Talk:David Davis (Supreme Court justice)

Untitled

I moved this page because David J. and David W. were also politicians. --Jiang

Should the disambiguator really be "senator"? Davis was best known as Lincoln's political manager and as a supreme court justice, I think - or, at least, he was just as well known in those roles. I'm not sure what a better disambiguator would be, though. john k 22:18, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)

I agree with you, John. But it is tough to decide what he should be. I'd lean towards "David Davis (Guy who almost single handedly elected the President in 1876), but then, that has some stylistic problems, doesn't it? Unschool 17:15, 14 May 2006 (UTC)

I've moved this to "SC justice", since he spent more than twice as much time on the Court as in the Senate, and because it was on the Court that he achieved national fame. Unschool 18:24, 14 May 2006 (UTC)

Ack. I hate overlong disambiguation tags. Probably "(Illinois politician)" would have worked. In general, I would suggest to anyone that thinking of the simplest disambiguating feature, rather than trying to get a precise disambiguator, when there's more than one to pick from. No matter what post he held, he was always from Illinois. --Dhartung | Talk 06:43, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Bush family

I removed the category, because Davis was neither a descendant nor an ancestor of anyone named Bush. He didn't even know anyone in the Bush family! If the standard is common ancestor, then there are tons of people we should add to the category including John Kerry, Jamie Lee Curtis and ol' Six Degrees himself, Kevin Bacon. [1] The relationship, however, is relevant in the context of the Walker family. --Dhartung | Talk 10:56, 14 May 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for reverting that anon edit, Bkonrad. Not only isn't Davis an ancestor of Bush, neither are his father or grandfather -- the relationship is through his mother Ann Mercer's side, as her sister Harriet married George E. Walker. The common ancestors are John Mercer and his wife Rebecca Davis (of a different Davis family). John Mercer, for the record, is not John Francis Mercer, the Maryland Governor. Where this anon got the idea that there was any direct descendance I have no idea. --Dhartung | Talk 07:45, 21 October 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for the info. Very confusing with the different Davis families. And he married Sarah Walker, the daughter of William P. Walker, who doesn't appear to be related to the Walker-Bush line. older ≠ wiser 15:29, 21 October 2006 (UTC)

Not a III

This had been bothering me. The III was introduced into the article in 2004 in a series of edits which seem to largely derive from the Political Graveyard [2]. His father was a David Davis, but his grandfather was named Naylor Davis. Google reveals no other source (that is not a Wikipedia clone) that gives him the III. I think it was just a misinterpretation of the PG's listing for David Davis IV, who is his great-grandson. At best he's a II but this isn't given by any source (including an A9 search of books). --Dhartung | Talk 06:59, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Senate run

Does anyone here know why he ran for senate? A supreme court justice is a much more powerful position and he would've decided the outcome of the 1876 election. It seems strange that anyone would do that. --PiMaster3 ^talk 22:49, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

Well, first I agree that it is a curiosity. But, at that time, people generally did not actively campaign for Senate seats, at least not in the same way as at present. Senators were selected by the state legislatures, rather than by popular election. But even so, Davis was not technically obligated to accept the position, so it is interesting that he would choose to resign from the court to accept a seat in the Senate. older ≠ wiser 23:45, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

From what I've read he was elected by the state legislature after the federal legislation for the Commission had been drafted but before it was passed (though the basic rules for the composition had been agreed and everyone was expecting Davis to be the swing vote). At the time new Senators took office at the same time as Presidents, so in theory Davis could have stayed on the court until after the Commission had done its work. Presumably Davis either had too much integrity be able to serve impartially or felt that any decision he made would be accused of being to due to a "bribe"/being too sensitive to it. Timrollpickering (talk) 01:02, 14 November 2008 (UTC)

President Pro Tem Succession?

The article states: Davis served a single term as U.S. Senator from Illinois, and was elected President pro tempore of the Senate in October 1881, because Vice President Chester A. Arthur had succeeded to the Presidency. The Senate was evenly divided between the parties, and preferred an independent. The next congress chose the just-elected Republican Shelby Moore Cullom.

This is awkward and confusing, especially the third sentence, preferred an independent for what? And the fourth sentence, Davis was succeeded as President Pro Tem by George F. Edmunds. Cullom succeeded Davis as a Senator, but he was not chosen by the next Congress. Shsilver (talk) 18:37, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

Thank you; my eyes slipped. Preferred an independent as president pro tempore, as should be obvious; I don't see how to make this clearer without repeating the title, which would be unbearably heavy, or being arch. Septentrionalis PMAnderson 00:47, 11 April 2008 (UTC)