# Morrison Waite *Seventh chief justice of the United States (1874–1888)* Morrison Remick "Mott" Waite (November 29, 1816 – March 23, 1888) was an Ohio lawyer and politician. He held the office of chief justice of the United States, the seventh person to do so, from 1874 until he died in 1888.[^1] The Wikipedia biography records that the Waite Court read federal authority narrowly under the Reconstruction-era laws and amendments. Those measures had been enacted to expand the rights of freedmen and to protect them from attacks by white supremacist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan.[^1] A native of Lyme, Connecticut, and a Yale graduate, Waite practiced law in Toledo, Ohio. He won a seat in the Ohio House of Representatives as a Whig and later helped found the Ohio [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]].[^2] He was a counsel in the Alabama Claims and presided over Ohio's 1873 constitutional convention.[^2] Chief Justice [[Salmon P. Chase]] died in May 1873. President Ulysses S. Grant then spent a prolonged period searching for a successor before nominating Waite in January 1874.[^3] The [[United States Senate]] confirmed him unanimously, and he took office in March 1874.[^3] On the Court, Waite wrote the majority opinion in *Munn v. Illinois*, which upheld government regulation of grain elevators and railroads.[^4] In the *Civil Rights Cases* he was part of the majority that struck down the Civil Rights Act of 1875. That Act had barred discrimination in access to public services, a prohibition not restored until the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]].[^4] ## Early life and education Waite was born on November 29, 1816, at Lyme, Connecticut. His parents were Maria Selden and Henry Matson Waite, an attorney.[^5] His father was appointed to the Superior Court and served as an associate judge of the Supreme Court of Connecticut from 1834 to 1854. He was then chief justice of that court from 1854 to 1857.[^5] Waite attended Bacon Academy in Colchester, Connecticut, where Lyman Trumbull was a classmate.[^5] He finished Yale College in 1837, in the same class as Samuel J. Tilden. At Yale he belonged to Skull and Bones and Brothers in Unity, and he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in 1837.[^5] After graduating he worked as a law clerk for his father. He then moved to Maumee, Ohio, and read law in the office of Samuel L. Young.[^5] Waite was admitted to the bar in 1839 and entered practice with Young, in a firm that became prominent in business and property law. He was mayor of Maumee from 1846 to 1847.[^5] ## Marriage and family On September 21, 1840, in Hartford, Connecticut, Waite married Amelia Champlin Warner.[^6] They had three sons, Henry Seldon, Christopher Champlin and Edward Tinker, and one daughter, Mary Frances Waite.[^6] ## Political and legal career Waite, a Whig, was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives for 1849–1850.[^7] In 1850 he moved with his family to Toledo, Ohio, and opened a branch of the firm he shared with Young there.[^7] After Young retired in 1856, Waite formed a new firm with his brother Richard Waite. George P. Estey, later a Union Army general in the American Civil War, was one of his Toledo partners.[^7] Waite twice sought a seat in the United States Senate without success. He was offered a seat on the Ohio Supreme Court and turned it down.[^7] In the mid-1850s, citing his opposition to slavery, he joined the new Republican Party and helped organize it in Ohio. The Wikipedia biography states that by 1870 he was known as one of the best lawyers in the state.[^7] In 1871 Waite was invited to represent the United States before the Alabama Tribunal at Geneva, alongside William M. Evarts and Caleb Cushing.[^8] This was his first national role, and the tribunal awarded $15 million.[^8] In 1872 he was chosen unanimously as president of the Ohio constitutional convention of 1873.[^8] ## Chief Justice of the United States, 1874–1888 ### Nomination Chase died in May 1873. Six months later, in November, Grant offered the seat to Senator Roscoe Conkling of New York, who declined.[^9] Members of the legal community lobbied for the elevation of Associate Justice [[Samuel Freeman Miller]]. Grant instead decided on an outsider and offered the post to Senators Oliver Morton of Indiana and Timothy Howe of Wisconsin, and then to Secretary of State Hamilton Fish.[^9] On December 1, Grant sent the Senate the nomination of Attorney General George H. Williams. He withdrew it about a month later at Williams' request, after charges of corruption made confirmation unlikely.[^9] The next day Grant nominated Caleb Cushing, a Democrat and former attorney general. He withdrew that nomination as well, after Republican senators alleged Civil War-era connections between Cushing and Confederate President Jefferson Davis.[^9] Ohioans, including Interior Secretary Columbus Delano, lobbied for Waite, and Grant nominated him on January 19, 1874. Waite learned of the nomination by telegram.[^9] The nomination drew criticism in political circles.[^10] Former Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles wrote that "It is a wonder that Grant did not pick up some old acquaintance, who was a stage driver or bartender, for the place." *The Nation* wrote that "Mr Waite stands in the front-rank of second-rank lawyers."[^10] The Senate nonetheless confirmed him without dissent, and he took office in March 1874.[^3] ### Tenure There was some support for nominating Waite for president in 1876, but he declined to run. He took the position that the Supreme Court should not be a stepping stone to higher office.[^3] The Wikipedia biography assesses him as a well-regarded administrator and conciliator rather than an important intellectual force on the Court.[^4] He sought a balance between federal and state power. With most of the other justices, he read the Reconstruction Amendments narrowly.[^4] His *Munn v. Illinois* opinion shaped constitutional understandings of government regulation. He also helped establish the legal concept of corporate personhood in the United States.[^4] In the *Civil Rights Cases*, Waite voted with the majority to invalidate the Civil Rights Act of 1875. The public-accommodations protection that Act provided returned only with the Civil Rights Act of 1964.[^4] ## Death Waite died of pneumonia on March 23, 1888, while still serving on the Court. There had been no public indication that his illness was serious.[^11] His condition had been kept confidential, partly so as not to alarm his wife, who was in California.[^11] The *[[Washington Post]]* gave its whole front page to his death. All the justices except Bradley and Matthews accompanied his body on a special train to Toledo.[^11] A House Funeral was held in the Capitol on March 28, 1888. President Grover Cleveland, First Lady Frances Cleveland, the Cabinet and the justices attended.[^11] Published reports said he would be buried in a family plot he had bought in Forest Hill Cemetery. He was instead buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Toledo.[^11] Waite had had financial difficulties while serving as chief justice. His estate was too small to support his widow and daughters, so members of the organized Bar in Washington and New York raised two funds for his family.[^11] ## Legacy Justice [[Felix Frankfurter]] said of Waite: "He did not confine the constitution within the limits of his own experience."[^12] A high school in Toledo, Waite High School, bears his name.[^12] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia, *Morrison Waite* (revision 1376321660, retrieved 2026-10-26) — lead section: dates of birth and death, service as seventh chief justice 1874–1888, and the Waite Court's narrow reading of federal Reconstruction-era authority. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morrison_Waite [^2]: Wikipedia, *Morrison Waite* (revision 1376321660, retrieved 2026-10-26) — lead section: birthplace, Yale, Toledo practice, Whig service in the Ohio House, founding role in the Ohio Republican Party, Alabama Claims and 1873 convention. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morrison_Waite [^3]: Wikipedia, *Morrison Waite* (revision 1376321660, retrieved 2026-10-26) — lead section: Chase's May 1873 death, Grant's search, January 1874 nomination, unanimous Senate confirmation, March 1874 start of service, and refusal to run in 1876. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morrison_Waite [^4]: Wikipedia, *Morrison Waite* (revision 1376321660, retrieved 2026-10-26) — lead section: assessment of Waite as a justice, *Munn v. Illinois*, corporate personhood, and the *Civil Rights Cases* vote against the Civil Rights Act of 1875. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morrison_Waite [^5]: Wikipedia, *Morrison Waite* (revision 1376321660, retrieved 2026-10-26) — "Early life and education": birth, parentage, father's judicial offices, schooling, Yale societies, legal training, bar admission in 1839 and the Maumee mayoralty. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morrison_Waite [^6]: Wikipedia, *Morrison Waite* (revision 1376321660, retrieved 2026-10-26) — "Marriage and family": marriage of September 21, 1840, and the names of the children. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morrison_Waite [^7]: Wikipedia, *Morrison Waite* (revision 1376321660, retrieved 2026-10-26) — "Political and legal career": Ohio House term 1849–1850, 1850 move to Toledo, firm with Richard Waite, Senate bids, declined Ohio Supreme Court seat, and Republican organizing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morrison_Waite [^8]: Wikipedia, *Morrison Waite* (revision 1376321660, retrieved 2026-10-26) — "Political and legal career": the 1871 Alabama Tribunal role, the $15 million award, and the 1872 selection to preside over the 1873 convention. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morrison_Waite [^9]: Wikipedia, *Morrison Waite* (revision 1376321660, retrieved 2026-10-26) — "Nomination": offers to Conkling, Morton, Howe and Fish; the withdrawn Williams and Cushing nominations; Delano's lobbying; the January 19, 1874 nomination. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morrison_Waite [^10]: Wikipedia, *Morrison Waite* (revision 1376321660, retrieved 2026-10-26) — "Nomination": the remarks of Gideon Welles and *The Nation* on the nomination. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morrison_Waite [^11]: Wikipedia, *Morrison Waite* (revision 1376321660, retrieved 2026-10-26) — "Death": death on March 23, 1888, mourning, the March 28, 1888 House Funeral, burial at Woodlawn Cemetery, and the funds raised for his family. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morrison_Waite [^12]: Wikipedia, *Morrison Waite* (revision 1376321660, retrieved 2026-10-26) — "Legacy": Frankfurter's assessment and Waite High School in Toledo. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morrison_Waite