The Supreme Court in United States History

by Charles Warren

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

Genres: History, Law

2 pages, Hardcover

First published February 18, 2015

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[NDH · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not a reproduction, the edition I have just finished (initially published in 1923) is from 1935, specifically Volume 2 (1821-1855), of Charles Warren’s 3-volume masterpiece for which he quite justifiably won the 1923 Pulitzer Prize. My only criticism is the lack of an index in this volume which makes it next-to-impossible to find references to a particular case in the highly likely event that the pitiful reader needs to remind himself what Green v Biddle or Cohens v Virginia were actually about. Perhaps there is a Master Index in Volume 3, but, happily, at least today, one has the internet, often needed.

This is History at its best, which, although with a superficially narrow focus on the SCOTUS, throws light on aspects of American life from the era that are little thought about today—Federal vs State jurisdiction and powers, admiralty law, contract law, structure of the courts, number of votes required to issue an opinion, slavery—as well as on aspects that are quite topical—dissatisfaction with the Court, potential restrictions upon its powers, the terms of the justices, supremacy of Congress versus the Court.

Overall, this is a powerful defense of the Supreme Court’s independence. As a human institution, it makes mistakes, but there’s really no alternative. Weakening it so that one political faction will “have its way” today is no solution. Indeed, the sanctimonious ease with which sometimes Northern sometimes Southern states relied upon State-Rights arguments to justify their own violations of the rights of Persons stands as testimony to the need for Judicial Independence. It also highlights the crying need for the Political Branches to do their job to settle essentially political questions instead of dumping them on the Judicial Branch. (I plead guilty to contempt of Congress…)

Regarding the 1935 edition of this book, I like to think that the timing was intentional and that this masterpiece played a significant part in thwarting the travesty that was FDR’s court-packing plan. For that reason if for no other, this is a worthy read today.

Eternal Vigilance remains the price of Liberty, and there’s a lot about which We need to be vigilant.

[Davy Bennett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Donating. I bought it in 1988 at a Houston Public Library Sale for a buck. They retired it.
Back then these sales were held yearly, it seems like in April, held downtown near where the Astros now play. Enron Field ... a real big oops ... now the Juice Box. Copyright 1922, 1926.