Florida State University Libraries Honors Theses The Division of Undergraduate Studies 2015 The Importance of Geographical Background of Supreme Court Appointments in the Period of 1830-1920 Shawna M. Abbatiello Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact
[email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES THE IMPORTANCE OF GEOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND OF SUPREME COURT APPOINTMENTS IN THE PERIOD OF 1830-1920 By SHAWNA MARIE ABBATIELLO A Thesis submitted to the Department of History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for graduation with Honors in the Major Degree Awarded: Spring 2015 The members of the Defense Committee approve the thesis of Shawna Abbatiello defended on April 20, 2015. Dr. Katherine Mooney Thesis Director Professor Garrick Pursley Outside Committee Member Dr. Edward Gray Committee Member 2 I. Problem Statement Among the 112 Supreme Court justices1 and twenty-nine failed appointments stands one lone Floridian with ties to the state as questionable as his ideology.2 After losing in an election to the Georgia state legislature, G. Harrold Carswell moved to Tallahassee, Florida in 1948, where he would later become one of the nation’s youngest federal judges. President Richard Nixon appointed the Georgia native to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1970 in an attempt to fill the position left by Abe Fortas with a Southerner. Preceded by the failed appointment of Clement F. Haynsworth, Carswell’s confirmation hearings revolved around his controversial racial ideology and high rate of overturned cases, resulting in a 51-48 rejection.3 Although President Nixon did not ostensibly make geographical background of candidates a major role in his nomination process, he did articulate on multiple occasions that he wanted to select a Southern strict-constructionist.4 This marks the last President in history to give geographical background recognition publicly or consciously.