Before the Civil Rights Revolution: The Old Court and Individual Rights

(Hardback)

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There is a broad consensus that 1937 marked a turning point in the history of the Supreme Court. This is the first comprehensive treatment of the Court's decision-making in the civil liberties/civil rights sphere in the years preceding that watershed. Professor Braeman refutes the widely held assumption that the post-1937 justices were writing upon a largely blank slate in dealing with civil liberties/civil rights issues, arguing instead that much of what the Modern Court has done, when viewed in a long-term perspective, appears as incremental expansions of precedents laid down by the Old Court.

Reviews

Braeman has undertaken the daunting task of defending the record of the 'old court' in matters of civil rights - by 'old court' he means the US Supreme Court in the years before 1937. Historical consensus has denounced the record of the old court in matters of individual rights and particularly black rights. A common thread Braeman traces through the history of the court is its emphasis on the rights of the individual . . .Cheerfully recommended.-Choice
"Braeman has undertaken the daunting task of defending the record of the 'old court' in matters of civil rights - by 'old court' he means the US Supreme Court in the years before 1937. Historical consensus has denounced the record of the old court in matters of individual rights and particularly black rights. A common thread Braeman traces through the history of the court is its emphasis on the rights of the individual . . .Cheerfully recommended."-Choice

Author Bio

JOHN BRAEMAN is Professor of History at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.