Richard Olney
Richard Olney was an influential American lawyer and politician, notably serving as U.S. Attorney General and later as Secretary of State during the late 19th century. He was educated at Brown University and Harvard Law School, setting the foundation for his legal career. Olney first made a significant mark in the railroad industry by reorganizing the financially troubled Eastern Railroad Company and later serving as general counsel for the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad. His tenure as Attorney General under President Grover Cleveland was marked by the controversial handling of the Pullman strike in 1894, where he ordered federal intervention to suppress the labor movement.
During his time in office, he argued key cases before the Supreme Court, including the notable In re Debs case, which set a precedent against strikes on railroads involved in interstate commerce. Olney's legal career continued to influence American law, particularly concerning the Sherman Antitrust Act and income tax legislation. After leaving government service in 1897, he returned to his law practice, concluding a significant chapter in his public service. Olney's legacy is intertwined with the complexities of labor relations and federal authority in the Gilded Age.
Subject Terms
Richard Olney
Secretary of State
- Born: September 15, 1835
- Birthplace: Oxford, Massachusetts
- Died: April 8, 1917
- Place of death: Boston, Massachusetts
Significance: As U.S. attorney general, Olney argued three major cases before the Supreme Court.
Olney was educated at Brown College (1851-1856) and Harvard Law School (1856-1858). Between 1876 and 1879, he reorganized the financially distressed Eastern Railroad Company of Massachusetts and became the attorney for its subsidiary, Eastern Railroad (1884). In 1889 Olney became general counsel for the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad.
President Grover Cleveland appointed Olney as U.S. attorney general in 1893. Olney’s most controversial act was the suppression of the Chicago railroad boycott and strike of 1894 (the Pullman strike), when he ordered deputy marshals to protect the movement of mail trains, backed by federal troops and a court injunction.
During Olney’s tenure, the Justice Department brought three major cases before the Supreme Court, all in 1895. Olney considered In re Debs, which had grown out of the Pullman strike, to be the most important and personally argued that case before the Court. A sweeping unanimous decision upheld the blanket injunction and outlawed strikes against railroads carrying either interstate commerce or the mail for the next quarter century. In United States v. E. C. Knight Co., a suit brought against the sugar refiners, the Court so narrowly interpreted the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 that it was useless against trusts for at least a decade. In Pollock v. Farmers’ Loan and Trust Co., the Court struck down the income tax as a revenue source.
In 1895 Olney was appointed secretary of state. He left government service in 1897 and returned to his law practice.