Editing Howell E. Jackson (section)

{{Short description|US Supreme Court justice from 1893 to 1895}}
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{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix =
| name          = Howell E. Jackson
| honorific-suffix =
| image         = Justice Howell Jackson2.jpg
| alt           =
| caption       =
| office        = [[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States]]
| term_start    = March 4, 1893<!--Term start date as per www.supremecourt.gov, reflects date oath taken-->
|term_end       = August 8, 1895<ref name=SCOTUSjustices>{{cite web| url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/members_text.aspx| title= Justices 1789 to Present| publisher=Supreme Court of the United States| location=Washington, D.C.| access-date=February 15, 2022}}</ref>
| nominator     = [[List of federal judges appointed by Benjamin Harrison|Benjamin Harrison]]
| predecessor   = [[Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II|Lucius Q. C. Lamar]]<!--Piping due to excessive length.-->
| successor     = [[Rufus W. Peckham]]
| office1       = Judge of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit]]
| term_start1   = June 16, 1891
| term_end1     = March 4, 1893
| nominator1    = [[operation of law]]
| predecessor1  = ''Seat established by 26 Stat. 826''
| successor1    = [[Horace Harmon Lurton]]
| office2       = Judge of the [[United States circuit court|United States Circuit Courts for the Sixth Circuit]]
| term_start2   = April 12, 1886
| term_end2     = March 4, 1893
| nominator2    = [[List of federal judges appointed by Grover Cleveland|Grover Cleveland]]
| predecessor2  = [[John Baxter (judge)|John Baxter]]
| successor2    = [[Horace Harmon Lurton]]
| jr/sr3        = United States Senator
| state3        = [[Tennessee]]
| term_start3   = March 4, 1881
| term_end3     = April 14, 1886
| predecessor3  = [[James E. Bailey]]
| successor3    = [[Washington C. Whitthorne]]
| office4       = Member of the [[Tennessee House of Representatives]] from [[Madison County, Tennessee|Madison County]]
| term_start4   = January 3, 1881
| term_end4     = February 9, 1881
| preceded4     = Benjamin Tyson
| succeeded4    = [[Hugh C. Anderson]]
| pronunciation =
| birth_name    = Howell Edmunds Jackson
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1832|04|08}}
| birth_place   = [[Paris, Tennessee]], US
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|1895|08|08|1832|04|08}}
| death_place   = [[Nashville, Tennessee]], US
| death_cause   =
| resting_place = [[Mount Olivet Cemetery (Nashville)|Mount Olivet Cemetery]]
| resting_place_coordinates =
| citizenship   =
| nationality   =
| party         = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| otherparty    =
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| relatives     =
| education     = [[University of Virginia]]<br>[[Union University|West Tennessee College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|AB]])<br>{{nowrap|[[Cumberland School of Law]] ([[Bachelor of Laws|LLB]])}}
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| signature     = Signature of Howell Edmunds Jackson (1832–1895).png
| signature_alt =
| website       =
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}}
'''Howell Edmunds Jackson''' (April 8, 1832 – August 8, 1895) was an American attorney, politician, and [[jurist]] who served as an [[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States]] from 1893 until his death in 1895. His brief tenure on the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] is most remembered for his opinion in ''[[Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co.]]'', in which Jackson argued in dissent that a federal income tax was constitutional.   [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] President [[Benjamin Harrison]] appointed Jackson, a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]], to the Court. His rulings demonstrated support for broad federal power, a skepticism of [[states' rights]] and an inclination toward [[judicial restraint]]. Jackson's unexpected death after only two years of service prevented him from having a substantial impact on American history.

Born in [[Paris, Tennessee]], in 1832, Jackson earned a law degree from [[Cumberland School of Law|Cumberland Law School]] and was admitted to the bar in 1856. He briefly practiced law in [[Jackson, Tennessee|Jackson]] before moving to [[Memphis, Tennessee]], in 1857. Although he had initially opposed [[Secession in the United States|secession]], he took a position as a receiver of sequestered property in the [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] civil service after the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] broke out and later made several unsuccessful attempts to secure a judicial commission in the Confederate Army.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rust |first=Randal |title=Jackson, Howell Edmunds |url=https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/howell-edmunds-jackson/#:~:text=Relocating%20to%20Memphis%20in%201857,This%20marriage%20produced%20three%20children. |access-date=2024-11-25 |website=Tennessee Encyclopedia |language=en-US}}</ref> He returned to the practice of law after the war, but he also took an interest in politics. After an unsuccessful run for the [[Tennessee Supreme Court]], he was elected to a seat in the [[Tennessee House of Representatives]] in 1880. When the legislature deadlocked over the selection of a [[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]], Jackson was selected as a consensus candidate, garnering bipartisan support. Despite being a loyal Democrat, he was held in high regard by fellow officeholders of both political parties, including Democrat [[Grover Cleveland]] and Republican Benjamin Harrison. When Cleveland became president, he appointed Jackson to a seat on the federal [[United States circuit court|circuit court]] for the [[Sixth Circuit]]. While on the circuit court, he sided with businesses in a major antitrust dispute and supported an expansive view of constitutional freedoms in a civil rights case.

Shortly after President Harrison – Jackson's former Senate colleague – lost reelection, Supreme Court Justice [[Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar|Lucius Q. C. Lamar]] died. Harrison wanted to select a Republican replacement for Lamar, but he realized Democratic senators would likely stall the nomination until he left office. He chose Jackson, whom he viewed both as a close friend and a well-regarded jurist. The Senate unanimously confirmed Jackson just before Harrison left office in 1893. Not long after assuming office, Jackson developed [[tuberculosis]], preventing him from playing a major role in Supreme Court affairs. He authored only forty-six opinions, many of which were in patent disputes or other insignificant cases. He left Washington hoping that a better climate would aid his health but returned to the capital after the remaining eight justices split 4–4 in ''Pollock''. Yet Jackson ended up dissenting in the landmark income tax case, likely because of a change in another justice's vote. While Jackson's opinion in ''Pollock'' kept him from total obscurity in the annals of history, the journey to Washington also worsened his health considerably: he died on August 8, 1895, only eleven weeks after the ruling was handed down.