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Overview
After reviewing the constitutional principles that apply to all three branches of government, Fisher conducts us through a history of struggles over individual rights, showing how the court has frequently failed at many critical junctures where Congress has acted to protect rights. He identifies changes in the balance of power over time—a post-World War II transformation that has undermined the system of checks and balances the Framers designed to protect individuals in their aspiration for self-government. Without a strong, independent Congress, this book reminds us, our system would operate with two elected officers in the executive branch and none in the judiciary, a form of government best described as elitist—and one no one would deem democratic.
In light of the history that unfolds here—and in view of a Congress widely decried as dysfunctional—Fisher proposes reforms that would strengthen not only the legislative branch’s role in protecting individual rights under the Constitution, but also its standing in the democracy it serves.
Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9780700622115 |
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Publisher: | University Press of Kansas |
Publication date: | 02/29/2016 |
Pages: | 208 |
Product dimensions: | 6.40(w) x 9.30(h) x 0.90(d) |
About the Author
Table of Contents
PrefaceNote on Citations
1. Judging the Three Branches
Congress
The President
The Judiciary
The Warren Court
Individual Rights at Risk
Seeking a Better Balance
2. Founding Principles
Breaking with the British Model
Lessons from the Continental Congress
Drafting the Constitution
Proposing a Title for the President
the Bill of Rights
Scope of Public Participation
3. The Rights of Blacks
Ending Slavery
The Civil War
Congressional Safeguards, Judicial Opposition
Public Accommodations Legislation
From Plessy to Brown v. Board
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Continuing Dialogue
4. The Rights of Women
Blackstone’s Doctrine of Coverture
Myra Bradwell’s Effort to Practice Law
Belva Lockwood Goes to Congress
Judicial Rulings from 1875 to 1971
Equal Rights Amendment
Abortion Rights
Equal Pay Legislation
The Lilly Ledbetter Case
Additional Legislative Activity
5. The Rights of Children
Legislation on Child Labor
Invoking the Commerce Power
Turning to the Taxing Power
Congress Keeps Trying
Compulsory Flag Salutes
In the Lower Courts
The Supreme Court Decides
Having Second Thoughts
6. Protecting Religious Liberty
Constitutional Principles
Conscientious Objectors
Pacifism after World War I
Chaplains
Legislation on Polygamy
Exemptions in Prohibition Statutes
The Yarmulke Case
7. The Rights of Native Americans
Propagating the Gospel
Indian Removal
Stirrings of Reform
Protective Legislation
Religious Use of Peyote
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)
Edison Chiloquin and Klamath Indians
8. Strengthening U.S. Democracy
Making Time for Legislative Work
Protecting Congressional Prerogatives
Improving Institutional Resources
Eliminating Gerrymandered Districts
Limiting Campaign Expenditures
About the Author
Index of Cases
Index of Subjects