The sixteenth Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist s classic book offers a lively and accessible history of the Supreme Court.
Chief Justice Rehnquist s engaging writing illuminates both the high and low points in the Court's history, from Chief Justice Marshall s dominance of the Court during the early nineteenth century through the landmark decisions of the Warren Court. Citing cases such as the Dred Scott decision and Roosevelt's Court-packing plan, Rehnquist makes clear that the Court does not operate in a vacuum, that the justices are unavoidably influenced by their...

Few decisions in constitutional law have had as dramatic an impact on American life as Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954). This collection of essays published by the Supreme Court Historical Society and CQ Press to commemorate Brown's 50th anniversary, captures the complex history and legacy of the decision that changed public education and race relations in America. Leading constitutional scholars chronicle the path of the law from Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) legitimating separate but equal in all realms of public life to Brown holding segregated schools to be inherently...