The Oliver Wendell Holmes Devise History of the Supreme Court of the United States 11 Volume Hardback Set: The History of the Supreme Court of the ... Court of the United States) (Volume 8- Troubled beginnings of the modern state 1888-1910) [Hardcover]

Owen M. Fiss (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 052186027X | ISBN-13: 978-0521860277 | Publication Date: May 15, 2006

A highly interpretive and eminently readable study of the Supreme Court during the period in which Melvin Fuller was Chief Justice, offering a complete account of the cases the Court saw during one of the most tumultuous times in U.S. history. The legacy of the Supreme Court at the turn of the century has largely been negative: decisions such as Lochner v. New York (1905), Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. (1895), In re Debs (1895), and Plessy v. Ferguson have been seen by subsequent generations of lawyers and judges as embodying a judicial method and philosophy that should be avoided at all costs. This book places these decisions in their historical context. It rejects the crude instrumental interpretation of these decisions and explains them as the expression of a conception of liberty that has its roots in the founding of the nation.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This well-researched volume skillfully chronicles the work of the Supreme Court under Chief Justices Stone and Vinson. Although scholars have tended to give short shrift to this era, Wiecek makes a compelling argument that these years marked a watershed in constitutional history and pointed the court toward a new constitutional understanding. Wiecekas book will undoubtedly generate debate and will likely become the definitive treatment of the Stone-Vinson era."
- James W. Ely, Jr., Vanderbilt University Law School

"A brilliantly done book by a master in the field. Wiecek guides us through an era that is troubled and often confusing, and he does it with a sure hand for what is important. This is a welcome and a noteworthy contribution to the Holmes Devise."
- Melvin I. Urofsky, author of A March of Liberty: A Constitutional History of the United States and The Continuity of Change: The Supreme Court and Individual Liberties, 1953-1986

"William Wiecek blends research in the papers of the justices with the best insights of political, intellectual, and social history, and adds his own mature judgments to produce this superb, comprehensive, and accessible account of an often neglected period of constitutional history, demonstrating that the Supreme Court from 1941 to 1953 laid the foundations for nearly all of today's constitutional law."
- Mark Tushnet, Georgetown University Law Center

"Wiecek, Congdon Professor of Law and Professor of History at Syracuse Unviersity, has written an encyclopedic study of the stone and Vinson Courts that is detailed and intellectually first-rate...it is a volume worthy of our attention and continued consultation."
- The Green Bag Richard A. Paschal

"The cases that Wiecek chooses to write about he covers well and illuminatingly."
- Law and History Review --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Book Description

This highly interpretive and eminently readable study of the Supreme Court during the period in which Melvin Fuller was Chief Justice offers a complete account of the cases the Court saw during one of the most tumultuous times in U.S. history.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 446 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (May 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 052186027X
• ISBN-13: 978-0521860277
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,410,728 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)