy laws favorable to small farmers. McKinley’s political journey saw him return to the Alabama state legislature after his Senate term ended, and he made several attempts to regain a Senate seat. In 1837, he was appointed by President Andrew Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court, becoming an associate justice. His judicial tenure was marked by a commitment to states' rights, yet he also recognized the need for occasional federal intervention. McKinley faced considerable challenges in his circuit, which spanned several states and required extensive travel, and he dissented in several significant cases, emphasizing his views on states' rights and the federal government's role in various legal matters. Overall, he was a complex figure whose career reflected the tensions of his time between state sovereignty and federal authority.
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John McKinley
Supreme Court Justice
- Born: May 1, 1780
- Birthplace: Culpepper County, Virginia
- Died: July 19, 1852
- Place of death: Louisville, Kentucky
Nominated by: Martin Van Buren
Significance: As a Supreme Court justice, McKinley supported states’ rights over the authority of the federal government.
McKinley began his long, diverse political career in 1820 with a seat in the Alabama state legislature. In November, 1826, he entered the U.S. Senate upon the death of Henry Chambers. While a senator, he advocated governmental assistance to individual settlers as opposed to large land speculators. McKinley also favored bankruptcy laws that favored the small, landowning farmer. By 1829 he was chairman of the Senate committee on public lands. In 1830, however, McKinley was not reelected, and he returned to the Alabama state legislature. After two years, McKinley returned to Congress as a representative, but after one term, he was back in the state legislature and running again for the Senate.
McKinley was reelected senator but never took office. Congress increased the number of Supreme Court justices from seven to nine in March, 1837. President Andrew Jackson first offered a seat to William Smith of Alabama. When he refused, Jackson then offered it to McKinley, who accepted. President Martin Van Buren nominated McKinley on April 22, 1837. The Senate confirmed his nomination on September 25, 1837, and McKinley took his seat on January 9, 1838. He was assigned to the newly created Ninth Circuit, which included Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas. McKinley claimed that his far-flung circuit, quite distant from Washington, D.C., was an overwhelming duty that required him to travel ten thousand miles a year, despite his relocation to Louisville, Kentucky, which placed him between the capital and his circuit.
In Bank of Augusta v. Earle (1838), McKinley was the sole dissenter, claiming that a Georgia bank, as a foreign corporation, had no business in the sovereign state of Alabama. The Court, however, held that while a state could exclude a foreign company from doing business, it must make its reasons or conditions clear, which Alabama had not, and ruled for the banks. In Lane v. Vick (1845), McKinley dissented, stating that the Court had no interest in determining whether the Mississippi supreme court had been in error in a case involving a will because it had nothing to do with federal law. In Pollard v. Hagan (1845), McKinley argued that, as territories became states, they should receive public lands from the federal government, which had granted them to the original thirteen states.
In the 1849 Passenger Cases, McKinley claimed that the federal government, not New York and Massachusetts, had authority over immigrants entering the two states from overseas until they became permanent residents of either state. Despite McKinley’s strong support of states’ rights, he was actually a moderate who acknowledged the necessity of occasional federal intervention.
Bibliography
Bader, William H., and Roy M. Mersky, eds. The First One Hundred Eight Justices. Buffalo, N.Y.: William S. Hein, 2004.
Huebner, Timothy S. The Taney Court: Justices, Rulings, and Legacy. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-Clio, 2003.
Miller, F. Thornton. “John McKinley.” In The Supreme Court Justices: Illustrated Biographies, 1789-1993, edited by Clare Cushman. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, 1993.
Monroe, Elizabeth Brand. “John McKinley.” In The Supreme Court Justices: A Biographical Dictionary, edited by Melvin I. Urofsky. New York: Garland, 1994.