On this day, Grant names little-known Waite as Chief Justice

On January 19, 1874, President Ulysses S. Grant nominated little-known Ohio lawyer Morrison Waite to replace Chief Justice Salmon Chase on the Supreme Court, after struggling to find a nominee for seven months. Chase, who was an original member of the Republican Party, was named to the Court by President Abraham Lincoln to replace Roger Taney as Chief Justice of the United States in 1864. On the news of Chase’s passing on May 7, 1873, talked had started about President Grant’s choice for Chase’s replacement, who would be the fourth Justice during Grant’s terms in office to join the Supreme Court. Grant’s selection would be closely watched after the controversy over his first two appointments. The Republicans had already been accused of court packing after adding a ninth seat to the bench in 1869, leaving two open seats on the Court. Grant’s first two nominees never made it to the Court. The Senate rejected Ebenezer R. Hoar’s…

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