Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. Civil War Soldier, Supreme Court Justice

The man Franklin Delano Roosevelt once called 'the greatest living American,' and who legal scholars are apt to term the 'Great Dissenter,' Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., was born in Massachusetts, the son of a doctor and author. From the antebellum era through the First World War and into the New Deal years, Holmes' life and career as a Supreme Court Justice span an eventful period of American history, and his decisions shaped the country. The argument of his most famous ruling, Schenck vs. United States (1919), in which he established that the First Amendment did not protect an individual if they posed a 'clear and present danger' to society, is familiar to most Americans. In this concise book, Susan-Mary Grant puts Holmes' life in national context with a focus on an individual whose perspective on both law and life was, like that of his nation, ultimately both confirmed and constrained by conflict. With a selection of primary documents including Holmes' most important decisions, letters from his Civil War diary, extracts from speeches, and his obituary, Oliver Wendall Holmes Jr. introduces students of U.S. and legal history to a game-changing figure.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., was one of the most influential jurists of his time. From the antebellum era and the Civil War through the First World War and into the New Deal years, Holmes' long life and career as a Supreme Court Justice spanned an eventful period of American history, as the country went from an agrarian republic to an industrialized world power. In this concise, engaging book, Susan-Mary Grant puts Holmes' life in national context, exploring how he both shaped and reflected his changing country. She examines the impact of the Civil War on his life and his thinking, his role in key cases ranging from the issue of free speech in Schenck v. United States to the infamous ruling in favor of eugenics in Buck v. Bell, showing how behind Holmes’ reputation as a liberal justice lay a more complex approach to law that did not neatly align with political divisions. Including a selection of key primary documents, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. introduces students of U.S., Civil War, and legal history to a game-changing figure and his times.

Part I: Oliver Wendell Holmes Introduction Chapter 1: An Antebellum Adolescence Chapter 2: Citizen Soldier: The Brahmin on the Battlefield Chapter 3: The Doubts of Civil Life, Law and Logic Chapter 4: A Soldier’s Faith Chapter 5: The Strenuous Life Conclusion Part II: Documents Selected Bibliography

Susan-Mary Grant is Professor of American History at Newcastle University. Her previous books include A Concise History of the United States of America, The War for a Nation: The American Civil War, North Over South: Northern Nationalism and American Identity in the Antebellum Era, and Themes of the American Civil War: The War Between the States (co-edited with Brian Holden-Reid).