Autographs
Chief Justice “Earl Warren” on School Segregation Cases!
EARL WARREN (1891-1974). American Jurist and Politician, 30th Governor of California (1943–1953) and later the 14th Chief Justice of the United States (1953–1969).
(c. 1954) Typed Manuscript Signed, “Earl Warren” as the new Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, 9 pages, measuring 8.25” x 11”, Choice Extremely Fine. Being a Signed Copy of Warren’s decision in the historic “Brown v. Board of Education” case, which removed segregation from public schools. Signed in ink at the bottom of the last page. All pages have minor tear at center left, possibly from a clip or binding. This historic, exceptional quality Signed Manuscript reads, in part:

“On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court handed down its long-awaited decision in the public school segregation cases. Although the cases directly involved only South Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, Kansas, and the District of Columbia, the answer to the question of whether segregation of races was permissible under the Constitution affected a total of seventeen states and the District of Columbia that required segregation in public schools and four states that permitted segregation at the option of local communities. It should be noted that the Chief Justice spoke for a unanimous Court, and that the Court postponed issuing a decree until the October 1954 term.”


Earl Warren was Chief Justice during one of the most turbulent times in our nation's history. During his tenure, the Court dealt with lawsuits for dismantling segregation and eliminating racial discrimination in social and political arenas across the land. Although he was a Republican appointee, he proved to be more liberal than expected, and was skillful at "massing the court" and securing consensus--as evidenced by the unanimous decision in the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, which eliminated the “separate but equal” doctrine in public schools.