On Democracy's Doorstep: The Inside Story of How the Supreme Court Brought "One Person, One Vote" to the United States - Couverture rigide

Smith, J. Douglas

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 0809074230 ISBN 13 : 9780809074235

Editeur : Hill & Wang Inc.,U.S., 2014

Synopsis

Today, Earl Warren is recalled as the chief justice of a Supreme Court that introduced school desegregation and other dramatic changes to American society. In retirement, however, Warren argued that his court's greatest accomplishment was establishing the principle of one person, one vote in state legislative and congressional redistricting. Malapportionment, Warren recognized, subverted the will of the majority, privileging rural voters, and often business interests and whites, over others. In declaring nearly all state legislatures unconstitutional, the court oversaw a revolution that transformed the exercise of political power in the United States. On Democracy's Doorstep tells the story of this crucial-and neglected-episode. J. Douglas Smith follows lawyers, activists, and Justice Department officials as they approach the court. We see Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy pushing for radical change and idealistic lawyers in Alabama bravely defying their peers. We then watch as the justices edge toward their momentous decision. The Washington Post called the result a step "toward establishing democracy in the United States. But not everyone agreed; Smith shows that business lobbies and their political allies attempted to overturn the court by calling the first Constitutional Convention since the 1780s. Thirty-three states ratified their petition - just one short of the two-thirds required.

A propos du livre

À propos de l'auteur

J. Douglas Smith is the author of Managing White Supremacy: Race, Politics, and Citizenship in Jim Crow Virginia, which received the 2003 Library of Virginia Literary Award in Nonfiction. He is the director of humanities at the Colburn Music Conservatory and the executive director of the Los Angeles Service Academy, a program that teaches students how the political, social, and environmental infrastructure of metropolitan Los Angeles works. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two children.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Hill & Wang Inc.,U.S.
• Date d'édition: 2014
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0809074230
• ISBN 13: 9780809074235
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 384
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible