Fred M. Vinson

But the court again sidestepped the thrust of the NAACP's argument that Plessy v. Ferguson and the separate-but-equal doctrine itself was unconstitutional.

Broader issues have been urged for our consideration, Chief Justice Fred Vinson wrote in his opinion, but we adhere to the principle of deciding constitutional questions only in the context of the particular case before the court.

The legal victories were widely celebrated in the black press and at NAACP headquarters.

There were lots of scotch and bourbon, one attorney recalled, but there was also worry from some black leaders about the narrow scope of the ruling.

But the court again sidestepped the thrust of the NAACP's argument that Plessy v. Ferguson and the separate but equal doctrine itself was unconstitutional.

Quote, Broader issues have been urged for our consideration, Chief Justice Fred Vinson wrote in his opinion.

But we adhere to this principle of deciding constitutional questions only in the context of the particular case before the court.

The legal victories were widely celebrated in the black press and at the NAACP.

Sure.

So in a nearly unprecedented move, Chief Justice Fred Vinson reconvened the court just to annul Justice Douglas's stay.

Oh, wow.

That doesn't happen.

She had, you know, one or two overturns at all in those, in all her decades.

And then in nineteen forty-nine, we get back to Truman, who is convinced by the Women's Lobby and the Democratic Women's Association to appoint a woman, that this is gonna help PR and women voters, and he says, "I'll do it." And I think Judge Allen is a great example, but I just need to check with Fred Vinson, the Chief Justice, who's my poker buddy, who we play poker all the time.

He comes over for dinner.

We go for drinks.

But the court again sidestepped the thrust of the NAACP's argument that Plessy v. Ferguson and the separate but equal doctrine itself was unconstitutional.

Quote, Broader issues have been urged for our consideration, Chief Justice Fred Vinson wrote in his opinion.

But we adhere to this principle of deciding constitutional questions only in the context of the particular case before the court.

The legal victories were widely celebrated in the black press and at the NAACP headquarters.

The court decided it on January 13, 1947, by five votes to four.

Justice Stanley Reed announced the judgment in an opinion joined by Chief Justice Fred Vinson and Justice Hugo Black and Robert Jackson.

The executioner threw the switch, but presumably because of some technical difficulty, death did not result, Reed wrote.

When an accident with no suggestion of malevolence prevents the consummation of a sentence, the state's subsequent course in the administration of its criminal law is not affected on that account by any requirement of due process.

The New York Times praises Forrestal's nomination, saying his appointment, quote, "is the best guarantee that could be given that unification of the services will be carried out intelligently and effectively." A chart at this point illustrates the secretary's unique central role in the new defense establishment and, by extension, the tremendous responsibility about to be placed on his shoulders.

On September 17, Chief Justice Fred Vinson administers the oath of office to the nation's first Secretary of Defense, but the ceremony is very much a last-minute affair.

That afternoon, en route by battleship from a state visit to Brazil, President Truman sends a message to Washington instructing that James Forrestal be sworn in immediately.

No explanation is given.