James M. Wayne

Details

Birth

— · Savannah, Georgia

Death

July 5, 1867

Law school

princeton university; read law (Chauncey, Charles)

Prior experience

Various legal and public service prior to appointment

Biography

James Moore Wayne (1790–1867) was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court who served from 1835 until his death in 1867. Born in Savannah, Georgia, to a prominent planter family, Wayne graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1808 and subsequently studied law. He began his political career in the Georgia House of Representatives before serving as mayor of Savannah from 1817 to 1819. Wayne was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1829, where he served three terms as a Jacksonian Democrat and supported federal authority over states' rights, an unusual position for a Georgia politician of his era. President Andrew Jackson nominated Wayne to the Supreme Court in 1835, making him the Court's first appointee from Georgia. Despite his Southern origins, Wayne remained steadfastly loyal to the Union throughout his tenure, earning criticism from his home state during the Civil War. His judicial philosophy emphasized federal supremacy and a strong national government. Wayne authored significant opinions in cases such as *Dodge v. Woolsey* (1856), which strengthened federal jurisdiction over state courts, and *The Prize Cases* (1863), where he supported President Lincoln's wartime blockade powers. He consistently voted to uphold federal authority over state sovereignty, including in slavery-related cases, though he personally owned enslaved people. Wayne's legacy centers on his unwavering commitment to preserving the Union and strengthening federal judicial power, positions that placed him at odds with many of his Southern contemporaries but aligned with the eventual trajectory of American constitutional law.

Notable opinions

• Dred Scott v. Sandford
• Groves v. Slaughter