Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. was a renowned justice on the United States Supreme Court known for his sharp writing and speaking skills. He served in the Union Army during the Civil War and later became a justice on the Massachusetts State Supreme Court. In 1902, he was appointed to the United States Supreme Court, where he advocated for judicial restraint and the protection of free speech. Holmes retired from the Supreme Court at age 90 and is considered a giant in American legal practice.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. is one of America’s best-known justices to serve on the United States Supreme Court. Known for his sharp writing and speaking skills and his rather impressive walrus mustache, Judge Oliver Wendell Holmes is quoted and cited extensively in discussions of American law. Often called “The Great Dissident,” he is known for the sometimes contradictory opinions that formed his philosophy on law and legal process.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., born in 1841, was the son of a noted poet and philosopher. As a young man, Holmes was exposed to Boston’s best private education and was raised in a highly literary family. At Harvard, Holmes was disillusioned with his education and often wrote critical articles as editor of Harvard Magazine.
Though poised for a well-placed career, Homes chose to join the Army upon graduation and served on the Union side during the Civil War. He fought in the bloody battles of Antietam and Fredericksburg. Perhaps the earliest famous mention of him comes from this era, when he is said to have shouted “Get down, you fool!” to President Lincoln, who was an obvious target as he visited troops during the Battle of Fort Stevens. Oliver Wendell Holmes suffered three serious wounds and numerous illnesses and completed his service in 1864.
After the war, Holmes busied himself with starting a family and attending Harvard Law School. He has practiced law for nearly twenty years and has contributed to many leading law journals. In 1881 he published his famous work, The Common Law, based on a series of lectures he had given at universities. Shortly after its publication, Oliver Wendell Holmes was appointed to the Massachusetts State Supreme Court, where he served as a justice for twenty years.
Under the advice of Massachusetts Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, President Theodore Roosevelt nominated Holmes to the United States Supreme Court in 1902, a decision he would later regret. Holmes had spent his career developing a clear theory of the importance and jurisdiction of federal law, and he often argued against Roosevelt’s proposals. He supported the formation of nonviolent unions and generally supported the practice and protection of free speech. Oliver Wendell Holmes is considered one of the greatest advocates of judicial restraint, which is that it allows the law to decide rather than basing decisions on the personal opinions of judges.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. retired from the Supreme Court at age 90, in 1932. By the time of his death in 1935, Holmes had contributed much to the founding of modern constitutional law in America. His extensive writings are considered some of the greatest legal texts of his day and are widely studied and reproduced among the legal profession. Through his contributions as a lawyer, a judge, and theories of law, Oliver Wendell Homes, Jr. is regarded as a giant in American legal practice.
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