William H. Rehnquist

When Mr. William B. and Mrs. Margery (Peck.) Rehnquist were blessed with the October 1, 1924 arrival of their new baby boy, they must never have imagined the

great accomplishments that he would some day achieve (Supreme Court History). Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and raised in the northern Milwaukee suburb of Shorewood, the son of a paper salesman, William Hubbs Rehnquist would move upwards on the judicial ladder of success to someday become the most ranking member of the United States Supreme Court.

It has been suggested that William H. Rehnquist attained his conservative outlook in such areas as economics, sociology and politics, from within his childhood home. In an article published by the Washington Post, it is stated, "the political heroes in the Rehnquist household, " were "Republican standard bearers such as Alf Landon, Wendell Wilkie and Herbert Hoover (SCH)." Apparently, this upbringing must have had a clear impact on William's childhood. When asked by his elementary school teacher, what he would like to do when he grew up, young William H. Rehnquist reportedly replied, "I'm going to change the government (SCH)."

Shortly after graduating from a local Milwaukee High School, William enrolled into Kenyon College in Ohio and began his higher education. William's initial college years were short lived, however, due to the outbreak of World War II. Hearing his nation's call to arms, Rehnquist enlisted in the Army Air Corp in 1943, and was quickly mobilized to the North African Dessert, where he served as a weather observer (Wiki). It was, perhaps, at this time that William displayed a brief preview of his leadership potential. Not long after his service began, Rehnquist was promoted to the rank of Sergeant.

Following his 1946 discharge from the military, Rehnquist once again enrolled in college to satisfy his desire for knowledge, this time with the financial aide of his newly attained G.I. Bill. Rather than return to his former school in Ohio, Rehnquist opted to attend Stanford University in California. Wasting no time in his studies, William completed his coursework and was awarded both a Bachelor of Arts (Phi Beta Kappa) in Political Science and a Master of Arts in Political Science in 1948 (Oyez). Not being a man who is pacified by what he considered to be mediocrity, William H. Rehnquist continued his education by traveling across the country and enrolling at Harvard. After two years of study, Rehnquist received his second Master of Arts in Government (Political Science) (SCH).

Returning to California that same year, William applied and was accepted to Stanford Law School. Perhaps one could consider his experiences at Stanford Law School to be a precursor of things to come. While attending Stanford this second time, Rehnquist met and dated a young Sandra Day (later known as Sandra Day 0'Conner), who was also studying law. Who could have ever imagined that someday, they would both serve as Justices of the United States Supreme Court? It is reported that the young couple's relationship was ended after a visit to Sandra's family ranch in New Mexico. After enjoying a weekend visit to the Lazy B Ranch, it is said that her parents informed Sandra, that William was an unacceptable partner for her, due to his lack of table manners (Perry 41) .

Regardless of any setbacks Rehnquist may have experienced in his personal life, he did not allow them to interfere with his academics. While studying law at Stanford, William quickly set himself apart from his peers. Rehnquist was praised by his former professors with such statements, which described him as "the outstanding student of his law school generation (SCH).'

It was during the summer session of 1951 that William's impression upon his professors was brought to fruition. That same summer, United States Supreme Court-

Justice, Robert Jackson, was visiting the Stanford University campus to help dedicate the new Stanford Law School building. Rehnquist's administrative law professor, Phil Neal, was a former clerk of Justice Jackson. Realizing the potential of his star scholar, Professor Neal arranged for an interview between Rehnquist and Justice Jackson, with the hopes that Justice Jackson might hire him as one of his clerks.

In his book, The Supreme Court, Rehnquist revisits his interview with Justice Jackson. "I met with Justice Jackson in one of the faculty offices and his pleasant and informal demeanor at once put me at ease. After a few general questions about my background and legal education, he asked me whether my last name was Swedish When I told him that it was, he began to reminisce abou-1 some of the Swedish clients he had had while practicing law in upstate New York. I genuinely enjoyed these anecdotes, but somehow I felt I should be doing more to make a favorable impression on him. He, however, seemed quit content to end the interview with a courteous thanks for my having come by, and I walked out of the room convinced that he had written me off as a total loss in the first minutes of our visit (Rehnquist 4)."

William Rehnquist received a letter from Justice Jackson several months later, in November of 1951. In the letter, Justice Jackson explained that he was in need

of an additional law clerk to aid his current law clerk in his ever-increasing workload. Fortunately, William had attended summer sessions at Stanford Law School in both the summers of 1950, and 1951. This extra effort put forth by Rehnquist, resulted in the completion of his course work by December of 1951, one semester earlier than his original graduation date in 1952. With his schoolwork complete, and an anticipated graduation in Ma^ of 1952, Rehnquist reported to Justice Jackson's office on February 1, 1952.

It was on this day, Rehnquist recalls, that his first impression of the Supreme Court building was attained. Rehnquist writes "I climbed the seemingly endless steps leading up to the front entrance of the building, opened the large door, and walked through a vestibule into the Great Hall, and here I again paused to feast my eyes on the sight. The ceiling looked to be at least twenty feet high, and on each side were double rows of marble columns. Arrayed along each side of the hall in niches designed for that purpose were busts of the eleven former Chief Justices of the Court, from John Jay to Harlan F. Stone (Rehnquist 5)." One could only imagine that Rehnquist never, at that moment, realized that he too would one day be honored with such a memorial.

William Rehnquist graduated that same year from Stanford Law School. William's hard work and dedication resulted in his advancement to first in the class. Coincidentally, Sandra Day (later 0' Conner) graduated with honors, in that same class, at number three (Ariens),