Fred M. Vinson

Details

Birth

January 22, 1890 · Louisa, Kentucky

Death

September 8, 1953

Law school

centre college

Prior experience

Various legal and public service prior to appointment

Biography

Fred Moore Vinson (January 22, 1890 – September 8, 1953) served as the 13th Chief Justice of the United States from 1946 until his death. Born in Louisa, Kentucky, Vinson graduated from Centre College in 1909 and earned his law degree there in 1911. He practiced law in Ashland, Kentucky, before entering politics as a Democrat. Vinson served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1924 to 1929 and again from 1931 to 1938, where he became an expert on tax policy and a key ally of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal programs. He subsequently served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit from 1938 to 1943. During World War II, Vinson held several high-ranking executive positions, including Director of Economic Stabilization and Federal Loan Administrator, before serving as Secretary of the Treasury under President Harry S. Truman from 1945 to 1946. Truman nominated him as Chief Justice following Harlan Fiske Stone's death, and he was confirmed unanimously by the Senate. As Chief Justice, Vinson generally supported government authority and civil order over individual rights claims. His most notable opinion came in Dennis v. United States (1951), where he upheld the convictions of Communist Party leaders under the Smith Act, applying a "clear and probable danger" test that narrowed First Amendment protections. He also wrote the majority opinion in Shelley v. Kraemer (1948), which prohibited judicial enforcement of racially restrictive covenants. Vinson's tenure was marked by internal court divisions and his efforts to build consensus among fractious justices. His sudden death in 1953 paved the way for Earl Warren's appointment and the subsequent liberal revolution in constitutional law.

Notable opinions

• Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer
• Sweatt v. Painter