Members of a Massachusetts labor union were among many petitioners who supported Brandeis’s nomination. They referred to his “highest standing before the Bar” and stated that he had workers’ utmost confidence. They urged the Senate to confirm his appointment so that the Supreme Court of the United States would not be a court of special privilege.
Records of the U.S. Senate, National Archives and Records Administration
Brandeis Resolutions from the Holyoke Central Labor Union, February 13, 1916
The Senate Approves Justice Louis D. Brandeis
Many in Congress opposed President Woodrow Wilson’s 1916 nomination of attorney Louis D. Brandeis to the Supreme Court. Brandeis, the first Jewish nominee to the high court, was a controversial figure known as the “people’s lawyer.” He challenged monopolies, criticized investment banks, and advocated for workers’ rights and protection of civil liberties. While some prominent individuals implicitly opposed Brandeis’s nomination on religious grounds, in Senate hearings, opposition focused on Brandeis’s anti-corporate record. After vehement debate, the Senate voted to confirm Brandeis’s nomination.
"When Brandeis's nomination came in yesterday, the Senate simply gasped. Today some of the Senators are coming up for air and trying to take stock."
Gus J. Karger, Letter to William Howard Taft, January 29, 1916, Woodrow Wilson Papers
Members of a Massachusetts labor union were among many petitioners who supported Brandeis’s nomination. They referred to his “highest standing before the Bar” and stated that he had workers’ utmost confidence. They urged the Senate to confirm his appointment so that the Supreme Court of the United States would not be a court of special privilege.
Records of the U.S. Senate, National Archives and Records Administration
