The Supreme Court: An Essential History

The Supreme Court chronicles an institution that dramatically evolved from six men meeting in borrowed quarters to the most closely watched tribunal in the world. Underscoring the close connection between law and politics, the authors highlight essential issues, cases, and decisions within the context of the times in which the decisions were handed down. Deftly combining doctrine and judicial biography with case law, they demonstrate how the justices have shaped the law and how the law that the Court makes has shaped our nation, with an emphasis on how the Court responded-or failed to respond-to the plight of the underdog.

Each chapter covers the Court's years under a specific Chief Justice, focusing on cases that are the most reflective of the way the Court saw the law and the world and that had the most impact on the lives of ordinary Americans. Throughout the authors reveal how-in times of war, class strife, or moral revolution-the Court sometimes voiced the conscience of the nation and sometimes seemed to lose its moral compass. Their extensive quotes from the Court's opinions and dissents illuminate its inner workings, as well as the personalities and beliefs of the justices and the often-contentious relationships amongthem.

Fair-minded and sharply insightful, The Supreme Court portrays an institution defined by eloquent and pedestrian decisions and by justices ranging from brilliant and wise to slow-witted and expedient. An epic and essential story, it illuminates the Court's role in our lives and its place in our history.

For 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 editors of the acclaimed Landmark Law Cases and American Society series-have produced the most readable, astute, and up-to-date single-volume history of this venerated institution, as engaging for general readers as it is rigorous for scholars.

The Supreme Court chronicles an institution that dramatically evolved from six men meeting in borrowed quarters to the most closely watched tribunal in the world. Underscoring the close connection between law and politics, the authors highlight essential issues, cases, and decisions within the context of the times in which the decisions were handed down. Deftly combining doctrine and judicial biography with case law, they demonstrate how the justices have shaped the law and how the law that the Court makes has shaped our nation, with an emphasis on how the Court responded-or failed to respond-to the plight of the underdog.

Each chapter covers the Court's years under a specific Chief Justice, focusing on cases that are the most reflective of the way the Court saw the law and the world and that had the most impact on the lives of ordinary Americans. Throughout the authors reveal how-in times of war, class strife, or moral revolution-the Court sometimes voiced the conscience of the nation and sometimes seemed to lose its moral compass. Their extensive quotes from the Court's opinions and dissents illuminate its inner workings, as well as the personalities and beliefs of the justices and the often-contentious relationships amongthem.

Fair-minded and sharply insightful, The Supreme Court portrays an institution defined by eloquent and pedestrian decisions and by justices ranging from brilliant and wise to slow-witted and expedient. An epic and essential story, it illuminates the Court's role in our lives and its place in our history.

Publishers Weekly

How did the Supreme Court handle Indian rights in the early 19th century? What factors influenced the Court's decision in Roe v. Wade?This timely survey looks at the intellectual, social, cultural, economic and political events that have influenced the legal history of the Court. The authors (two professors of history and one professor of law) consider whether the court is a political institution and whether in the course of two centuries "the justices have... remade the Constitution." The 15 concise chapters, each devoted to one chief justice's tenure, look at major cases and offer thumbnail sketches of each justice as individuals with unique personalities, special interests and independent judicial perspectives who "never backed away" from their role "as final arbiters of the meaning of the Constitution." The authors make evident the framers' original intent to create a Constitution founded on immutable ideals yet responsive to evolving standards through the amendment process. This illuminating re-examination is essential for those who want a historical context for current debates about America's politics and fundamental principles. 25 photos. (Sept.)

Peter Charles Hoffer is Distinguished Research Professor of History at the University of Georgia. William James Hull Hoffer is assistant professor of history at Seton Hall University. N. E. H. Hull is Distinguished Professor of Law at Rutgers University Law School. Collectively they have authored, coauthored, and edited more than three dozen books.