(1886-1971), associate justice of the U.S.
Supreme Court (1937-71). Black entered the U.S. Senate in 1927, where he became a noted progressive and supporter of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal and 1937 Court-packing plans. Black was Roosevelt's first nominee to the Supreme Court, but after his confirmation a scandal erupted when it was discovered that during the 1920s Black had been a member of the Ku Klux Klan. In a radio speech defending himself, Black affirmed his dedication to the principles of democracy and the Bill of Rights. He became a leading liberal justice, known for his absolutist reading of the First Amendment clauses protecting freedom of religion, speech, and press, and advocacy of the "incorporation doctrine,", which holds that the Fourteenth Amendment applies the Bill of Rights to limit the powers of state and local government.
