Book Description

In 1958, Chief Justice Earl Warren claimed the Supreme Court had the exclusive power to interpret the Constitution and said its authority had been respected by the nation for 200 year. Even for Warren, it was a remarkable misstatement. Just how remarkable is the subject of The Last Democrats, the story of how four presidents, Jefferson, Madison, Jackson, and Lincoln - defeated claims of judicial supremacy, and how a fifth president, Franklin Roosevelt, lost everything they had gained. Drawing on letters, diaries, debates, and speeches, and filled with anecdotes that add color and drama, such as Lincoln's decision to issue an arrest warrent for Chief Justice Taney, the book recounts a largely forgotten history. The story begins in 1787 when a group of delegates to the Federal Convention gathered at Benjamin Franklin's home in Philadelphia to enjoy a csak of London stout and ale. In four months, this assembly of demi-gods, as Jefferson called them, created the first modern government run by the poeple. Popular sovereignty did not extend to the Court, but this book describes how the Framers made sure its power were limited. The story proceeds to the struggle between Jefferson and Chief Justice Marshall, including the decision in Marbury v. Madison that future courts used as a springboard in their rise to power. Jefferson said the Court twisted the Constitution like a piece of wax, and this book tells how he used impeachment proceedings to curb its power. The story continues with Jackson's refusal to enforce two Marshall rulings, followed by Taney's inflammatory ruling in Dred Scott v. Sanford that called blacks "an inferior class of beings." Lincoln openly defied Taney, but the practice of overriding election officials returned 30 years later as conservative judges blocked liberal efforts to institute social and economic reofrms. Progressives such as Teddy Roosevelt and Robert LaFollette attacked the rulings and paid dearly: Roosevelt was charged with "legalized terrorism" for opposing the courts, while LaFollette was called a Bolshevik, accused of flying the red flag. The Franklin Roosevelt chapter describes his court-packing plan and explains how one of his supporters, "Bolshevik Burt" Wheeler, led a mutiny against the plan in the Senate, where FDR was compared to Stalin, Mussolini, and Hitler. The Court claimed victory in the battle for supremacy in 1958, as presidents from Eisenhower to Bush stood by while the courts rewrote the Constitution on everything from school prayer to abortion, racial quotas, gay marriage, and the War on Terror. The book concludes with a discussion of the ideas that have been suggested to return the Court to the limited role envisioned by the Framers. -- from dust jacket.