We the People: The Fourteenth Amendment and the Supreme Court

by Michael J. Perry

Book Overview

Several of the most divisive moral conflicts that have beset Americans in the period since World War II have been transmuted into constitutional conflicts and resolved as such. In his new book, eminent legal scholar Michael Perry evaluates the grave charge that the modern Supreme Court has engineered a "judicial usurpation of politics." In particular, Perry inquires which of several major Fourteenth Amendment conflicts--over race segregation, race-based...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 019512362X
• ISBN13: 9780195123623
• Release Date: September 1999
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 9.3" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

Dimwits

In case you haven't noticed, in the first review of this book, below, Mr. Rainey spelled several words incorrectly: Instead of the correct "bicycle", he spelled "bycicle"; instead of "bright", he spelled "brite"; instead of "vicious", he spelled "viscious"; and by the way, "difficult" has an "i" between the "f" and the "c". In the other review--the one entitled "Read Mr. Rainey's review"--Ely says "I've never written a book. This is my first one. But I read a lot of them and buy most of my books because of them." I assume Ely meant to say "I've never written a book review before...." Now, if I were you, I wouldn't base whether or not I buy the book on reviews written by dimwits like these.

Author bites back

Given what Mounty Rainey said last week (see below) about this book (which was published five years ago), I want to reproduce here what some others have said about it. I'm not in the habit of responding to critics--usually I'm just grateful for the attention--but Rainey's comments are so over the top and misleading. (I defy Rainey to identify any passage in the book that is either a "tirade" or a "vicious attack" on anyone. Take your meds, Rainey!) Richard S. Kay, University of Connecticut: "Perry's book is terrific. It is so careful, so measured, and so reasonable that it presents an almost irresistible argument. Nothwithstanding the numerous volumes published on Fourteenth Amendment interpretation, I've never seen anything that makes its points as forcefully and economically as Perry's book does--all without doing any injustice to the complexity of the underlying material." Mark Tushnet, Georgetown University: "With great care and precision, Michael Perry develops an argument about constitutional interpetation that skillfully blends respect for original intent with the evolving traditions of the American people and with fundamental moral values, then applies that argument to a range of important contemporary constitutional issues, from gay marriage to affirmative action. Everyone who hopes to think clearly about these issues will profit from grappling with Perry's argument." Larry Alexander, University of San Diego: "Michael Perry has written another 'must-read' book on constitutional law. Unlike most authors of multiple books on a subject, Perry does not seek to defend his earlier positions but instead is constantly rethinking them. And just as he has done in his earlier books, he arrives at fresh and thoughtful positions on many of the most important constitutional issues of our day: affirmative action, same-sex marriage, abortion, and physician-assisted suicide. No scholar of the Constitution can afford to ignore this book." Richard B. Saphire, University of Dayton: "'We the People' is typical of all Perry's work: well organized, impressively researched, concisely written, and meticulously reasoned. It bears Perry's distinctive mark of scholarship--written with passion, vigor, confidence, and yet, humility. The book is full of fresh insights and (for a non-historian like myself) new and illuminating perspectives on the history and meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment." Now, if you want to know whether my writing is really "deplorable"--as Rainey claims--I suggest you click on the picture of the book (above) and read the introduction. Decide for yourself. There--I feel better already.