The Supreme Court Reborn: The Constitutional Revolution in the Age of Roosevelt
- ISBN-10
- 019802715X
- ISBN-13
- 9780198027157
- Category
- History
- Pages
- 368
- Language
- English
- Published
- 1996-10-10
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Author
- William E. Leuchtenburg
Description
For almost sixty years, the results of the New Deal have been an accepted part of political life. Social Security, to take one example, is now seen as every American's birthright. But to validate this revolutionary legislation, Franklin Roosevelt had to fight a ferocious battle against the opposition of the Supreme Court--which was entrenched in laissez faire orthodoxy. After many lost battles, Roosevelt won his war with the Court, launching a Constitutional revolution that went far beyond anything he envisioned. In The Supreme Court Reborn, esteemed scholar William E. Leuchtenburg explores the critical episodes of the legal revolution that created the Court we know today. Leuchtenburg deftly portrays the events leading up to Roosevelt's showdown with the Supreme Court. Committed to laissez faire doctrine, the conservative "Four Horsemen"--Justices Butler, Van Devanter, Sutherland, and McReynolds, aided by the swing vote of Justice Owen Roberts--struck down one regulatory law after another, outraging Roosevelt and much of the Depression-stricken nation. Leuchtenburg demonstrates that Roosevelt thought he had the backing of the country as he prepared a scheme to undermine the Four Hoursemen. Famous (or infamous) as the "Court-packing plan," this proposal would have allowed the president to add one new justice for every sitting justice over the age of seventy. The plan picked up considerable momentum in Congress; it was only after a change in the voting of Justice Roberts (called "the switch in time that saved nine") and the death of Senate Majority Leader Joseph T. Robinson that it shuddered to a halt. Rosevelt's persistence led to one of his biggest legislative defeats. Despite the failure of the Court-packing plan, however, the president won his battle with the Supreme Court; one by one, the Four Horsemen left the bench, to be replaced by Roosevelt appointees. Leuchtenburg explores the far-reaching nature of FDR's victory. As a consequence of the Constitutional Revolution that began in 1937, not only was the New Deal upheld (as precedent after precedent was overturned), but also the Court began a dramatic expansion of Civil liberties that would culminate in the Warren Court. Among the surprises was Senator Hugo Black, who faced widespread opposition for his lack of qualifications when he was appointed as associate justice; shortly afterward, a reporter revealed that he had been a member of the Ku Klux Klan. Despite that background, Black became an articulate spokesman for individual liberty. William E. Leuchtenburg is one of America's premier historians, a scholar who combines depth of learning with a graceful style. This superbly crafted book sheds new light on the great Constitutional crisis of our century, illuminating the legal and political battles that created today's Supreme Court.
Get the book
Other editions
-
- 1996-10-10
- 368 pages
- Ebook
- Oxford University Press
-
- 1996
- 350 pages
- Paperback
- Oxford University Press on Demand
Similar books
-
The Development of the American Presidency
By Richard J. EllisThrough comprehensive and in-depth coverage, this text looks at how the presidency has evolved in relation to the public, to Congress, to the Executive branch, and to the law, showing at every step how different aspects of the presidency ...
-
Supreme Power: Franklin Roosevelt vs. the Supreme Court
By Jeff ShesolSome of the justices: Levinson, Constitutional Faith, 16; Kammen, A Machine That Would Go of Itself, 3; Ross, The Chief Justiceship of Charles Evans Hughes, 226. “black-robed gods”: WP, Feb. 16, 1936; NYT, Nov. 10, 1929.
-
Explicit and Authentic Acts: Amending the U.S. Constitution, 1776-1995
By David E. KyvigIn his farewell address, President Washington reminded his audience that the Constitution, "till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people, is sacredly obligatory upon all." He...
-
Salt of the Earth, Conscience of the Court: The Story of Justice Wiley Rutledge
By John M. Ferren... wrote to the president or the attorney general directly—as did former students organized by Mrs. Agnes Haskell, Governor Hadley's widow.19 Some friends sought Wiley's help in his own cause. Commissioner Eicher of the asked ...
-
The Supreme Court
By Lawrence BaumRobert H. Jackson, The Struggle for Judicial Supremacy (New York: Knopf, 1941), 187. William E. Leuchtenburg, The Supreme Court Reborn: The Constitutional Revolution in the Age of Roosevelt (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995), ...
-
The Supreme Court: An Essential History
By Peter Charles Hoffer, N. E. H. Hull, Williamjames HofferFor more than two centuries, the U.S. Supreme Court has provided a battleground for nearly every controversial issue in our nation's history. Now a veteran team of talented historians—including the...
-
Franklin Roosevelt and the Great Constitutional War: The Court-packing Crisis of 1937
By Joseph McKenna, Marian Cecilia McKennaThis important book is a detailed reinterpretation of one of the most explosive events in modern American politics - Franklin Roosevelt's controversial attempt in 1937 to "pack" the Supreme Court by adding justices who supported his New ...
-
Illustrated Great Decisions of the Supreme Court
By Tony MauroLeuchtenberg, William E. The Supreme Court Reborn: The Constitutional Revolution in the Age of Roosevelt. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. Lewis, Anthony. Gideon's Trumpet. New York: Vintage, 1964. ———. Make No Law: The Sullivan ...
-
The Supreme Court A-Z
By Kenneth JostLerner, Max. TheMind and Faithof JusticeHolmes. Boston: Little, Brown, 1943. Leuchtenberg, William E.The Supreme Court Reborn: Constitutional Revolutionin the Age of Roosevelt. New York: OxfordUniversity Press, 1995. Lewis, Walker.
-
The Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court
By David ShultzSharron Frontiero, a lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, applied for dependent benefits, an increased housing allowance, and medical benefits for her husband. Her application was denied on the grounds that she failed to prove that she ...