The Tragedy of William Jennings Bryan: Constitutional Law and the Politics of Backlash

by Gerard N. Magliocca

Although Populist candidate William Jennings Bryan lost the presidential elections of 1896, 1900, and 1908, he was the most influential political figure of his era. In this astutely argued book, Gerard N. Magliocca explores how Bryan's effort to reach the White House energized conservatives across the nation and caused a transformation in constitutional law. Responding negatively to the Populist agenda, the Supreme Court established a host of new constitutional principles during the 1890s. Many of them proved long-lasting and highly consequential, including the "separate but equal" doctrine supporting racial segregation, the authorization of the use of force against striking workers, and the creation of the liberty of contract. The judicial backlash of the 1890s—the most powerful the United States has ever experienced—illustrates vividly the risks of seeking fundamental social change. Magliocca concludes by examining the lessons of the Populist experience for advocates of change in our own divisive times.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Politics

248 pages, Hardcover

First published June 28, 2011

About the author

Gerard N. Magliocca is the Samuel R. Rosen Professor at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. He received his undergraduate degree at Stanford, his law degree at Yale, and spent one year as a law clerk for Judge Guido Calabresi on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Reviews

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title is a bit of a misnomer. The subtitle is more accurate. This is not the story of William Jennings Bryan, “The Boy Orator of the Platt,” or the Populist Party, or of Bryan’s great defeats of 1896, 1900, and 1908. This is about the Constitution, the Supreme Court of the United States, and the effects generational politics had, and still has, on both.

Gerard Magliocca meets his goal of writing an excellent treatise on the effects of a third party political movement on the Court’s decisions and its self-protection from a new generation of political thought. This is also a look at contemporary political third-party movements.

There is a caveat. For the reader to fully appreciate Professor Magliocca’s work, one must be familiar with the biography of Bryan; the histories of Reconstruction and the Populist movement, and court cases of the period. Professor Magliocca presupposes, as a law professor does, that the reader has this information.

Read more at NYJournalofBooks.com: http://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/revie...

[Jason S · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting book, that I actually wish was less concise. Makes the very ambitious argument that fear of Bryan is what inspired the backlash and conservatism of the Supreme Court in the late 1890s. Parts of the book could use more explanation, but overall a good read.