Supreme Power
7 Pivotal Supreme Court Decisions That Had a Major Impact on America
1 of 1 copy available
This fascinating book reveals the complex history of the Court as told through seven pivotal decisions. These cases originally seemed narrow in scope, but they vastly expanded the interpretation of law. Such is the power of judicial review to make sweeping, often unforeseen, changes in American society by revising the meaning of our Constitution.
Each chapter presents an easy-to-read brief on the case and explains what the decisions mean and how the Court ruling, often a 5-4 split, had long-term impact. For example, in Lochner v. New York, a widely accepted turn-of-the-twentieth—century New York State law limited excessive overtime for bakery workers. That law was overturned by the Court based on the due process clause of the Constitution. The very same precedents, Stewart points out, were used by the Court seventy years later and expanded to a new right to privacy in Roe v. Wade, making abortion legal in the nation.
Filled with insight, commentary, and compelling stories of ordinary citizens coming to the judiciary for remedy for the problems of their day, Supreme Power illustrates the magnitude of the Court's power to interpret the Constitution and decide the law of the land.
-
Creators
-
Publisher
-
Release date
September 26, 2017 -
Formats
-
Kindle Book
-
OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781629735559
- File size: 1722 KB
-
EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781629735559
- File size: 1722 KB
-
-
Languages
- English
-
Reviews
-
July 1, 2017
Stewart (The Miracle of Freedom: 7 Points That Saved the World, 2011) summarizes and analyzes seven Supreme Court cases and their historic effects on U.S. history. An appointed U.S. District Court judge, Stewart provides insightful comments on how these cases ended up in the Supreme Court and how their decisions were ultimately made. Citing a variety of legal and political sources, Stewart offers historical contexts to these landmark cases, from Plessy v. Ferguson, in 1896, to Obergefell v. Hodges, in 2015. He describes the incredible power of the judicial branch of the U.S. government in deciding, defining, and transforming the current state of affairs, from taxes to race issues to abortion rights, in America. Readers interested in U.S. law, politics, and history will find this insightful book to be helpful in understanding today's sociopolitical climate, particularly the importance of the Supreme Court decisions that occur in June of each year.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)
-