page_title: Fuller Court
section_title: Rulings of the Court
hierarchical_section_title: Fuller Court / Rulings of the Court
context_page_description: The Fuller Court refers to the Supreme Court of the United States from 1888 to 1910, when Melville Fuller served as the eighth Chief Justice of the United States. Fuller succeeded Morrison R. Waite as Chief Justice after the latter's death, and Fuller served as Chief Justice until his death, at which point Associate Justice Edward Douglass White was nominated and confirmed as Fuller's replacement.
  During the era of the Fuller Court, the Judiciary Act of 1891 was passed, easing the burden of the Supreme Court by creating the United States courts of appeals. The Fuller Court was the first of three consecutive conservative courts, and established the Lochner era.
context_section_description: Major rulings of the Fuller Court include:
  Chae Chan Ping v. United States (1889): In a decision written by Justice Field, the court upheld the Scott Act (an addendum to the Chinese Exclusion Act), holding that Congress has broad powers in setting immigration policy.
  Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. (1895): In a 5–4 decision written by Chief Justice Fuller, the court struck down the Income Tax of 1894. The court ruled that the dividend, interest, and rent taxes levied by the act were unconstitutional because they constituted direct taxes that were not apportioned by state population. The court's ruling was effectively overturned by the Sixteenth Amendment.
  United States v. E. C. Knight Co. (1895): In a decision written by Chief Justice Fuller, the court blocked the government's attempt to use the Sherman Antitrust Act to prevent the American Sugar Refining Company's acquisition of E.C. Knight Co. The court ruled that manufacturing is an intrastate activity, and thus could not be regulated by the federal government.
  Plessy v. Ferguson (1896): In a 7–1 decision written by Justice Brown, the court declared that racial segregation does not violate the Equal Protection Clause so long as the "separate but equal" doctrine is followed. The decision allowed the continued existence of Jim Crow laws. Plessy was overruled by Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed racial discrimination by the government.
  Allgeyer v. Louisiana (1897): In a decision written by Justice Peckham, the court established that the Due Process Clause created protections for freedom of contract. The case marked the beginning of the Lochner era, during which the court struck down numerous economic regulations.
  Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Co. v. City of Chicago (1897): In a decision written by Justice Harlan, the court held that the Fourteenth Amendment had incorporated the Takings Clause against state governments. This was the first case that incorporated a clause from the Bill of Rights, though further incorporation did not take place until the 1920s.
  United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898): In a 7–2 decision written by Justice Gray, the court held that the Citizenship Clause had established birthright citizenship even for those whose parents are not American citizens. Under Elk v. Wilkins (1884), the decision did not apply to Native Americans.
  The Insular Cases (1901): In a series of cases dealing with territories acquired in the Spanish–American War, the court held that the Constitution does not fully extend to unincorporated territories such as Puerto Rico.
  Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock (1903): In a decision written by Justice White, the court ruled that the federal government has the power to unilaterally breach treaties made with Native American tribes. The decision allowed the federal government to take land from Native American tribes without providing compensation.
  Swift & Co. v. United States (1905): In a unanimous decision written by Justice Holmes, the court upheld the government's regulation of the "Beef Trust" under the Sherman Antitrust Act.
  Lochner v. New York (1905): In a 5–4 decision written by Justice Peckham, the court held that a state setting a maximum workweek of 60 hours for bakeries violated freedom of contract. The Lochner Era would continue until West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish (1937).
  Hodges v. United States (1906): In a 7–2 decision written by Justice Brewer, the court held that the Thirteenth Amendment does not authorize Congress to protect labor rights from racially motivated attacks such as whitecapping. Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co. (1968) later overturned the case.
  Adair v. United States (1908): In a decision written by Justice Harlan, the court struck down part of the Erdman Act and declared that bans on "yellow-dog contracts" (which forbid employees from joining unions) are unconstitutional. The court held that such bans unconstitutionally infringed on freedom of contract. The decision was largely superseded by the Norris–La Guardia Act of 1932.
  Loewe v. Lawlor (1908): In a unanimous 
caption: The Fuller Court in 1899
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