Reconsidering Roosevelt on Race: How the Presidency Paved the Road to Brown [Paperback]

Kevin J. McMahon (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0226500888 | ISBN-13: 978-0226500881 | Publication Date: December 10, 2003 | Edition: 1

Many have questioned FDR's record on race, suggesting that he had the opportunity but not the will to advance the civil rights of African Americans. Kevin J. McMahon challenges this view, arguing instead that Roosevelt's administration played a crucial role in the Supreme Court's increasing commitment to racial equality—which culminated in its landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education.

McMahon shows how FDR's attempt to strengthen the presidency and undermine the power of conservative Southern Democrats dovetailed with his efforts to seek racial equality through the federal courts. By appointing a majority of rights-based liberals deferential to presidential power, Roosevelt ensured that the Supreme Court would be receptive to civil rights claims, especially when those claims had the support of the executive branch.

(20040901)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An important contribution to legal history."—Choice

(Choice 20050101)

"Thoughtful and meticulously researched . . . This work makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the political climate and reality of the New Deal era as well as informing our explanations of judicial policy and the rise of the modern civil rights movement."—Law and Politics Book Review

(Law and Politics Book Review 20040601)

Winner of the 2005 Richard E. Neustadt Book Award for the best book on the Presidency (Richard E. Neustadt Award )

"[McMahon] argues that Roosevelt worked to advance the civil rights cause through the two institutional means he had at his disposal in the face of entrenched segregationist power in Congress.  These were the presidency itself, which FDR consistently sought to strengthen at Congress''s expense, and his executive ability to nominate judges to the federal bench.  McMahon''s treatment of both is skillful, as he adds innovative use of evidence to theoretical tools developed in political science."—Gerard Alexander, Virginia Quarterly Review

(Gerard Alexander Virginia Quarterly Review )

"[McMahon] presents a wealth of information demonstrating that Roosevelt''s record of judicial and executive appointments as well as his policy initiatives were instrumental in creating the political climate from which the Brown decision emerged."

(Journal of Blacks in Higher Education )

"McMahon''s compelling and provocative book aggressively interrogates the conventional wisdom on Franklin Delano Roosevelt''s civil rights legacy. . . . The book dissects Rooseveltian hagiography, revealing a profoundly nuanced causal chain connecting the failure of the first New Deal to the Warren Court''s landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education."

(Benjamin Ponder Rhetoric & Public Affairs )

“McMahon successfully employs a presidency-centered focus to link elected officials and judicial activism on behalf of the powerless. McMahon maintains that Brown v. Board of Education was as rooted in decisions made by the Roosevelt Administration as in the litigation campaign against segregated schools.”

(Mark A, Graber AR Reviews in Advance )

"An outstanding work of scholarship. It is imaginative in its ideas, rigorous in its argumentation, thorough in its research, and articulate in its prose. It is a book that will be valuable to anyone interested in the history of civil rights or the evolution of the presidency."

(Timothy Walch The Historian )

"The book is excellent, meticulously researched, lucid, intellectually combative yet engaging and broadly persuasive. It is approachable enough to be perfectly readable for undergraduates but difficult enough that it should have substantial impact on how scholars think of the Presidency''s relation to the Court."

(Paul Martin Ethnic and Racial Studies )

From the Inside Flap

Many have questioned FDR's record on race, suggesting that he had the opportunity but not the will to advance the civil rights of African Americans. Kevin J. McMahon challenges this view, arguing instead that Roosevelt's administration played a crucial role in the Supreme Court's increasing commitment to racial equality—which culminated in its landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education.

McMahon shows how FDR's attempt to strengthen the presidency and undermine the power of conservative Southern Democrats dovetailed with his efforts to seek racial equality through the federal courts. By appointing a majority of rights-based liberals deferential to presidential power, Roosevelt ensured that the Supreme Court would be receptive to civil rights claims, especially when those claims had the support of the executive branch.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 308 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; 1 edition (December 10, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226500888
• ISBN-13: 978-0226500881
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #739,839 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent scholarship, April 24, 2004

By 

annagusenbauer (vienna, austria) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reconsidering Roosevelt on Race: How the Presidency Paved the Road to Brown (Paperback)

This fine book will interest students of supreme court decisionmaking. Those interested in the presidency, the New Deal and/or the evolution of civil rights policy will benefit from reading this book.

Specialists will enjoy the academic perspectives. General readers can learn a lot of history because the book is not suffocated by the jargon that harms many university press books.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An interesting read about an important era, April 3, 2004

By 

mark twain "booksfromithaca" (ithaca, ny United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reconsidering Roosevelt on Race: How the Presidency Paved the Road to Brown (Hardcover)

This well written book will be enjoyed by a variety of readers. It presents a fascinating account of important political struggles in the New Deal era. While focused on judicial politics and civil rights, it covers many aspects of American politics in the Roosevelt era. The book refutes the notion that FDR did not advance the cause of civil rights. Through judicial appointments and the creation of the Civil Rights Section of the Justice Department, FDR sought to undermine white supremacy in the South. The author argues convincingly that the Roosevelt administration did much to engender the Brown v. Board of Education decision that changed America forever.

This book will be most valuable to those interested in American politics, history, and race relations.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Book, March 10, 2005

By 

DKilmer "DKilmer" (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reconsidering Roosevelt on Race: How the Presidency Paved the Road to Brown (Paperback)

A different take on FDR and race. Interesting hisory of the New Deal era and the Supreme Court. The short Political Science sections are not thrilling, but still were digestible.