Few Central Valley residents have had a bigger impact on American history than Earl Warren. From his humble beginnings in Bakersfield to his rise in politics and law, we explore his story on today’s edition of KVPR’s Central Valley Roots.
Earl Warren was born in Los Angeles in 1891 but was raised in Bakersfield. He graduated from Kern County Union High School in 1908, and later attended Cal. Warren was a Republican, in the mold of progressive California Governor Hiram Johnson. In 1932 as Alameda County DA, he argued his first case before the U.S. Supreme Court, which happened to be the last case heard by legendary Chief Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes.
Warren was elected California Attorney General in 1938, winning the nominations of the Republican, Democratic and Progressive parties. In 1942 he ran for governor and won, ultimately serving through 1953.
But Warren had his eye on even higher offices. Remember Harry Truman’s surprise win in 1948 in the “Dewey Defeats Truman” election? Well, Earl Warren was on the ticket as Dewey’s vice presidential nominee. Warren ran for President in 1952 and won the California primary. But a deal at the Republican National Convention delivered the state's delegates to Dwight Eisenhower. After Eisenhower became president, he made Warren Chief Justice of the United States.
During his tenure on the Supreme Court from 1953 to 1969, Warren presided over landmark rulings involving equality, civil rights and civil liberties. The Warren Court delivered influential cases including Brown vs Board of Education, Miranda vs Arizona and Virginia vs. Loving. Warren also oversaw the bipartisan probe into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, known as the Warren Commission.
Warren’s record did have its shortcomings. Most notably, in 1942 Warren, backed President Franklin Roosevelt’s forced incarceration of Japanese American citizens in concentration camps during World War II. In his memoir, published after his death, Warren admitted he was wrong on that issue.
Warren stepped down from the court in 1969, and died in 1974. When The Atlantic made its list of the 100 most influential Americans of all time, they ranked Earl Warren #29.
Editors note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Earl Warren was Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. His official title was Chief Justice of the United States.
