John Marshall Harlan was one of the most influential Supreme Court justices in history, partly because he disagreed with his colleagues on some of the most pivotal cases to appear before the court. "He could lead but he could not follow. . . . His was not the temper of a negotiator," Attorney General George Wickersham said of Harlan. In his thirty-four years on the court, Harlan wrote opinions on 703 cases, but he was more noted for his 316 vigorous dissents. Harlan disagreed profoundly with Justice Stephen Field, the court's intellectual giant, for whom liberty of contract and natural rights became almost sacred, untouchable by state of federal law. Harlan was more willing to let state legislatures regulate business enterprise and working conditions and did not think judges should base decisions on their own political philosophy.

Political Background.

Harlan was born in Boyle County, Kentucky. During the Civil...