The Power of Our Supreme Court: How Supreme Court Cases Shape Democracy

by Matt Beat Narrated by Philip Church

Overview

Mr. Beat Connects the Supreme Court History Right to You!
Mr. Beat's The Power of Our Supreme Court is the Supreme Court book of decisions that affect the everyday lives of Americans everywhere.
The real democracy of America unveiled. What does the supreme court do? Sure, people care when the court makes a big ruling, but most don't pay attention to the court's day-to-day decisions. In this law book, Mr. Beat takes you on a journey through our Supreme Court system, what it is, who is in it and how they got to be there while foreshadowing how it shapes our very future.

A tour of the most influential cases in history. Inspired by Mr. Beat's court series, The Power of Our Supreme Court walks through many Supreme Court history cases from landmark cases to the more obscure. Matt Beat explains how each case affects us to this day in a way that is engaging, applicable, and easy to understand, even for beginners.

Inside, you'll find:

Detailed explanations of the Supreme Court, how it works, and how it affects you
A Supreme Court cases book perfect for anyone interested in social science, political science, activism, or law
Interesting visuals, charts, and graphs to help contextualize and breakdown the historical significance of big and small cases
If you like courtroom books, legal books for lawyers, or books on politics for beginners like How Civil Wars Start, The Color of Law, or The Flip Side of History, you'll love Mr. Beat's The Power of Our Supreme Court.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

If you don’t know much about the Supreme Court but would like to, this is where you should start. Matt takes the starch out of the legal process and delivers an approachable summary of an institution we should all be well-versed on.”
—Dave Farina, a.k.a. “Professor Dave,” author of Is This Wi-Fi Organic?

“In The Power of the Supreme Court, Matt Beat sounds an alarm that will surely awaken every American sleeping on the vital importance of the Supreme Court. As he traverses the history and function of the Court, Matt unravels complex topics in a way that anyone can understand, and does so with a healthy dose of his signature wit. If every American read Matt’s book and took to heart its lessons, we might find that our national wounds, long in festering, may begin to heal. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.”
—Steve Heimler, of Heimler’s History

“Matt is one of the most popular American history YouTubers for a reason: few can compete with his depth of knowledge and clear and engaging style of communication. This book is essential reading for anyone seeking an explanation for how and why so much of American politics has come to revolve around a small handful of decisions made by a small handful of judges.”
—J.J. McCullough  

Product Details

BN ID:	2940160247977
Publisher:	Everand Productions
Publication date:	12/12/2023
Edition description:	Unabridged

Read an Excerpt

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Other things are not so easy to make relevant. The Compromise of 1790, which was the first of three incredibly important compromises made between Northern politicians and Southern politicians to keep the United States together, isn’t that particularly interesting to learn about. Sure, it’s a pivotal event in the early history of the country, but it’s kind of a boring story. It only means something to most of us today when you connect it with the cultural divides of today. 

Enter the Supreme Court of the United States. It’s currently made up of just nine people, each who arguably have more power than any politician or plutocrat in the United States. They are at the top of the judicial branch of the American federal government, the branch that interprets laws. Interpret? Well humans can interpret things however they want to, can’t they? This, alone, is a tremendous power, and just five interpretations from the Court can be carved in stone as a precedent that can be used for decades, if not centuries. The Court has basically complete discretion over which cases it decides to hear. Of the 7,000 to 10,000 requests for cases it gets each year, it often only takes between 80 and 85 of those. It has the power to overthrow decisions of all courts underneath it. 

The Supreme Court’s power has grown tremendously since the early 1800s. Beginning with the case Marbury v. Madison, which institutionalized the idea of judicial review, the Court slowly became a powerful force to hold the other two branches of government, the legislative and executive, accountable. Judicial review is the process by which the judicial branch can determine whether or not the actions of the executive and legislative branches are constitutional. This means that if the President issues an executive order the Court thinks is unconstitutional, they can strike it down. If Congress passes a law the Court thinks is constitutional, it can uphold it. Beginning in the 1950s, the Court became more overtly political. In the 1960s, it really ramped it up, to a point where people began electing the President based on who they might appoint to join it. 

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