History In Ink®  Historical Autographs


1435501

Warren E. Burger

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Reprint of the United States Constitution, boldly signed by the former Chief Justice

Warren Earl Burger, 19071995.  Chief Justice of the United States, 19691986.  Booklet, The Constitution of the United States, boldly signed Warren E. Burger inside the front cover.

This 3½" x 6½" booklet was published by the Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution, which Burger chaired after he retired from the Supreme Court.  Burger has boldly signed it inside the front cover in black felt-tip pen opposite the Foreward, which bears his printed facsimile signature.

In the Foreward, Burger assesses "the meaning of our Constitution" and argues that people cannot appreciate and understand Americaʼs national heritage "without first reading and grasping the meaning of this document—the first of its kind in all human history."   He writes that at the constitutional convention, the "work of 55 men at Philadelphia in 1787 marked the beginning of the end of the concept of the divine right of kings.  In place of the absolutism of monarchy, the freedoms flowing from this document created a land of opportunities.  Ever since then discouraged and oppressed people from every part of the world have made a beaten path to our shores."

The booklet contains a reprint of the text of both the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, along with the resolution by which the constitutional convention submitted the proposed Constitution to Congress in 1787.  It also lists important dates and identifies the members of the Commission.

Burger, a native of St. Paul, Minnesota, worked his way through college and law school.  After practicing law for more than twenty years, he served as an Assistant Attorney General under President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who appointed him to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1956.  Burger served as a judge of the D.C. Circuit until President Richard Nixon named him to to replace the retiring Earl Warren as Chief Justice in 1969.

A conservative, Burger strongly advocated strict construction of the Constitution and voted to limit many of the more liberal Warren Court's decisions.  He was not, however, an automatic conservative vote.  He approved busing as a remedy for school segregation, for example, and spoke for a unanimous Supreme Court in upholding a subpoena for Nixon's Oval Office tape recordings, which revealed Nixon's role in covering up the Watergate burglary and ultimately forced Nixon's resignation in 1974.

Burger retired as Chief Justice in 1986.  He was succeeded by Justice William H. Rehnquist.

Burger is scarce in autographic material, and this is the first signed copy of this booklet that we have seen.  Burgerʼs signature is strong, and the association with the Constitution is particularly desirable.  The booklet is in fine condition, and Burger's signature is extra fine.

 

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