"Among the governmental principles US citizens cherish most is the separation of powers, a potent assurance against centralized power. Of the three branches, the Supreme Court enjoys the utmost public respect because it is the final arbiter of the Constitution; therefore, Americans are leery of any inappropriate influence. In 1937, the Court withstood an overt challenge to its independence when Franklin Delano Roosevelt introduced a measure to expand its membership merely to uphold his New Deal measures. Forced into a constitutional melee, the Court, led by Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes, accepted the challenge with aplomb. The bench ultimately emerged victorious through a deft combination of intellectual and political shrewdness. Shesol (American studies, Princeton) skillfully and adroitly chronicles events with an incisive attention to detail and an acute literary focus on the "story" without compromising either abstract ideas of constitutional law or political maneuvering. Commendably, the narrative is not a morality play; in this study, the characters make their cases, and readers make the final judgments. This rare volume, appropriate for both academic and public audiences, seamlessly merges scholarly history with unforced readability." (Choice Reviews) (Check Our Catalog)
No comments:
Post a Comment