Hugo Black: A Biography [Paperback]

Roger K. Newman (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0823217868 | ISBN-13: 978-0823217861 | Publication Date: January 1, 1997 | Edition: 1

The extraordinary story of a man who bestrode his era like a colossus, Hugo Black is the first and only comprehensive biography of the Supreme Court Justice of thirty four years, (1886-1971). Once a member of the Ku Klux Klan, Black became one of the most celebrated and important civil libertarians in the history of the United States and the chief twentieth-century proponent of the First Amendment. Newman presents us with the long odyssey of Hugo Black, capturing the man as he was-a brilliant trial lawyer, the investigating senator called by one reporter a walking encyclopedia with a Southern accent,and the wily politician and astute justice who led the redirection of American law toward the protection of the individual.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Supreme Court Justice Black (1886-1971), a noted civil libertarian and populist, is done justice in this first comprehensive biography, written with the cooperation of his family. Newman, a former research scholar at New York University School of Law, recreates Black's youth in isolated Clay County, Ala., his move into law and politics in Birmingham and his election to the U.S. Senate in 1926. FDR's search for a liberal justice led him to appoint Black in 1937. On the Court, Black grew into a staunch defender of the Bill of Rights and, as one of his clerks wrote, a judge concerned most with "the human being involved." He battled with order-loving rival Felix Frankfurter to fight McCarthy-era speech restrictions and, as the 1960s began, became the country's foremost First Amendment absolutist. In 1963, he wrote the landmark right-to-counsel Gideon opinion, but, as the Warren Court continued its revolution, Black's "reformist zeal had sharply abated." Though Newman clearly admires his subject and effectively limns Black's private life, he also tracks the justice's evasions regarding his membership in the Ku Klux Klan as a young man, notes the senator's "excess zeal" as an investigator and scores his illiberal opinion regarding the World War II internment of Japanese-Americans.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Supreme Court Associate Justice Hugo Black is described by the author as controversial and influential: controversial for an earlier Ku Klux Klan membership; influential for his lasting impact on the law. Best known for an absolutist belief in the Bill of Rights as a guarantee of civil liberties, Black helped define modern American constitutional law. Newman almost lovingly delves into the private and public life of this complex man who characterized himself as merely a "country fellow." While there are other prominent works on Black, most, like Howard Ball and Phillip J. Cooper's Of Power and Right (Oxford Univ. Pr., 1992), focus on Black's often stormy relationships with Court colleagues like William O. Douglas and Felix Frankfurter. Black's memoirs, Mr. Justice and Mrs. Black (LJ 3/1/86), provided a first look at the private man. Now, Newman has brought both sides together in an admirable biography. If there is any real reservation, it is only that Hugo Black will compete for the reader's time and attention with Gerhard Gunther's Learned Hand (LJ 5/1/94). But we can only feel satisfied with two excellent judicial biographies appearing in the same year. Highly recommended.
Jerry E. Stephens, U.S. Court of Appeals Lib., Oklahoma City
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 741 pages
• Publisher: Fordham University Press; 1 edition (January 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823217868
• ISBN-13: 978-0823217861
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #835,491 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This should be your first book about the Supreme Court, December 29, 2005

By 

T. P Roberts "Terry212am" (Tallahassee, FL, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hugo Black: A Biography (Paperback)

I had a great Constitutional law professor while I was in law school. He had all these stories of the Supreme Court behind the scenes, and it brought the law to life. So I started to look around for Supreme Court biographies. About 6 years later, I'm still reading them. This is the best I have come across. Love him or hate him, Hugo Black is one of the 10 most important Justices in history, most would agree. More than that--he had a strong, controversial, well-thought-out point of view about the law, though he was friends with many people who absolutely disagreed with him. He is interesting to conservatives and liberals alike and he challenges us to use our brains because he doesn't fit neatly into modern ideas of what it is to be Republican or Democrat. For instance, he's known as a "judicial activist," but he was a textualist (like Scalia). He's also something of an original intent guy (though he doesn't ignore the Amendments like the 14th Amendment that were passed long after the "founding fathers" died). He didn't believe a constitutional right to privacy--abortion, gay rights, right to die0--but was one of the leaders in applying the Bill of Rights to the states, not just the federal government. On the other hand, he wrote Korematsu, the opinion that allowed the government to put Japanese-Americans into internment camps during the war years. Along with Justice Douglas, he was the most vigorous protector of the First Amendment free speech rights that the Court has ever had. He was banned by the Alabama legislature from being buried in Alabama, his home state, because of his assistance in desegregaing the nation and providing equal protection to African Americans (which is interesting in light of his KKK past). Thus, if you're a fan of the liberal Warren Court era OR a fan of Scalia and Thomas's modern/throwback textualist and originalist ideas, there is much for you to learn. That aside, Hugo's story was fascinating. Other reviewers have remarked on his KKK and New Deal Senator past. He was also one of the longest sitting Justices---30 years or so. This book is an easy read and you'll get a feel for Hugo's PERSONALITY, not just his actions. (I think of him as "Hugo" rather than Justice Black because I think of him as a friend...and that's due to this book).

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent study of Justice Black's jurisprudence, January 5, 2001

By 

Steve (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hugo Black: A Biography (Paperback)

Justice Black was (and is) a fascinating study in American constitutional theory -- an unabashed and lifelong Democrat, Black surprised many, especially toward the end of his life, when he often refused to join in the Warren court's adventures into judicial activism. Newman's biography is comprehensive, touching on all the key points of Black's life both on and off the bench, including a lenghty examination of his now-famous First Amendment jurisprudence. Black emerges in three dimensions, as a complicated and passionate advocate and jurist. Three minor flaws: first, Newman, obviously in awe of Black, occasionally misses an opportunity to fairly criticize some of his opinions; secondly, the book does not always flow smoothly, but often advances in a rough, staccato fashion (a venial flaw, considering the complicated subject matter). Finally, toward the end of the book, Newman becomes somewhat overly-sentimental - hardly a page goes by without Newman describing the "tears pouring down Black's face" as he recalls his youth and public service. Again, given the author's clear love of his subject, this is forgiveable.

Overall, a fantastic book - a must read for any Supreme Court scholar.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading to understand 20th Century American law, January 14, 2000

By 

Mark A. Mayhew "marko52" (Brentwood, TN) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hugo Black: A Biography (Paperback)

This is a towering work on the life of Justice Black, who, more than any other man, shaped our concept of what civil liberties were in the late 20th century.

While author Roger K. Newman clearly worships Justice Black, he isn't blind to the almost inexplicable inconsistencies in Black's thinking: how, for example, the civil libertarian who fought to extend the prohibitions of the Bill of Rights to state action could dismiss the importance of the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable search and seizure! Newman's account of Black's voyage from lifetime membership in the Ku Klux Klan to champion of equal rights is a much more clear-eyed look at the inherent contradictions thereof than Black's own fumbling efforts to explain his paradigm shift.

The author strikes a delicate balance between the intricacies of legal reasoning (of probable interest only to law students like myself) and simple storytelling which will fascinate the uninitiated. He tells you enough, but not too much!

This book amply fulfills the primary purpose of all recent histories--it gives the reader a much clearer understanding of how we got where we are today from where we were at the turn of the last century.